From Cirali To Side: Phase 2 Begins

Something different is stirring in Cirali tonight. Restaurant staff are standing in the lane looking at the sky, exchanging opinions. Children chatter excitedly. Tables and chairs are moved indoors, perspex partitions manoeuvred into place, logs thrown on to fires. Something is definitely stirring.

Our final three days in Cirali have been punctuated with thunder storms, but it is clear that tonight’s storm, now looming in jet black clouds over the Taurus Mountains, is causing an extra stir amongst the villagers. They obviously know more than we do. What follows is a spectacular display of sheet and fork lightning, electric blue and stark white, from the flicker of a welder’s torch to the blinding flashes of a rock concert, for several hours right through the evening.

We make it home just before the rain. One guy tells us that these have been the first rains in Cirali since March, and the first meaningful October rainfall for 8 years. No wonder everyone was so animated as those storm clouds gathered.

Leaving Cirali is a milestone on this Turkish adventure: this is the point where our original trip would have ended with our return to the UK, had we not changed our plan, so today also sees us relinquish the hire car after 4 weeks, dropping it off at Antalya Airport but then excitedly walking away from the Terminal and heading back out into Turkey. 

From Antalya our next temporary home is the town of Side (pronounced see-day). Side is a varied mix of elements; one side of the marina is an ugly wall of high rise package hotels complete with tourist seafront restaurants and town beaches full of sun loungers. East of the Town Beach is a promontory housing the old town, a pleasant little maze of narrow streets with old houses now mostly converted to shops for tourists but still attractive for all that. Beyond there, and beyond the marina, is a long stretch of a more pleasant beach – the “East Beach”, where the Mediterranean is beautifully clear.

But there are clearly some real gems in Side too. This is the site of the ancient city of Selimiye, and its ruins and remains are extensive. All around the old town, throughout the vast sand dunes behind the East Beach, and dotted incongruously amongst modern buildings, are fantastically preserved remains of the ancient city, including sections of the city wall. Just how much of Selimiye remains, simply standing proud as modern day life goes on around it, is remarkable.

Luckily we have secured an apartment in a great position, in a quiet neighbourhood with sea views but no views of any of the package hotel district. We are just a 5 minute walk from the town beach and only a 20 minute walk across the dunes to East Beach.

Even better, the “ordinary” town is just behind us, across Ataturk Boulevard, an area which is home to the more basic eateries away from the tourist traps, and home also to the kind of shops and markets we will be needing. Home, in fact, to the permanent population of Side rather than holiday makers, so giving us the “local” feel that may be missing from the seafront area. For our extended stay in one place, we wanted to experience an “ordinary” Turkish town, but we will also need the facilities which will provided by the existence of a tourist trade.

The combination of those things seems about right here, and we quickly feel this is the place to linger, so we set about negotiating a five-week stay in our new apartment. So from here, it’s all about learning to live in a new country and a different culture, enjoying the experience of being a resident rather than a traveller.

We’re looking forward to the experience.