Bodrum

First task, find something to eat and drink. Its 11.30 and all we have had is a yoghurt. We head along the seafront to the main mosque square and call in at a restaurant. There is a large gathering of people in the square, someone is shouting into a mega phone, and periodically people clap. When I enquire what is going on, the waiter says `bull shit politics`. Love the humour. After the peace of Selimiye, Bodrum is an offense to the ears. Cars, mopeds, people, music, it is no noiser than any other town but its just a dramatic contrast. 

After eating we get into a taxi and head for our next accomodation. We duck and weave around the complicated oneway system of narrow streets. I have completely lost my direction. I feel we are a long way from the town centre. There are kittens!!! They are playful and our luggage makes a great obstacle course. We have a fabulous view across Bodrum to the castle and the sea. Its not actually that far from the centre at all.

And best of all there is a camel living outside our bedroom window! Love camels, they are my favourite animal. So elegant and snooty. Couldn't believe my eyes, saw chickens pecking around and then realised the shadow they were scratching in was camel shaped. Deep joy. Its a scene from another time, square boxy white buildings scattering up the hillside, a little farmyard with cobbled together wooden fences, chickens and a camel. A bent backed old man with a tall stick tends the animals and fusses over the tarpaulin that gives some shade. I have since found out that the camel is one of two used for the traditional `sport` of camel wrestling. They are dressed with tassels and fringes etc, paraded through the streets to draw the crowds and then wrestle in an arena. Although I am assured they are not hurt in anyway, I dont approve and would not want to witness this myself. (Too much like dancing bears or monkeys on strings). Apparently the little old man (owner) is a very rich man, a good camel costs as much as £40,000 in Turkey. I found a jokey website that converts a humans worth into camels, apparently I am worth 26 camels! A mature, cuddly woman still has value :-)

The apartments are perfectly placed, a stones throw from the bus station, a big Migros and a huge food and textile bazaar, all under cover. When our host said to buy fruit and veg in the bazaar I was expecting a small market, not the size of two football pitches! Nuts, dried fruits and spices. Wonderful fruit and vegetables. Cheese, olive oil and olives. Eggs sold in bags of ten (no boxes, be careful carrying them home). We bought salad, cheese and eggs for dinner and fruit for breakfast. Again that wonderful Turkish humour with all the banter. 

Bodrum is expensive after Selimiye. There must be a hundred gulets moored here all along the harbour. There is the more traditional bazaar selling everything from flip flops to Turkish delight. We are enjoying a cocktail in a bar by the castle with a lovely view of the bay, reminiscing that we had been here before with friends Kim and Mark on previous gulet holidays. Then there is drumming and pipes and a young boy in a very flambouant white suit with a silver cloak and hat is processed on a decorated pony through the street. Outside our bar in the square, the procession stops, the young boy is helped off the pony and he starts to dance. There are drums and pipes and lots of clapping. An older man and a beautifully dressed lady also dance and several others join in. Its a very joyous occasion and people throw money onto the ground. While I am busy taking photos, Norman enquires of our waiter what is going on. In the Muslim tradition, this is the young boys rite of passage to being a man. He is ten years old and had been circumcised. The dancing continues, the young man looks happy and a little shy. Then he is helped back onto the pony, his clothes straightened and they move off. Norman jokes with the waiter that he was probably hoping to stay aged nine for a bit longer. Norman says if he hears pipes and drums and sees a pony heading his way he will run like the wind. There is a bit of man type banter which I diplomatically stay out of. Ha ha. 

I had the best steak with pepper sauce I have ever eaten here! 

Suddenly the streets seem very crowded! The Tui cruise ship has moored up and disgorged its thousand plus passengers. Large groups follow tour guides who hold flags aloft so no one gets lost. Perfect people watching opportunity for us. Find a cafe/bar order a drink and sit and watch the fun. I must say most of the people look a little bored, they are so busy trying to hear what the guide is saying and making sure they don't get lost they aren't taking in their surroundings at all. We have also been on these organised trips, you can glean some good information, but you also can feel like a sheep being herded along. The cruise ship its self is huge, like a floating tower block. I have been in one and they are quite nice inside. But its not pretty outside. 

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