A Place Called Onur Sitesi

People like different things, like holidays we all have differing tastes. I have been very fortunate so far to travel to some far flung destinations, but one place will always keep drawing me back. Çalış Beach, Turkey has been a holiday favorite for the last eleven years for one a series of reasons. A complex of holiday homes hold the key to many happy memories. 

Located just off Barış Manço Bulvarı is Onur Sitesi, a complex of holiday homes that hold the reason why I love this country so much! It must have been 2002 when myself and my close family set off for the Çalış Beach/Fethiye region of Turkey to look for a holiday home to enjoy, scouting for a place to spend the summer holidays in the Turkish sun. I look back at the first time I saw the house we ended up falling for, it wasn't the place I look at now, that house looked so very different. Everything happens for a reason so I know that we didn't choose this house, this house chose us! 

We favoured Greece usually for our holidays but found after they joined the European Union the price of our holiday began to skyrocket, something had to give! Turkey posed to be our new horizon, we landed into Antalya Airport in February of 2003 where we were welcomed by a bitterly cold wind and a lengthy three hour drive to reach Fethiye. UK Charter flights hadn't made it to Dalaman Airport around the time we decided to house-hunt in the Çalış area, so we used JMC to get us to Antalya Airport. After one week of tireless house-hunting and discovering the local area we settled on the house for us which was on Onur Sitesi. It took some time before we spent our first holiday their due to my parents signing documents and furnishing the house so we could all get the best out of our very own holiday home. 

Captured to the right is the main pool area, during the midday sun its roasting hot! It's great because the majority of our Turkish neighbours don't like the heat so on many occasions we had the swimming pool to ourselves. Embarking on our first few summers made me love this place even more, it was great learning a new culture and eating new foods without the disturbance of the usual Brits abroad trash! 

Having the option to go eat out or stay-in after a relaxing day by the pool has always been a added bonus of having our own holiday home. The Çalış Beach region of Turkey allowed us to enjoy several Boat Trips, Jeep Safari's and much more! Having our own house allowed us to have holidays with family and friends because their was always space for that extra couple of people. We had the best of both worlds because I write this blog with many fond memories in mind. You would think spending so many years in one place could become tedious or boring but I can honestly say that each year has brought a new adventure, I just wish I thought of blogging back then. 

This year has put things into perspective about making friends, if a conversation is effortless after not seeing a person for years then a friendship will last. I met Kayahan Attle and Çağrı Yildirim eleven years ago during my first year at Onur Sitesi, never did I think that we would be friends to this day. I spent two years away from Onur Sitesi due to my work commitments in Orlando and Newark, USA so I had missed almost three years of Turkey time. Keeping in contact with these guys throught the medium of Facebook seemed like the best thing to do. Parting as boys and returning men, myself, Kayahan andÇağrı, it was crazy to be reunited with my Turkish friends after our time apart.. I must admit that when I was younger I didn't really like talking to new people but now I would introduce myself to almost anyone. Along with my cousin Laura we had some really good nights out in Çalış, lets just say I've been a good friend because she's found her Turkish Delight this year! So, even after all my years at Onur Sitesi I will take a way these friendships and treasure them. It's not the end, its just the beginning!

So, here's to the last eleven years! Onur Sitesi it has been emotional! Who knows when I'll see you again?!Joseph Harrison