Akbuk Rob's Weblog

Gone For Now

2011-04-23T01:47:00.001+03:00

My apologies for not keeping up this blog but I simply have not had the time and to be honest Google Blogger is winding me up.

I like Google and use several of their applications but what really gets my goat is their assumption that because I am located in Turkey I want all their pages in Turkish, if I wanted that I would log into google.com.tr (Turkish) but alas the bright sparks at Google don't see it like that, instead they trace my IP address location and automatically re-direct me. This only occurs when I clean my browsers cache which deletes the cookie's they install on my computer but it is bloody annoying nonetheless.

Google please take note - I know what language I use, I don't need your help in that department.

Also Google Blogger and some other Google applications are often difficult or impossible to access from my location, this is not Google's fault but the shite ADSL service provided by TTNet. Sometimes it's like wading through treacle.

I have registered a blog with WordPress which doesn't treat me like an imbecile and downloads better in Akbuk. I still don't have the time yet to regularly add new posts on either blog because my website keeps me pretty busy, but readers are very welcome to comment on any of the existing threads.

Thanks for reading and thanks to all who have posted comments.

No Golf Course For Akbuk

2010-10-02T19:03:00.000+03:00

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism have officially announced they have canceled the project which was to be built by an Istanbul investment company on a 75,000 sq mtr plot between Akbuk and Didim.

The land will now be carved up and leased or sold to local investors for other building projects.

The decision to cancel the project was made following pressure from the Didim Chamber of Commerce who clearly have the best interests of the region in mind . . . Don't they?

Did the planned golf course influence your decision to buy property in the area? Did you believe estate agents and builders hype? Do we actually want a golf course?

Your comments are invited.

Health problems at Apollonium Club La Costa

2010-08-19T21:05:00.002+03:00

Many holiday makers at Club La Costa's newest resort at Apollonium have been falling ill with sickness and diarrhoea, according to posts published on Trip Adviser and other reports sent to me.

Club La Costa management, representatives and medic have been telling sick guests it is due an air-borne sickness caused by the pollen coming down from the mountains affecting the whole region. Apollonium is situated close to the village of Bozbuk approx 9-10 Km from Akbuk by road, less as the crow fly's, yet no one here seems to be having such problems, apart from overdoing it on the Efes. Food poisoning and poor hygiene are the reasons being blamed for this epidemic according to posters on Trip Advisor.

The problems appear to have started in July and to date have only got worse. Temperatures in August have been hitting the 40's C.

If you are planning visiting this resort in the near future you may like to read the growing number of reports for yourself, here is the link Reviews Apollonium_Club_La_Costa.
I am also inviting your comments on this blog.

Change To Tourist Visa Regulations

2010-07-16T02:49:00.002+03:00

New tourist visas have started to be issued to Brit's coming into Turkey which if enforced will close the loophole for ex-pats living here on 90 day tourist visas. The new stamps now being issued state multiple entry visa valid for a stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days. The passport police at Izmir airport have confirmed that regulations have changed and now UK passport holders can only stay in Turkey on a tourist visa for a total of 90 days in a period of 180 days and if you use your 90 days all at once you cannot re-enter Turkey for another 90 days.

Currently some British ex-pats choose to live here on cheap £10, 90 day tourist visas, taking a day trip to Kos before their visas expire. These new regulations, if enforced, will mean those people would now have to apply for a residence permit which costs £40 for the first month and £30 per month thereafter, so a one year permit would cost £370 per person. The price of residence permits for British passport holders virtually doubled at the start of this year.

This regulation would also affect visitors and property owners who chose to spend more than 3 months here at one time.

Your comments are invited.

Electric Scooters The Pros and Cons

2010-07-02T13:41:00.009+03:00

These little machines appear to be growing in popularity and are springing up all over the town. Are you considering buying one? Here are some of the pros and cons.

Pros.
No licence required
No road tax
No insurance
No MOT's
Just buy it & ride it.

Cons.
Not very powerful: They are only really suitable for one person unless you are both slim, hills could be a problem.
Too quiet: hard to hear these bikes coming, car owners often open their doors while the rider is approaching, people walk out in front of them.
Security: Lock them up well, no licence plates means they are in the same class as push bikes, if it was stolen how could it ever be tracked down.
Poor battery life: After a year or two you will need a new set of batteries, cost about 200 TL or so.

