On Tuesday 20th April, the Governor (Kaymakam) of Kaş, Süleyman Yılmaz, and other senior officials, invited local foreign residents to a meeting.

It was held in the Kaş Belediye, and was an attempt to get to know how foreigners feel about living in this region, and to answer any questions they may have.

As Kalkan falls within the Kaş region, Kalkan Turkish Local News went along to listen.

It was a very interesting couple of hours.  We apologise for the length of this article, but there is something here for everyone, if you persevere to the end.

Given that many Turks we know in Kalkan can't understand the public announcements, foreigners have got no chance.

As far as Kalkan is concerned, (and perhaps Kaş too), KTLN believes that technology can provide a good solution.  If important public announcements can be shown on the Kalkan Belediye website, (in Turkish), KTLN is happy to provide a free email alert service that will translate the message into English, and email it to all registered members who wish to receive an email.  We would also include the original message, in Turkish, for Turkish KTLN members.  We hope we can progress this idea.

Emergency plan
The same resident asked why there was no publicly known plan for where residents should gather, in the event of a major catastrophe, like an earthquake.  The Governor answered that there are places identified for such instances on the outskirts of town.  He also said that in the event of a major incident, Kaş would be able to call on emergency services from Antalya, and other major cities.

Stone moan
A man raised a point about his car being damaged by stones on the road.  He helpfully suggested a solution, namely, procuring a steam-roller, to squash the stones back into the road surface.

Two interesting points emerged from this.  Firstly, if your car is badly damaged, you can claim on your insurance.  You would have to call out the traffic police, who would write a report, and you would then submit this to your insurers.  Providing your claim is valid, you should be paid out, subject to the terms of your policy.  The insurers would then claim back money from the road contractors, if it is deemed they have been negligent.

The second point is that nearby roads are due to be resurfaced, which should improve the driving experience.  However, no time frame was mentioned for this resurfacing work.

It wasn't specifically mentioned, but we suspect that the steam-roller option will not be followed up.

Recycling
A lady mentioned that elsewhere in Turkey she had seen rubbish recycling, and she asked if Kaş had any plans to do this.  The audience was told that this is something that will be introduced, however, again, no timescale was mentioned.

Sea pollution
An Italian marine biologist, who lives on the peninsular, spoke very elequently about pollution in the sea around Kaş.  His concerns were backed up by other residents, who had witnessed what apeared to be illegal discharges into the sea.  In fact the meeting was told that some residents had taken local businesses to court on this matter.

The marine biologist said that he was willing to work with the Governor and his team to address some of these issues, and it was an offer that the Governor was happy to accept.  

The point was also made by the Chief of Police that they would like members of the community to be extra eyes and ears, looking out evidence of wrongdoing, which should be reported, so that the authorities can follow up, and take action where appropriate.

Tapu problems
Some members in the audience raised concerns about not being able to obtain tapus for their properties.  One lady referred to the fact that she had a tapu for her land, but not the building on it.  This was apparently due to her builder's reluctance to complete the paperwork, as he would at that point have to pay tax.  We were not sure how the Governor was supposed to intervene in this, and as far as we can tell, there was no specific response given.

Another group were concerned about being unable to obtain tapus, because their properties are outside the town plan.  Currently, it is virtually impossible to get a tapu in a rural area.  The advice was given to always check with the local authorities before you buy out of town.

The people in question confirmed that they did make such checks, but during the time it took to complete their purchases, Turkish national law was changed, preventing tapus from being issued.  Whilst the residents concerned were looking for a solution from the Kaş Governor, he clearly cannot overrule national laws, so unfortunately, there appears to be no immediate, obvious solution.

Market trips
A member of the audience said that the Friday market in Kaş is dangerous - i.e. tripping hazards.  Some people have injured themselves.  The Mayor said that this location is in fact a protected area, and privately owned.  They are currently talking to the owner about the suitability of this site.

Pedestrianisation
A question was asked about the closure of the inner and outer harbour roads, in Kaş.  It was along the lines of, how long will the roads be closed, and have you made provision for where the cars can now park, with these roads being unavailable.

The answer given was that the roads around the harbour are now permanently closed to cars.  This drew an audible gasp from disgruntled car owners, and a simultaneous sigh of relief from pedestrians.  

One member of the audience said he had dreamed of a time when cars would be banned, and he was delighted.  But with a slight sting in the tail, he pointed out that these car free areas had now become dangerous with scooters being ridden at speed.  The point was acknowledged, but the Governor said "Step by step", suggesting that scooter riders are on their radar.

