Fethiye is a mecca for pleasure cruising on the little wooden boats that are everywhere.  There's at least 50 or 60 different boats offering a 12 island day cruise which lets you stop off along the way for a swim and stroll before heading off again, for about 10£.  Otherwise, if you ask nicely, some fishermen might take you along if you're up early enough

The mosques were very lovely, and looked superbly peaceful, some with silver or gold topped domes.

They take their history very proudly and seriously here; monuments and flags to the great Turkish story were dotted everywhere. Ataturk and military might are recurrent themes.

This was lunch; a doner kebap and sweet Turkish tea by the seaside.  Notice the little black cat that was terrorizing a toy doberman lunching with its owner.

The boatyard just behind the hotel only added to the picturesqueness of the setting.

The harbour is the heart and soul of Fethiye, stretching the whole length of the town(about 15 or so kilometers).  The view is absolutely fantastic with the Toros mountains across the bay.  The cafes lining the sides are very pleasant, some even have giant beanbags to sit on.  Vendors with giant silver platters of huge fresh pretzels walk about the cafes hawking their goods.  I was sitting at the side of the harbour in between some boats, dangling my feet above the water when an enormous, hugely enormous sea turtle swam by(about 5 or 6 feet long!).  He put out his head out of the water, made a noise at my feet, which I had hurriedly pulled up, and swam away.  Very strange...

I saw real pelicans at the Fethiye harbour!  They were just chilling out in the fishing boats. 

My first few hours in Fethiye started off with a traditional Turkish breakfast, which generally consists of fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives, big chunks of white bread, sour yogurt, a few kinds of cheese, something similar to salami(not pork though), boiled eggs, and honey with Turkish tea, Nescafe, or orange juice to wash it down.  Afterwards I retreated to the relative peace of the room and passed the hours watching Turkish dubbed films(Bridget Jones 2, and Tarzan).  

Fethiye, Turkey

My Fethiye hotel was the Mediteran, secured for 3£ a night(about 6$) for a sea view double with breakfast thanks to www.travelrepublic.com.  It was reasonable mediocre, but no complaints at that price.  Fethiye is placed on a bay, and the Mediteran is on the West side overlooking the yatch harbour with the boat building sites just behind.  It smells of fresh wood shavings as you walk along.  At the hotel itself, it's a typical expat scene with the British camped out at the bar. The resident dogs were frolicking with two of the men, who alternated between playing fetch and sipping their beers.  

Making my way to Fethiye

My first few days in Turkey were spent in Fethiye, a lovely town on the sea.  Brits make up 60% of all the tourists so English speakers are well catered for, and there's even a few cafes that will do you a proper fry-up.  After arriving at the Dalaman airport, about 60 kms away(this is at 12am) I had to wait 6 or 7 hours at the arrivals for the shuttle buses to start running.  I managed to make my way to the Dalaman Otogar(bus station) just before sunrise.  The first sign of my being in Turkey was the call to mosque as I sat waiting for the coach to Fethiye.  It was absolutely hilarious when all the town dogs started howling along.  All the animals roam completely free in the streets: I saw several dogs, a few cats slinking into alleyways, and then a couple roosters actually crowing the oncoming dawn.  First time I've ever heard that with my own ears.  Quite exotic.  The Otogar itself is just a series of wooden huts, one for each bus operator, in the village square.  I managed to find one to Fethiye, but the whole way there I kept falling asleep and barely made it off at my stop.  The photos are the square opposite the Otogar before and after sunrise