Here are some technical specs of the Mondial ES3 priced at 1,234 TL

Engine: 250W 48V
Weight: 58.5
UGY dimensions mm: 1720 x 620 x 1070 mm
Traction Power: 9.6 Nm
Climb Angle: 6°
Battery: 12V x 12Ah x4
Maximum Load Capacity: 75Kg
Maximum Speed: 25 Km/
Use battery Range: 40 Km
Charging Time: 8 hours
Wheel size: 16 inches
Battery Input: AC 220V
Front - Rear Brake: Campane

Akbuk Marie Attacked By Street Dogs.

2010-02-25T01:40:00.001+02:00

A couple of days ago my wife was walking back from the shops along the main road in Akbuk. She was adjacent to Gulkent Sitesi when 4 big dogs ran from around the corner and surrounded her, Marie instantly froze. The dogs were not interested in the shopping bag which only contained bread and potatoes. The lead dog (biggest) jumped up at Marie's back tearing her cardigan, fortunately she managed to remain standing.

Our biggest thanks to the bekci at Gulkent who saw the attack and came running to help and chased the dogs away.

My wife was very shaken by the incident and says she dreads to think what would have happened if she had been a child or elderly weak person. Apart from her nerves and a couple of marks on her back she is ok.

The attack took place in broad daylight at 3pm and the lead dog had a tag in its ear denoting it had been neutered and released!

Motoring Offence - A True Story

2010-02-14T00:54:00.001+02:00

A good friend of mine was recently on his way to Didim on his motor scooter. Whilst bouncing over bumps on the main road into Didim the back luggage box flew off its housing, bounced on the road and smashed right into the windscreen of a following Jandarma van, shattering the glass.

Not surprisingly the heavily armed military police pulled my friend over. After half an hour checking his documents the offending box was put in the Jandarma vehicle and the rider was instructed to follow the van.

When entering Didim my friend was convinced they were taking him to headquarters, but NO! instead they led him to the motor cycle dealers garage, gave them a ticking off and forced their engineer to refit the box free of charge. When the job was done the Jandarma said "Good Day" and went on their way.

One wonders how the UK police would have dealt with a situation like this!

Tumbling Interest Rates Cause Hardships For Ex-pats

2009-09-30T00:31:00.005+03:00

Interest rates in Turkey have hit yet another all time low and the central bank plans to make further cuts. The overnight borrowing rate is now just 7.25%, this is now the 11th consecutive month interest rates have been cut. Whilst this is very high compared to UK and Europe etc. it is less than half it was just a year ago.

Many ex-pats in Turkey rely on income from bank interest to survive here, in September last year 150,000TL would earn about 2,000TL net interest per month, now it will take almost 340,000TL (£144,000).

Lower inflation should help those suffering from this tight squeeze but whilst the official inflation rate is less than 6%, electricity prices have rose by 60% in the last year with another big hike of up to 21% starting 1st October.

I have noticed new adverts from Brits appearing in the local Voices newspaper recently, offering services like hairdressing, dog minding, gardening, odd jobs and more. Some British ex-pat have been observed working in Akbuk bar(s). Without proper work permits these people are risking heavy fines and possible deportation, even if they are not paid in cash. The Turkish government is getting tougher on illegal workers, deportation could be devastating for ex-pats who own property here.

So if you are thinking about relocating to Turkey, do your sums carefully, one thing is certain in the near future interest rates will continue to fall and the cost of living will continue to rise.

A little bit of Turkeys financial history . . . 5 years ago banks were paying 33% interest and in February 2002 interest rates were over 50%. Those who had the nerve made real money.

Attention Owners of Rental Properties in Akbuk

2009-09-02T04:35:00.005+03:00

We are regularly asked for contacts for holiday rentals, if you have a website or page and link to our site, email us with your website/page address and we will add it to the list of properties for rent we send to inquirers.

We now also offer photo links from our website to yours, to see examples visit www.akbukturkey.com/Rentals.html

If you don't have a website yet, we offer an at-cost service from £20 per year, click this link for more information www.akbuk.homestead.com (only available for rentals in the Akbuk area).

