Housesitting in Turkey, Walking with animals

Housesitting in Turkey

Suzanne

It’s 5 am, our alarm has gone off.  

With its individuality and uniqueness, just like the area, we are in.  It is also not one that most people get to experience.  Unless you happen to be in a Muslim country.  And we are.  The place is in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country.

What else would you expect other than an ezan chant coming through a loudspeaker at 5 a.m.?  The first of four ezan chants and we have begun our day.

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Just in case that didn’t stir some life in us, the local dog feels compelled to add its voice in competition with the male voice, sadly both could be heard in equal amounts, off tune and very loud!.  Did I mention how loud it is?  Think back to your good old days of school sports events.  With that over-enthusiastic teacher holding the portable loudspeaker and trying to instil enthusiasm into a bunch of bored teenagers.  Have you got the picture?

Now, getting back to our current situation.

One foot after another, hoping that the energy levels will increase by the time we leave the house.  They do.   As we both know that once we are out walking it does have that feel good feeling, and Tequila appreciates our early morning extraction from our very comfortable bed.   With a quick gulp of some pomegranate juice, grab some cat biscuits [not for us] to put into a bag, Tequila and her lead.  A yell out to Arab sleeping down the road and we are off.

First stop, is to feed the group of cats just around the corner and one of them just happens to be Kizzy’s mother.

Unfortunately, Turkish people do not have a good record when it comes to the care and desexing of domestic animals.  I do believe more people do care about animals than those who do not. This can be seen by how many people feed the street cats and dogs.  If you do as much as you are able, on a daily basis, this will be a more efficient way to help the animals than trying to change a culture’s attitude.  It’s not our place to do so, we are only visitors.  We do our bit by keeping up with what was started by the people whose home and animals we are looking after.  I admire their attitude to the plight of animals.

Just hopped off my soapbox.

On with the story about our walks around the neighbourhood. With the cats feed we head off for a 5km walk around the countryside.

With the cats feed we head off for a 6 km walk around the countryside.  Which by my standards is not a long walk, it is however LONG when the humidity is up and the temperature at 6 am is 26 deg.  Luckily us kiwis are a tough breed, we can handle it! [Slight exaggeration, we do have the occasional meltdown!]

Around the dirt road, passing the odd farm and a worker watering or weeding their crops which are grown in between the trees.

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This country is such a mixture of old world charm and the new.  

Old farming techniques seem to be usually carried out by women and the men driving the newish tractor.  Though this morning we did see a woman meandering down the road in one, always an exception to every rule!.  We admired the woman who was swinging an old style grubber to remove weeds around the trees, in hot conditions covered in clothing from head to toe!

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Around this agricultural area, it is not picture perfect.

The trees that are grown in this area are pomegranate and citrus.  The leftover citrus on the ground is usually tracked down by Tequila.  You see they bear a resemblance to another favourite round thing called a tennis ball, which Tequila is obsessed with.  Actually, there is something else she loves more than a ball.  Well, maybe.  Her second love would be a good splash around in the waterways.

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She is hilarious as she will jump into one, then run out and repeat the process a few hundred metres up the road, leaving wet paw prints on the dirt road.

No Tequila we have no idea where you are. Indeed we don’t, as we pass her and she is sitting amongst the reeds, playing hide and seek with us.  Funny dog.

As we amble along the roadside, we do pass a few houses which of course have more than one dog that needs to let us know we are venturing into its territory. Indeed we don’t want to stay, we are just passing by!!  Distracting annoying animals is quite easy when you have dry dog food with you.

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The sun is now rising further into the sky, time to pick up the pace and head back to home base for breakfast and that most welcome first cup of coffee.  Of course, this is not the end of our walks I will be back to give you another glimpse into the countryside of Dalyan, Turkey as we are here until the end of August.

Housesitting in Turkey

 

 

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

46 thoughts on “Housesitting in Turkey”

    1. Thanks Em 🙂 The weather has been shocking not only in the UK! NZ is being hit with storm after storm, not looking good in some parts of the country!

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  5. I love your dog having his own freedom to adventure. The waterways look scenic and lush. It is true just going on holiday for a week in some hyped up resort like Fethiey clouds your picture obscures the real Turkey… we may need to give it a second chance. I so loved the sound pouring from the Minaret’s. Thanks for sharing your walk.

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    1. Thanks Ellen. Tequila is a joy to look after. Though definitely not our dog. Some things in life are worth having another go at, visiting Turkey would be one of those I think.

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    1. Orla, I have some bad news for you. The older you get the less you feel inclined to sleep in, as thoughts of “life is too short to be wasted in bed” come to mind 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Shelley. Pleased to hear you had an enjoyable holiday. We are definitely into avoiding tourist traps. Unless it is something we really want to see. We are really wanting to see some museums which are on the agenda in September!

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  12. What a place to be walking through. Again your photos have done a great job of displaying the sights and scenery. Quite often images on news these days focus solely on the bad things and negative vistas. It makes everywhere look bleak and unappetising. You are showing places off they forget to and its quite refreshing to know outside the news and small percentage of idiots that the world is open and worth taking the time to explore 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Gary. Unfortunately, in most things in life, it is always just a few that ruin it for the masses. There is always negative and positive points to each place we have been to if you look deeper enough. It’s the positive I choose to focus on. Too easy to pick out the negative!

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      1. Very true and a very good way of approaching life. It’s way too easy to moan and find problems and yet less easy to turn that round and find the positives. Often they are more numerous too. I think the former thinking is partly down to how media and press are over fascinated by running everything down. Love your outlook 😊

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  13. I remember our friend Arab. 🙂 I think you’re right about trying to change a culture as a visitor. In this case, better to be a part of what is, than trying to change it, or lament that more has not been done to control the animal population. Some battles must be left to others to solve. But, observing it–the sounds, the women, the men, the cats–all of that is part of creating change, too, in its own way. I love your meanders.

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    1. I feel honoured by your comment, thanks very much Melanie. It has been interesting exploring a small part of Turkey.

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    1. Annoying is another word for the ‘noise’ first thing in the morning. Though we have got used to it now as you do with noise! Tequila is a very funny and playful dog!

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  17. This brings back memories. One of our last overseas holidays was to Turkey. So many cats! I think 90% of our photos have at least one cat in them. The humidity rings true as well. I will say, however, that your order of events are a little backwards for me. I’m not fit to intermingle with humanity prior to having at least one cup of coffee. 😬

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    1. More dogs here than cats, though don’t quote me on that, it just looks like it there are more. Yes the humidity is a killer, Now we think its getting cool at 22 degs, the cooler weather will be a challenge when we change countries! I would lose motivation to go for a walk mucking around making a coffee. Makes me walk faster back just to get my first coffee!!

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  19. I’m glad to read you are having such a good time with Tequila and enjoy the area you are in. The early morning hours seem to be the time for a walk/hike. Just like in the tropics… But, you have time to take it easy in Dalyan. And, hopefully the last call for prayer is not too late! 🙂

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