IF ONLY I WAS THE WIND OVER THE SEA-GOLTURKBUKU

Not only famous in Turkey but all over the world, the town attracts swarms of media personalities, journalists, paparazzi, camera operators, writers and cartoonists throughout the hottest and most tempting of the seasons. The superbly chic and famous ladies and gentleman enjoy the summer lazing around on the colorful cushions spread over the landing docks in day time and wine and dine on the same landing docks, which are transformed into exquisite restaurants in the evening. Holidaymakers enjoy the fun filled nights in the famous clubs and bars until the early hours of the morning. Time flies by throughout the night.

The sun, the sea, unlimited and unrivalled entertainment attracts the jet set to this seaside town like bees to honey. It is as if the worries of the world cannot enter through the boundaries of Golturkbuku. A magnificent mixture of St Tropez, Nice and Monte Carlo in appearance and in style, Golturkbuku is god’s gift to Turkey. Here in this town, each day is an entirely new and different beginning. Everyone loves to enjoy what life offers to those visiting Turkbuku. Flashes of the cameras, daily news in the magazine sections of the newspapers and the TVs immortalize the fun filled nights, unabated entertainment and the “who cares what everyone thinks” attitude of those elite and the hangers on.

19 kilometers to Bodrum center and 45 kilometers to the airport, everything adapts to the balance of nature in Golturkbuku. Splendid-simple, nice-sluggish, good-bad, expensive-cheap can all be discovered in the details of life in this charming town. The hillsides are covered with whitewashed Bodrum homes and luxurious villas, the shore is ringed with many posh restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs and beaches, the back streets are full of old houses, dilapidated structures, silent windmills and ruins of ancient rock tombs. Filled with laughter and entertainment in summer time, the town is left for the wise and true lovers of it in the winter season.

Open on Northeastern side to the prevailing winds, the water is always warm in Golturkbuku whatever the weather is like. The islands off shore prevent the ocean winds entering the bay, thus the water seem as patient and calm as a lake. Gundogan in the East, Torba in the South West, the neighboring towns are more humble and serene than Golturkbuku. The town offers a mixture of entertainment, tranquility and joys of living amongst a lushly vegetated nature. This favorite holiday spot was given its current name in 1999 following the merger of Golkoy (Karianda) village, a center of wine making and vineyards in the antiquity and Turkbuku (Madnasa) village, an antique fishing village.

Another interesting feature of Göltürkbükü is the Azmak Bridge, which divides the town into two distinctly separate worlds. Surrounded by pine forests, olive and tangerine groves, the social life differ on either side of the bridge. The rich frequent one side of the bridge; they laze under the sun all day and consume expensive food in expensive restaurants, whereas upper middle class tourists, who are able to spend less and still enjoy the sea, frequent the other side. One thing is certain though, whether in the rich side or the ordinary side, everybody is there to enjoy themselves in this heavenly piece of geography. The world appraises the importance and beauty of Bodrum, just as it was done by New York Times newspaper. The New York Times newspaper recently featured an article on the first page of its weekend addition about Turkbuku. Turkbuku was branded as “the St. Tropez of Turkey” and various photographs of the nature and the people appeared as the visual proof of their rightful claims. The 3 full page article praises the luxurious restaurants, the bars and the hotels and stresses the fact hat the town frequently entertains the jet set of the world. The article continues to declare, “Turkbuku has a rich nightlife. Once a quiet fishing village, the town has transformed into a lively holiday resort”.

When you visualize the town from a distance, you are likely to day dream about the colorful landing docks, unlimited entertainment, joyful ladies and gentleman, a warm and calm bay appearing as if a lake and the ordinary fishing boats as well as the mega yachts anchored side by side. Moreover, of course, the best poem you could dedicate to the town is that of Turkish poet Orhan Veli Kanik “If only I was a fish in a bottle of raki…” or maybe you would write your own, which goes like this “If only I was a cushion on the dock, If only I was the wind over the seas…”


Doğan şahin-BMagazine