On Saturday 7th November, possibly as many as two hundred people turned up at the Kleo Bar, in very pleasant autumn sunshine, to support the KAPSA coffee morning.

This fundraising event, (in Turkish, a kermes), raised an incredible 5,510TL, which will help KAPSA to maintain its work in Kalkan, protecting street animals.  At an exchange rate of 2.47 that equates to around £2,230.

See our report, with photos below.

There were lots of bargains to be had, with stalls selling a variety of goods, including clothes, household items, books, CDs, DVDs, and lots more. 

There was lots of very tasty home made food on sale, and the Kleo Bar were selling drinks and ice-cream.  There was also a mobile gözleme van from Sofra restaurant in Kaş, which did a roaring trade, and the owner very kindly donated half of his takings to KAPSA.

Prior to the event, KAPSA had organised a painting/drawing competition for the children of Kalkan First School, and the recently opened Akbel First School.  The winners were presented with prizes just before the KAPSA raffle took place.

As usual, the raffle attracted lots of interest, and many tickets were sold.  Prizes included assorted bottles of drink, and goods donated by local shops, as well as envelope prizes, such as vouchers for meals in local restaurants. 

Mayor Saim Karakurt began the raffle draw, and Durali Kaska, the owner of Kleo Bar, took over to complete the draw.  At one point the Mayor was surprised to discover his own number had been drawn, and he gallantly chose a leather bag for his wife - probably a good thing, having given up his Saturday morning at home to undertake his Mayoral duties.

This was a well attended and convivial event.  Whilst the underlying cause was to raise funds for KAPSA, it was more than that.  It brought the community together socially - Turks and foreigners, children and adults alike, and as far as we could tell everyone was enjoying themselves.

For more information on KAPSA, please visit their website: www.kapsa.co.uk

Below: Maggi Çelik, from KAPSA and Faruk Atilgan, the headmaster at Akbel First School, look at drawings made by some of the schoolchildren. 

Below: Some of the drawings in the competition.

Below: The KAPSA coffee morning was well attended.

Below: Thinking of the environment, children from Akbel First School promote the use of reusable shopping bags.

Below: Discerning shoppers look for bargains.

Below: Maggi Çelik and Atilla Atalay present prizes to the children.

Below: Sadık Öğretir plays accordian, accompanied by a young Turkish boy.

Below: The raffle draw is made.

Below: Mayor Saim Karakurt selects a leather bag for his wife.  Meanwhile, Fiona Gray, (centre), rues the fact that she didn't reach the prize table a few seconds earlier.

Below: A group of boatmen hold an enquiry into who lost their raffle tickets.