As a much needed contrast from our sleeping village beauty, we rode the dolly into Bodrum for a walkabout. We found the town in frantic refashion mode with mechanical diggers in full destructive swing. The Town Hall has been utterly gutted, the promenade hassle cafés have been demolished and the crazy paving beneath is being excavated. All along the narrow pedestrianised ‘bar street’ the cobbles have been ripped up leaving a multi-puddled dirt track and entire buildings have been razed revealing views of the Aegean not seen since Mausolus was on the throne. A chic new civic square overlooking the crusader castle would be a spectacular urban statement. I suspect it’s not to be. Doubtless, short sighted, short term commercial considerations will prevail.
As befits the town’s reputation as the summer playground for the Turkish urban elite, I sincerely hope that sufficient time, money and imagination will be spent on the finished product.
In a vain effort to raise its game, Bodrum’s ill-favoured ugly sister, Gümbet, had its own makeover last year. But still the roads leading into the tacky resort remain grimly uninviting, marred by dereliction and casual building debris. The meagre improvements to the central townscape look cheap, rushed and unfinished. You can’t polish a turd.
Perking the Pansies 
Your comments on Gumbet are so true! We lived through the hell and devastation last winter and hopefully ( although cynically) awaited the new and exciting finished landscape…… and as you’ve seen it was not to be. The work started late, ran over time and was hastily finished as the tourists arrived. The one way system is appalling and constantly ignored by surly Turkish drivers. Let’s hope that Bodrum does not suffer the in the same way. Our Mayor is indeed forward thinking and ambitious, alas I think others are not quite so in tune with what Bodrum and Gumbet need.
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Thanks for the Frontline news. Will be interested to hear progress updates on the developments. While we’re on the construction topic – I heard there were plans to build a Migros near the Mosque on the road into Gumusluk (about 2km out) – don’t suppose you’ve ridden the Dolly that way recently?
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Yes, it’s being chucked up as I write. I hear it’ll be topped off with a roof top restaurant with amazing views. Expect it to be up and running for the start of the season.
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Great! We live round the corner from there – so it’ll be interesting to see it when we arrive in June…
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Good luck!
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