Sharma Villa

1. About Turkey

 

Turkey is a wonderful country with very friendly people. It has beautiful scenery with lots of mountains and amazing beaches. There is virtually guaranteed sunshine throughout the summer months with the season lasting from May 1st - October 31st. July and August can be very hot.

2. Villa

Our villa is located between Fethiye and Calis (pronounced Chalish) beach on the Mediterranean coast. It is very close (100m - ish) to the sea edge and we have good sea views to the right of the villa in front. Directly in front of the villa is the shared swimming pool which is used by only five villas. The location is surrounded by beautiful mountains and is noted for its sunsets.

3. Facilities include

3 bedrooms, all en-suite, two with a balcony and one with a sun terrace. Two twin bedded rooms, one double. Air conditioning Balconies have chairs, top sun terrace can have chairs or sun loungers plus a table. Two further ground floor terraces, front terrace has a table and chairs for six. Side terrace can seat four. All balconies / terraces over look the pool and /or sea. Kitchen equipped with large fridge/small freezer; gas/electric hob, oven/grill, microwave, washing machine; crockery, cutlery, glasses etc for at least six people. Sitting room with two sofa’s, dining table and six chairs, portable CD player/radio. Please bring your own CD’s. Iron, ironing board, drying rack, hairdryer supplied. Normally kept in under stairs cupboard. Good size shared swimming pool with lounger areas. The loungers are kept in the under stairs cupboard.

4. Rental and Availability

See www.holidaylettings.co.uk/11207 for rental rates and availability. Rates vary from £350 - £550 per week. The season is generally accepted as being from May 1st to October 31st, though we have been there in April and happily sunbathed. Many of the ‘tourist shops’ close out of season.

5. Air flights and getting to apartment

For airport parking, we use Holiday Extras (Tel: 0870 8444000 www.holidayextras.co.uk) If you have an early flight (or a return flight arriving back in England very late) then we often get a car parking package with a hotel, where one can stay for one night and then get free parking for 2 weeks. It’s a 4hr direct flight from Gatwick. There are direct charter flights to Dalaman airport or scheduled via Istanbul. We have put several links on our web site www.iwanttobethere.co.uk to companies offering flights. You pay for the airport transfer direct, current fares are: 1-4 persons £65.00 return, 3-4 persons £70.00 return, 5-8 persons £85 return , we can arrange it for you before you depart. The taxi driver will have the villa keys. You can get a taxi at the airport but it is more expensive and you will need to go to our management company’s office to get the keys. See Health and problems below for details of the management company.

 

The journey from the airport currently takes about 40 minutes and is very scenic through the hills. The taxi driver will expect payment in £ sterling or YTL (Turkish Lira) at the end of the first journey.

 

You do not need to get a visa for travel to Turkey, but you will need to buy one at Dalaman airport before going through immigration. Cost is currently £10 per person and you pay in sterling. Passports should have at least six months left before expiry.

6. Address and Directions

Address and directions supplied before you go.

7. Getting about

Safety - you can hire jeeps, cars and motor cycles. However the Turkish driving habits are quite different to the UK and accident rates are high. If you want to drive you might find it better to take a little time watching how the Turkish drive. There seem to have been a history of accidents involving 4 x 4 vehicles and if you intend going on a jeep safari we highly recommend checking basic safety issues, eg seatbelts, roll bar fitted, not overcrowded etc. Fethiye is the nearest town and I have to say we love it! It has excellent restaurants and shops and is a harbour town surrounded by mountains. There is an area of restaurants and shops covered by vines and foliage which is wonderful to sit under and watch life go by. Calis is the location of the closest beach and it has a selection of restaurants and bars etc. The sunsets across the water are lovely. The government are building a promenade from Fethiye to Calis and this is due to run past our villa complex. The promenade and its little eateries etc will be lovely when built and a great asset to the villa. Unfortunately it is not yet complete and we now don’t expect work at our end to happen until later this year. This means that our intended route to Calis beach is not available as yet and to avoid walking down the road in the heat simply hop on a 'dolmus' bus (pronounced dolmush) A dolmus goes down the main road every ten minutes and will take five minutes to get to Calis. Cost is 1 lira. (about 60p at current rates) This is actually preferable in the heat and many tourists, ex-pats and residents use this method of transport as it is so convenient and runs until late at night eg the last dolmus from Fethiye is at midnight. To catch a dolmus simply stand by the main road (on the correct side!) wait for a bus and indicate you want him to stop when he beeps to attract your attention. There are no bus stops as such. The driver will start driving as soon as he hears the door close (so hang on!) To pay him you can simply lean over and give him the money while he's driving, but the safer option is to pay next time he stops. If the dolmus is crowded and you can't get to the driver the custom is to give the money to the person nearest you who is blocking the route and the money will simply be passed through as many hands as is necessary until it reaches the driver. The minibus or ‘dolmus’ can also be caught going the other way into Fethiye. Its final stop is the starting point for another dolmus to Oludinez beach. This is a fabulous beach surrounded by mountains and is also the location of the famous blue lagoon and paragliding centre. You can walk to Fethiye from our villa without going on the main roads.