Dolmuş discounts
A lady spoke in positive terms about the local dolmuş service in and around Kaş, but asked if it would be possible to have weekly or monthly discounted tickets, as are available in some other places in Turkey.  The panel said that they would look into this.

Third class Kaş
The Governor was asked whether it would be possible for foreigners to undertake some legal procedures in Kaş instead of having to travel to places such as Antalya - things such as residency applications, or car documentation.  

The Governor explained that towns are graded into one of 6 categories, and only Class 1 towns and cities can be granted permission to undertake certain legal procedures.  Kaş is designated as a Class 3 town, although the Governor said he still regards Kaş as a first class place to live, drawing applause from the audience.

Kalkan road safety
A member of the audience from Kalkan raised the subject of road safety.  There is only one junction with traffic lights in Kalkan, and recently there was a bad accident where a car went through a red light.  The questioner observed that obeying red lights is not a practice universally adopted - which is putting it mildly.

This did raise a few smiles, but joking apart, there is a serious road safety issue here, and this was acknowledged by the Chief of Police, who said that he would do something about it.  He said he was happy to deploy police to monitor the junction - so don't say you haven't been warned!

As an aside, KTLN is aware that some drivers have been stopped recently for routine breath tests, when driving in and around Kalkan.  Drink driving is measured in blood alcohol levels, as a certain number of milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.  The general standard in Europe is 50 mg, but there are variances from country to country.  In the UK it is 80 mg.  In Turkey it is 50 mg but only if there are no passengers in the car.  With one or more passengers, or if towing a caravan or trailer the limit is zero.

Back to the meeting.

No dolmuş service around Kalkan
Another question from Kalkan was why is there no local dolmuş service around town, as you find in many other towns of a similar size.  The absence of such a useful service is something that attracts much speculation in Kalkan.

At this point the Kaymakam made a suggestion.  Rather than go into Kalkan questions at this meeting, he offered to come to Kalkan, together with his senior officials, and together with the Mayor, have a separate meeting.

This offer was warmly accepted.  The logistics will need to be worked out, but Kalkan Turkish Local News intends to work with others to try and make this happen.  Watch out for a separate local news article on this.

New hospital in Gökseki
Residents of Gökseki, a small village between Kalkan and Kaş, were upset at the use of explosives by workers building a new hospital.  When completed, in around 18 months time, this facility will be a useful resource for residents of Kalkan and Kaş.

The main complaint seems to be the lack of notice that explosions are about to take place.  If residents know what is about to happen, they can prepare themselves for the blast.  The top table said that these explosions would stop in one more month, but in the meantime, they would make tannoy announcements, in Turkish and English to warn residents of an impending bang.

New marina in Kaş
Some members of the audience said that there will be a lack of water circulation, when the new marina is built.  This would lead to stagnant water, which would not be pleasant.  

The officials suggested that circulation would not necessarily be a problem, however, if this turned out to be the case, they would be able to improve things by opening up a channel, where the peninsular is at its narrowest.  We understand that they would build a tunnel to allow water to flow under this part of the peninsular.

The Kaş dolphin
The possible lack of water circulation led on to another subject - that of the dolphin, which lives in the marina area.

Some members of the audience were upset that a wild animal should be held captive in this way, and mention was made of the proposed dolphinarium near Ölüdeniz, which has attracted much criticism.

The doctor on the panel said that when the dolphin was originally brought to Kaş, there were not many controls on this type of activity.  However, over recent years, new controls have been put in place to protect the dolphin.  Further, it was said that the dolphin's primary role now is to provide therapy treatments for humans - including many children.  

These sessions are very helpful, and on this basis, the facility will be allowed to continue.

It was not mentioned in the meeting, but KTLN wonders whether a lone dolphin like this could ever be released back into the wild, to fend for itself anyway.

Dogs
Having expressed their displeasure over the dolphin, some in the audience then, almost inevitably, moved on to the question of street dogs.

The Mayor of Kaş said that there were approximately 150 dogs in the Belediye sponsored kennels.  Some members of the audience shouted that these animals were not being properly fed.  Given the haranguing that came from the audience, we are not sure that there was any specific outcome from the exchanges. 

The Kaş Mayor believes that they are doing what they reasonably can - given all of the other calls on scarce resources, whilst it would appear that some foreigners want more resources spent on animals.

That was pretty much the end of the open session.  We then moved on to a few announcements from the top table.

Health Insurance
An official from the government social insurance office , SGK, outlined how foreign residents, once they have lived in Turkey for a qualifiying period, can benefit from government health insurance.  The premium is 175TL per person, per month.  More information, and application forms, can be obtained from the SGK office in Kaş.

Emergency calls
Information was provided about how to make emergency calls.  (KTLN members can find all of this information in our Knowledge Bank).

