9/1/25
We’d tried to find a house, over a hotel and as such we were a little bit outside the centre of Bodrum. On the wrong side of the D330, the busy dual carriageway. We didn’t get up very early and stayed in bed a while. We saw the man upstairs come down to the door, holding a blanket, and we went out to say hello. He left just as quickly but soon returned bearing a gift of spinach pastries. We eagerly confirmed they were without milk and egg, before promptly consuming one and saving the other two for later.
For our lazy day we would walk down to the Mausoleum of Hellicarnassus. This was actually the second of the seven wonders of the ancient world that we wouldn’t be seeing. We struggled to really know what it was at first, the explanations always way too lengthy and complex too early on in the visit. We eventually worked out that it was the tomb for the superbly incestuous ruler of the area under the Persians. It would have been extremely prominent, at around 40m high. Only the ruins remained.
Afterwards we headed to the Bazaar. We’d been hoping to visit one soon and it was almost as we’d hoped. Lots of stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables, spices, nuts and olives. We tried our best to get the lay of the land, walking round to see what a good price was. It was very difficult. Some of the stalls didn’t have any prices. We weren’t in the mood for haggling. A stall holder let us try some walnuts wrapped in grape molasses as well as dried persimmon. We bought a small amount of the latter as well as some black mulberries. Then we went back for some flatbreads and bought a potato bread too.
It was late in the afternoon, we were tired and the Sun was baking us. Time to head back, via the supermarket. We’d become flummoxed by the prices in the Bazaar and wanted certainty. As we settled into buying our groceries from the BIM, a very cheap chain, the cashier told us there was no card payment available. Put everything back we did.
On our way to the next store we spied an HSBC bank. Now when we took cash out before we got stung 8% commission, even with our commission free card. But HSBC is a ‘global bank’ and true to their word we could take out Lira for free. Dreamy. We ended up going to a supermarket chain called Migros for our dinner. It wasn’t the cheapest but it had a good range at least. No chocolate bars suitable for Frankie though.
On our way back along the bleak D330 we stopped at the ancient amphitheater. It was free to go in and you could walk up, down and along. Anywhere you liked. It’s still used for performances and has views to the sea. The only, and significant, downside is that it is right next to the road. Like metres from it. Which makes it noisy and smelly. How anyone hears a performance there is a mystery. It used to sit 10000 people, now it’s been eroded down to 4000.
Our legs hated us now and after getting slightly lost in the maze of stairs we were finally home. We made wraps. Smoked aubergine paste with chickpeas and loads of salad. Topped with pomegranate and drizzled with tahini. Summery food for a hot day. We treated ourselves to an episode of Traitors and made ourselves comfortable on the bed that was the only suitable sofa replacement. We didn’t move much till bedtime.
Surly They Won't Make It 