8. Restaurants

There are many restaurants in Fethiye and Turkish cuisine is healthy and tasty. If you come across any you would particularly recommend please let us know. We both enjoyed the Megri – the one next to the Duck Pond Restaurant - and the fish market. The Megri has displays of really excellent Turkish food and you can go and make a selection. The fish market is an experience. It's set out with a central display of fish, rather like a large fishmonger. Simply select your fish and then select one of the side restaurants. Take your fish to the restaurant of your choice where it is cooked while you have a drink. For an accompaniment, a selection of side dishes, ask for meze. For a good lunch time snack try a kebab. The UK equivalent has little comparison.

9. Shopping

Bargaining, a necessary skill. Other than at grocery shops and upmarket clothes stores, there are few fixed prices. Generally if the price is not marked it is up for negotiation.

 

Store holders may start at a price which is 3 or 4 times what you might eventually expect to pay, although you will generally not get them down to more than half. If they start too high therefore, we usually walk away and go somewhere else where their starting price is more reasonable. Hence if you expect to pay 10 lira, if they start with 15 or even 20, you may get it for 10, but if they start at 35 or 40, there is not much point in bargaining. Sterling is used extensively in Turkey and for major items every shop will give you a price in pounds and may start the bargaining in pounds. This is because the Turkish Lira is so volatile. Just to confuse you some shopkeepers when giving a price in lira will say eg 1 million lira instead of 1 lira. This is due to the introduction of the new Turkish lira in January 06 which came in at the rate of 1 YTL (new Turkish Lira) = 1,000,000 old Turkish lira. Shopkeepers sometimes say million out of habit! Sunday in Turkey is a family day and as such not many shops are open, best to make it a beach day. Supermarkets though, are open.

10. Markets

Fethiye market is on Tuesday morning. It’s a large market and is great for copy clothes, leather goods, linen (eg bedspreads) fruit and veg’ copy watches, spices etc. We spent a really good couple of hours wandering about and I’m very proud of my ‘Ralph Lauren’ shirts! There is also Sunday market at Calis, similar but on a smaller scale.

11. Parking in Fethiye

There is an effective system in Fethiye for street parking. If you park in a convenient street and come back to find what looks like a parking ticket on your windscreen, it is actually a request for the parking fee of 1YTL. You will need to find the parking attendant (easily spotted in a yellow top) and pay him/her. Failure to do this will incur a heavy fine.

12. Beaches

The Oludeniz beach web site has a list which is good. http://oludenizbeach.com/beaches.htmlThis is included in the attractions download from our web site www.iwanttobethere.co.uk The sites Fethiye.net, fethiyelife.com and living-turkey.com are full of information as is the Oludinez website. There are links from this web site. Internet: There are lots of internet cafes. One point I discovered after 15 frustrating minutes is that the keyboards have two i keys. The bottom one works.

13. What to buy

Copy clothes, if it does not offend your morality. Copy watches, these vary in price, two for £10 at the market but these are quartz and are fine as a bit of fun and even tell the time. The more expensive copies can be self winding automatics, be fitted with mineral glass and all the dials will work. The shops call it ‘full function’or genuine copies!The better copies (full function) can be indistinguishable from the real thing. Lots of handicrafts – bedspreads, wooden boxes, backgammon sets. Leather bags and coats are very reasonable.

14. Mosquitoes

Generally, mosquitoes aren’t too much of a problem but there is always one in the bedroom at night when you are trying to sleep! We give the room a quick spray 20 minutes before going to bed. If you run out of fly killer the Tansas supermarket near the villa sells it.

15. Bed sheets

 If you are on a two week holiday, sheets can be washed in the machine or our management company now offer a sheet change and 'basic' clean for £17.50 after the first week. If you would like this option please tick the box on the confirmation form. Water – We’re told you can drink the water in Turkey, but we have not tried it. Bottled water is available at the supermarket.