Stray Dogs and Restaurants

2009-08-29T11:31:00.019+03:00

I have seen this in Akbuk many times; someone sitting in a restaurant throwing food to a stray dog, or walking over a few yards to feed one. So what's wrong with that? What these people don't see are the consequences, the dog now knows if it hangs around that place there will be food and in fact there is because another "animal lover" will do the same, within no time there are several dogs appearing, but now they actually wander into the restaurant and approach tables.

If you think it's only the Brit's that use these restaurants you are wrong, apart from the many Turkish residents and holiday makers, there are many weddings etc which occur here, gatherings of 50-150 family members & friends are not uncommon. Have you seen how some Turks react when a dog comes up to a table where they are eating? They and many of us Brit's don't like it! But thanks to the "animal lovers" we now have this problem. I have seen owners & staff try to shoo these animals away but it has little effect because the animals brain has associated the place with food.

Put yourself in the owners position; these strays are actually loosing you business, Turks & others who want to eat unmolested are no longer coming into your establishment, you have staff to pay, you have rent to pay, you have bills to pay, you have your family to provide for, what can you do? Ask the council to round them up and find them new homes with loving owners ... Yea right. The council cannot even put healthy strays to sleep IT IS AGAINST THE LAW IN TURKEY and all these dogs are healthy because they have been well fed by the so called "animal lovers". The restaurant owner may be left with a simple choice, get rid of them himself or go bust. How can he get rid of this problem? Shoot them ... No that's against the law and someone will see. Take them to a dog pound ... There aren't any in Akbuk and all those places do is neuter & release so they will be back. Or what about the traditional Turkish way, POISON. He ain't gonna get caught, the dog(s) could have died of anything, no ones gonna do an autopsy and my problem is solved. Problem is, have you ever seen an animal die of food poisoning? Not a pretty site and somewhat unpleasant for the animal to say the least.

So next time you throw some scraps to a dog at or near a restaurant, consider the consequences. Might be kinder to put your boot up its butt, then it would associate the restaurant with pain and not go there.

As always I welcome your comments, you don't have to register or supply your email address or blood group etc. just write your comments and click Post. But please take the trouble to add your name or pseudonym, "Anonymous" comments will be rejected.

Attention Pet Owners in Akbuk

2009-08-13T04:57:00.013+03:00

Do you go to Didim to buy your pet food & supplies?
Would you like to have your items delivered to Akbuk?

Some friends & I feel there is enough trade available in our town to make it worth while for a cheap supplier to deliver our pets needs to Akbuk, perhaps to a central point where we could collect our supplies without having to go all the way to Didim. To that aim I have started a Web Poll on our Akbuk website. If you live in Akbuk and buy pet food etc, we are asking you to join the poll.

If we get enough votes we will approach one or more leading suppliers in Didim and report back.

Poll closed 13 September.

Supporters or Freeloaders

2009-08-04T18:45:00.005+03:00

With all the new complexes (holiday camps) recently built or under construction in Akbuk, complaints are starting to emerge from new owners about out outsiders using their facilities.

Here is the problem - A new complex is built, naturally owners of individual properties want facilities, bar, restaurant, pool etc. So all is built, but who will run the restaurant/bar? Will they make a profit? The answer is unless there are dozens of people buying food and drinks every day they will not and when the winter comes and owners have deserted the place, what about the patron and his/her family? they still have to eat & pay their bills plus pay the rent & taxes for the business. So without bums on seats the restaurant/bar is going to fold. If not enough owners spend money there how can they increase their income to survive, should they open it up to the general public?

The Memsahib (Marie) and I were recently enjoying a few beers in such an establishment when a British couple arrived, she was moaning & bitching about outsiders using the facilities on site, the phrase she used was "freeloaders". So were we freeloading or helping to support the facilities on their site by spending money? If we spend money we expect to be able to use the pool or we will take our business elsewhere.

But wait ..... "What about the £500 a year I am paying to the site management", I hear you say, "when we signed up for this place they promised us these facilities, no one said outsiders could use them".

What do you think? - Have your say, click the "comments" link and give your opinion. This blog can be read on our website where we have 1,000 visitor a week, your comments could influence site owners.