Unguided Blog

Just by co-existing we affect our environment. It will be naive to assume that in order to protect environment every development effort must be stopped or rejected. World population is increasing, recession is on our doorstep, so there will be an increasing pressure to exploit natural resources and habitats. Hence, an optimum has to be sought by all environmentalists. Investment and property development may adversely affect nature but so does unemployment, hunger and poverty.

A few minutes ago I read Greenewalt’s and Ekolof’s names have been given to the meeting room and the main restaurant of Lydia Sardes Hotel which will serve as a thermal resort and congress center in Salihli, Manisa.

Professor Crawford H. Greenewalt is still directing the archaeological research and the digging of course in the ancient city of Sardes and he is not informed of the gesture, yet. Sufi poet Gunnar Ekolof on the other hand, was deeply in love with Sardes. His “Divan for Prince of Emgion” (published in 1965) was written in Sard, the ancient city of Sardes. After his death on 16 March 1968, his ashes were flown over the Sard river near Artemis Temple as per his will.

Although accepting guests since March 2008, the hotel will officially be opened in the Fall of this year and a “guest of honor” card will be given to Prof. Greenewalt (American). A ceremony for Swedish poet Ekolof will also be held in the event.

I consider most if not all of these as marketing pranks, but I have not seen the place, yet. If the management is as half considerate as in their selection of names, I expect something good. It will definitely be on my check list. Until then, I can only thank them for remembering Greenewalt and Ekolof.

It was finally over. The fire that wiped out most of the forests in Gulnar, Mersin was extinguished a few days ago. Another one started, this time in Bodrum. And yet another will start in the days to come. And another one…

While the we’re-on-top-of-the-food-chain crowd congregates in the Dumbs Club in Ankara, just like their predecessors did, only these are closer to their deity or so they claim and/or believe, 14,000 km2 of forests disappeared in the last 50 years. Gone!

But they worked hard, really they did. They deserved their long sought vacation. Was it not they who had passed law after law each time the courts canceled their greed? Was it not they who claimed “by selling the lands that lost their value as a forest, moneys would pour into their pockets, sorry the Treasury?” How does a forest un-become a forest?

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A small victory for all lovers of nature and environmentalists. Yesterday, Izmir 1st Court canceled a government regulation which would allow construction of 14 golf courses and hotels in Cesme-Alacati-Pasalimani region. It would really break my heart to see the region in my blacklist.

The Department of Culture and Tourism run by our assholystic[1] government desperately in need of money to buy strips of land in the heavens were about to wipe out the remaining forests of gum trees (you can find them only here in Turkey) and the endemic huile de cade (lat. juniperus macrocarpa).

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Choosing the right golf resort can be a daunting task when your alternatives are multiplying day by day, especially in a city like Antalya, Turkey where the tourism season lasts almost all year long. Here are some quick tips to guide you and ease your pain:

The Right Location

Antalya is a big city. Not only it has a long coast line by the Mediterranean, the city limits go far north, up to the Taurus mountains. And it can be very hot in summer. Observing temperatures of 40+ degrees Celsius in the months of July and August is not uncommon. There is a neat trick at your disposal, however: choose a place that was once a forest like Belek or Side (Sorgun). Although most of the trees like Turkish Pines (lat. Pinus Brutia) would have been butchered, some were left to provide you shade and comfort. When you want to take a break, you can enjoy a precious moment or two resting your back to a few of those pines left. Besides, the trees will enhance your panoramic view when you are sipping from your tequila sunrise.

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In the name of following a balanced and less biased view, contrary to what they did to forests in Belek, Antalya, the government did the right thing to protect the sharks (lat. Carcharnius Plumbeus) by closing the Boncuk Bay in Marmaris, Mugla to all. Boncuk Bay is the only place in northern hemisphere where these lovely animals lay their eggs (the second one being in South America).

After giving them a ticket of approximately 15000 usd for renewal of toilets without permission, the authorities have shut down the only facility in the bay. The facility had 3 (three) rooms and a camping area and has been in service for 30 years.

I am aware that our beloved government seems like a pioneer of democracy in the eyes of the many, so I will not comment any further on the procedure. Renewal of toilets without permission, eh? One wonders if the visiting scientists, marine biologists, staff of environmental agencies etc will ever need a place to stay. Perhaps a better, more modern facility is required to ensure the safety of sharks, who knows? Think about it. A theme park of sharks that does not harm humans (they do not)! Instead of a family run business with three rooms, an amusement hotel run by a professional management perhaps? A group of wise people who know when and how to renovate toilets?

But a few things in the story are really amusing. For example let us read what the Governer of Mugla Dr. Ahmet Altiparmak said when asked to comment:

I learned the closing of the facility from the DHA reporter (yeah, that’s why the press is sooo important). I am investigating…

I am, too.