Emergency calls to the 112 number, are routed in the first instance to Antalya, before being redirected to the relevant local office. It is the equivalent of a 999 call in the UK.

The point was made that it is often difficult to understand calls from foreigners.  There is the obvious language issue, but on top of that is a general difficulty in providing the emergency services with directions.  So even if you know the Turkish words for say, a fire in your house, or that you have been burgled, how exactly are the emergency services going to find you?

It's a real problem, but there is a solution at hand.  The Chief of Police explained how you may voluntarily provide them with some basic information about you and your property, on a standard form.  This will be held by the local Police, or Jandarma.  Each property is given a unique identification number, and if you have to make an emergency call, you quote that number.

The emergency services will have enough information about you and your property to be able to quickly locate you, at you Kalkan address.

There is nothing to stop you going to the Kaş Police now and doing this yourselves.  KTLN has already spoken to the local Jandarma in Kalkan about this, and we are hoping to be able to provide you with a dedicated page on KTLN, where you can download the relevant document.  Watch out for an update on this subject.

More meetings like this?
The audience asked if this meeting was a one off, or whether more would be held in future.  The Kaymakam said that rather than hold mass gatherings like this, he would prefer that foreigners appoint a small number of representatives, say 3 people, who can meet with him and his officials on a regular basis.

It was suggested that one person could be chosen from each of Kaş, Kalkan and Patara.  This offer was left with the foreigners to organise.

Whilst it is a generous offer from the Kaymakam, KTLN believes that it poses some significant challenges to foreign residents.  Who would the three be?  How would they be selected?  Would they need to speak fluent Turkish?  How would they be briefed on subjects of concern to most residents?  How would they report back?  What if they were not around for a meeting - who would go instead?

If anyone has any workable suggestions, we would like to hear from you.

Reflections of the day
Firstly, we believe that the Governor, Süleyman Yılmaz, should be applauded for this initiative.  As far as we know, no meeting like this has been held in our region before.  

It demonstrates to us, a willingness to reach out and engage with foreign residents, to try and better understand their needs.  It also shows a desire to include foreign residents, as part of the local community. 

KTLN believes that many of the issues raised are of concern to all residents, not just foreign residents.  So we should be working together to find common solutions, and not looking for special treatment. 

The Kaymakam's offer to come to Kalkan was something of a pleasant surprise, and one that we believe should be followed up.

There were a number of positives that came out of the meeting, including the above Kalkan offer, the offer of a 3 person group to meet again with local officials, and the desire to work with local experts on sea pollution. 

It should also be noted, that many speakers did preface their questions with really positive comments about how wonderful it is, to be able to live in such lovely part of the world.  Despite all the niggly things, we believe that most people would feel that they are exceptionally fortunate to be here. 

On the negative side, a small number of people in the audience were bordering on hostile at some points.  Shouts of "rubbish" were directed towards the officials on more than one occasion, which were, in our opinion, most disrespectful.  I suppose the saving grace there was that the shouts were in English, and not Turkish.

As far as any meeting in Kalkan is concerned, we would recommend that an agenda is formed beforehand.  This will enable the Kaymakam, the Kalkan Belediye, and their officials, to know what the main issues are in advance, and will thus enable them to give considered answers.

KTLN is working with others to try and bring about such a meeting.  More about this in a separate local news article.

And finally....
We would like to end on a light note.

The meeting was held in a room that could hold maybe 100 people.  Ordinarily, hearing people speak would not be a problem, but there was, unfortunately, a constant level of background chat going on in the audience.  So, some members of the audience asked if microphones could be used.

The officers duly obliged, and passed round a few wireless hand microphones.  The meeting continued, with microphones being passed round from one to another.  We heard about tapu problems, improper discharging of 'material' into the sea, closed roads and parking gripes, etc etc.

Then a man at the back of the room interjected - without using the microphone.  He looked rather concerned.  "Do you realise", he said, "that everything you are saying on the microphone, is being broadcast around Kaş on loudspeakers".  We believe he had received a phone call from a bemused friend, somewhere in Kaş.

There was an audible gasp of disbelief around the room.  Some members of the audience were no doubt trying to recall what they had said.

Step forward Mustafa Aydin, the tourism manager for Kaş, to diffuse the situation.  "This is", he said calmly, "a public meeting.  Why not broadcast it - we have nothing to hide". 

He continued, "If ever you want a private meeting with any of us, all you have to do is ask, and we can arrange it.  But everything you say here, is in public".  A brilliant intervention, if ever there was one.  Game, set and match to Mustafa Bey.

[Editor: Sorry for the delay in bringing you this report, but it's been a busy week.]