From the Kali Strata, Symi to the Datca Street Market in Turkey

An imposing door to a neglected mansion on the Kali Strata.

The municipal whitewashing marathon is now working its way down the Kali Stata. This is the section from the view corner up to the square with its tavernas and kafeneions.  The Symi Dream shop and the Olive Tree are on this stretch.

A municipal employee weeding and sweeping the Kali Strata in anticipation of the painter who is working his way down from the top.  No rogue lettuce or stray dandelions will stand a chance.

Cartoon carpets airing on the Kali Strata.

The new organic ethnic food shop that has opened in Yialos, near our Symi Visitor Accommodation office.

A butcher's shop in Datca, Turkey.  No one in Turkey is squeamish about window displays in this part of the world and butchers in both Greece and Turkey have no problems with displaying carcasses in the window or in the display cases.  The red colour of the sausages comes from generous quantities of sweet paprika and tomato.

The fresh produce market in Datca.  Shopping bags on wheels are standard kit for street market shoppers, whether in Datca or at the Laiki (popular street markets) in Rhodes and Athens.

Another view of the street market in Datca.  As the rainfall is higher there, they are able to grow all sorts of things in their sheltered valleys.  You can find anything you want as long as it is locally grown and in season.

Bling and some rather formidable foundation garments on the right.

Time for the shop assistants to take a tea break before packing up at the end of the day.

I went to Datca, Turkey,  for the weekend to help friends bring their boat back.  We had a little time in the street market on Saturday afternoon before it was all packed away.  This market goes all round the region and is set up in the back lanes of Datca town every Saturday.  It sells everything from fresh produce and artisanal cheeses to designer knock-offs, jolly plastic housewares and agricultural implements. There is even a fellow who fixes new handles on saucepans and hoses on vacuum cleaners.  Although there is no longer an official weekly excursion to Datca from Symi as the legislation became too onerous and expensive, there is none the less still a lot of traffic between the two ports.  It was interesting to observe that a lot of the larger and more glamourous boats that we see coming into Symi, flying the US flag and registered in Wilmington, Delaware, are actually Turkish owned and this is simply a flag of convenience.

On Sunday morning a succession of fat rain clouds drifted across Datca and poured rain upon us.  We had quite a bumpy trip back across in the early afternoon in a brisk south-westerly wind and big thunderclouds hovered, growling purple over the Turkish coast. Symi remained determinedly dry and only had the benefit of the special effects.  According to the long range forecast, however, there is the possibility of more thunderstorms and squally weather later this week so we may yet have another downpour like the showers we enjoyed last week.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Will There be Rain on 1 October?

I never know what I am going to see on my walk to work in the morning. A laden donkey munching thistles next to two boats half way up a mountain is not as odd as it sounds when one lives on Symi.

A donkey and pony train being loaded up to take building materials to a property that does not have vehicle access. This is one of the reasons why building or restoring properties on Symi is so expensive. Very few properties have close vehicle access and all building materials have to be carried up and down steps and along narrow lanes.

A lone dove on a wire above the Kali Strata.

The view from my office balcony this morning.  The water taxis are still operating but are not as busy as they were a few weeks ago and there is a definite 'winding down' feel to the island now.  Some businesses are already laying off staff for the winter and the ferry schedule is much reduced.

The metallic blue bus is the one that goes to Panormitis monastery on the south side of the island.  The timetable is up on the kiosk at the main bus stop in the harbour.  The diagonal contraption across the hillside towards the right of the photograph is a contraption devised to send building materials down a chute to a building site among the houses from the road above - a contrivance to avoid having to carry materials up 80 steep steps from the quay and along a lane. There is another chute, somewhat shorter, down to a gap between the houses on the quay for removing rubble from the same site.

As the weather is becoming cooler the range of fresh produce available on the island is becoming more varied. Other parts of Greece have already had rain and market gardens in Rhodes and Crete are able to produce under irrigation all year round.

It is the last day of September and Symi is starting to wind down for the long winter sleep. The ferry schedule has diminished considerably and will be reduced even further from the middle of the month.  The weather forecast is once again promising us countrywide rain tomorrow with possible thunder storms to help it on its way.   Temperatures are still in the high twenties and it is very humid. 
After so many months of drought and only a muddy sprinkle a few weeks ago there is an air of eager anticipation among the locals who are keen for the weather to break and the growing season to begin.

On a more serious note, a group of 22 Syrian refugees has arrived at Symi police station. The group includes women and children and once again the island's support group is swinging into action to provide clothes and bedding.  Food, water and medical facilities have been arranged as two of the women are in poor health.  It is believed that they will only be on Symi for a few days but whether their destination will be a holding centre elsewhere in Greece or if they will be returned to Turkey is unclear at this stage.  If you are on holiday on Symi and have any clean suitable clothes or left over toiletries (shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste) that you don't want to take back home with you, please can you contact us at Symi Visitor Accommodation.  Thank you.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana



 

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August in Symi

The harbour is so crowded at this time of the year, this catamaran decided to double park and raft up to a neighbour.



The morning after the end of Ramadan.  This year Eid, the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, fell in early August, bringing us far more Turkish boats than usual.  The harbour and outer anchorages were packed on Wednesday night.



Wall to wall yachts.  The gap is left by the Dodecanese Seaways catamaran which had pulled out only minutes before.



This old Bosphorus vaporetto looks as though it is straight out of the film 'Fitzcarraldo'



Pedi bay, looking like a floating town.  I counted over 50 yachts and motor boats in there at 7 this morning.



There are, however, some quiet and uncrowded places.  There is a cat in this photograph of the Kali Strata.



Like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, the cat disappeared down a narrow alley...

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