16. Toilets.

We have been very strongly advised that toilet paper must not be put into the toilet, the bin beside the loo should be used instead. This also applies to female sanitary wear as this will instantly block the system. The problem is that the Turkish drainage system is not designed to cope with western style habits. On the plus side it is actually better for the environment as less chemicals are used. If the system blocks up the council will probably have to dig out the pipes to find the blockage. Each bathroom has a small drain in the floor which is there for draining excess water and mopping the floor. If your bathroom is smelly all the time simply pour a jugful of water down it to replenish the water 'trap' which prevents drain odours.

17. Hot Water

The hot water system is solar powered and as such the hot water can get very hot. We've found it best to turn on the cold and then gradually turn on the hot. If you do have some dull days and run out of hot water there is an electric element you can turn on. The switch is the only one switched off in the fuse box half way up the stairs. Please turn it off afterwards.

18. Air conditioners

 The villa has four air conditioners. One for each bedroom plus the lounge. They are very expensive and un-environmentally friendly to run so we would ask that they are used sensibly please. i.e. not left on all day while you are out. They are all powerful enough to cool a room very quickly when you return. Thank you

19. Cooking

The hob has three gas rings and one electric. The gas comes from a cylinder. To light the gas, make sure the gas is turned on at the cylinder then simply turn the knob to the ‘ignite’ position and press the knob. If you run out of gas please call All Aspects (see below)

20. Health and problems

We are signed up with ‘All Aspects’ maintenance company. They look after the villa, checking it frequently and also do the laundry service etc. One of the great benefits is they operate a helpline. So if you are stuck ring them for advice. The company has three English people, Paul Pauline, and Janet. We have found them very helpful. Their office is in Calis Opposite Park Yapi and Café Pazar on the main Calis Sunday market road. The working hours number of All Aspects is 0090 252 6136782 and the out of hours emergency number is 0090 533 4869813. All Aspects will leave an information pack in the villa for you. If you need help contact All Aspects in the first instance, alternatively Ray and Dot live at the front villa of the five (the sea end). Ray and Dot also own a dog (wagsy) which considers the complex his own, so you may need to be introduced, after which all will be fine.

21. Telephone

We have found calling the UK on a UK mobile phone from Turkey to be very expensive. You can get around this by buying a local SIM card and putting it in your own phone, but this will only work if you have an unlocked phone. (contact your provider)

22. ID

 

Whilst the UK debates endlessly about ID cards, Turkey has a simple system. In case you are required to prove who you are citizens carry a photo copy of their passport. You will need to do this too. When hiring a scooter for a day the first thing I was asked for was the passport. The police have a right to ask you to prove who you are.

23. General

A set of appliance manufacturers instructions are available in the villa and are kept in one of the kitchen drawers. Tiles and wet floors. Please be careful not to wander around with wet feet, especially down the stairs. Washing machine. We use it at 60°C for sheets and white towels, 40°C for coloured items. Rubbish: rubbish needs to go in the big metal dustbins beside the main road. These are emptied every night. Sun Terrace: when you are not using the furniture, can you bring in the lounge mattresses and chair covers to avoid the covers getting faded from the sun. Thank you. Henna tattoos, unfortunately these ruin the bed sheets so we would ask you to avoid them please, thank you. Summary of extra things you may need to bring; A copy of these notes. Beach towels, sorry we don’t provide these. Please do not wash sandy towels in the washing machine. Music CD’s

 

Insect repellent cream Sun cream Money for visa’s and taxi

 

24. Arrival

The apartment should have been cleaned and tidied, beds made etc. The villa electricity is turned on by putting the key into the slot just inside the front door.

25. What to do when you leave

We’d be grateful if you can leave any books that you don’t need. Please leave the villa clean and tidy. There is no need to wash any linen, we’ll take care of it. Please stack the loungers, garden chairs and their cushions under the stairs

26. Other

 

Please let us know if there is anything missing that would be useful to have in the villa. Also we'd be grateful if you could send us your comments via the web site www.iwanttobethere.co.uk The feedback form can be accessed via the ‘really useful links’ section.

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To print these notes please use the download housenotes option. The download is a pdf file and will include small beach photos, and a Fethiye town map. It may look as if it's not doing anything for a few seconds, but should download fine. If you're using a dial up modem it will take a lot longer.

'Attractions' and the terms and conditions can also be downloaded

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