Turunç Diary - April 2024

Merhaba

The promised opening of the mountain road in January came - and went - with a few accidents on the diversion road. It finally opened unofficially on 4th February and, after a bit of resurfacing, officially on 8th. Railings have also been installed on the Içmeler side and it feels like they've been there forever.

Tapas Mapas held another successful fund raiser for the village school on 17 February and raised around 15,000tl: very well done!

Fidans had a curry night on 29 February in aid of Turunç Cats Charity and raised over 15,000tl. Congratulations to everyone involved.

The Marmaris Aegean Rally was held between 22-24 March with routes taking in Marmaris, Içmeler and the Asparan road.

Ramadan this year falls/fell between 11 March and 9 April. During this time a lot of building work came to a stop. On other sites however it carried on. After the three-day Bayram holiday which follows I'd imagine building will continue until it has to stop for the tourist season.

31 March saw local elections. The new Muhtar for the next five years in Turunç is Mehmet Demir. He is the local representative to advance any issues to the Marmaris Municipality.

Pasha Restaurant has hade a winter makeover and is open for business.

Yalı Restaurant is still a work in progress and hopes to be open early May.

Weather at the start of the year was pretty wild with a tornado spotted in Alanya but, as Easter came around, temperatures were in the mid 20's with the shops open to welcome the tourists from Marmaris. Boat trips are already underway.

The Turkish economy continues to experience high inflation with official statistics quoting 68% for February 2024. At the same time, the Turkish Lira is weakening against other currencies and is now trading at around 40TL to the British Pound Sterling compared to around 32 one year ago. The combined effects of these factors is hard to judge and foreign visitors will find some things more expensive and others more or less the same when converted to their currency. Nevertheless, Turkey remains a great-value holiday destination and I am sure you will have a fantastic time if you visit us in Turunç this year.

Gürüşürüz!