Cuckoo Land

So I heard the first cuckoo of Spring the other day. Well it was not a cuckoo it was a tractor. And, well, it is not Spring either. But hear me out. Tractors have been beating up the Islamlar Road for months now carrying payloads of cement, sand or bricks to feed the massive Rental Villa Monster which has taken over all our mountain villages. But this tractor was carrying bales of straw!

Yes, farming stuff. How it warmed the heart to see it. The euphoria only lasted a day because this morning a tractor has passed three times pulling bowsers of water. Yup! May 2nd and we already have water supply problems.

Which leads me seamlessly in to the whole question of unlicensed development (or illegal construction if you prefer) and its impact on this area that we, tourist and resident alike, love.

First a confession; In 2015 we bought a house in the mountains, a concrete house built 13 years previously for an English couple without permission. Islamlar is categorised as landslip so it is forbidden to build anywhere here. Buying the property was a pretty torturous process. Those who want to, can read the painful detail in a previous blog (https://anenglishmanabroad.net/a-way-round/).

As part of our renovation we put a pool in. I suggested to the builder that we might need planning permission. His reply still rings in my ear.

“It is probably better just to do it and see if anybody complains. If you try to get permission you will have lots of difficulties”.

So we just did it. Nobody complained. I have since learned that complaining about your neighbour in a village is an absolute no-no. Hear No Evil. See No Evil. Complainers are excommunicated.

Two years later a building amnesty (Imar Barışı) was declared. Registrations were issued (Yapı Kayıt Belgesi) against a payment for buildings or modifications built without permission. We paid and received our registration certificate. As did millions of others. We became legal.

The amnesty touched off a firestorm of new building. An unintended consequence. Amnesties are supposed to be pre-cursors of a strict clampdown. Not the absolute opposite! Burası  Türkiye!

That storm of illicit construction has accelerated year on year. It is fed by many things including

• a belief that another Imar Barışı will come, perhaps in advance of the 2023 Presidential Elections.
• The Pandemic, which has kept everybody at home allowing constructors to seize the opportunity
• An ineffectual system of fines which now provides a very large proportion of the Kaş Municipality’s income but does nothing to halt the flood of building
• A massive new clientele of Turkish customers looking to holiday in seclusion and willing to pay large rents to hunker down around pool and barbecue

This is not just local farmers building a cottage to supplement their income. Big money is moving in and building estates of unlicensed rental villas.

With illicit construction comes: environmental destruction, fly tipping of construction waste, unregulated demand for water and electricity, demolition of traditional cottages along with several other issues.

Let me say this; tourism is great. It puts bread on the table and can lift country people out of the poverty of subsidence farming. It has brought wealth and opportunity to the region. But if nobody at the top table is taking care, then what we love about this area will be crushed under a weight of concrete.

Tourism must be founded on a vision. The farmers who have tended these lands for centuries, and done it beautifully, must be encouraged to exploit tourism whilst continuing to protect and cultivate the soil. The town of Kalkan should nestle around the Bay of Kalkan and up the slopes. There should be plenty of green lungs and proper consideration to its heritage as a fishing village and centre of olive cultivation.

If development is founded on a dungheap of construction “fines” it will end badly.

So when this lockdown is over I thought I would request an audience with the Kaymakam (Governor) and the Mayor. They are sophisticated gentlemen. I have met them both. The Kaymakam studied at Kent University and lived in hipster flipster Margate (it was less so then mind you). They both understand the British/European mindset.

As a concerned resident, I will ask them what their intentions are over this issue. I would like to give them an idea of how widely my concerns are shared by others. In which respect I am delighted that Alan Homersham (FoK) and Tony Basoglu (KL and VK) have both agreed to post a simple one-question survey to capture the attitudes of tourists and residents on this issue. You can find the survey on Kalkan Living, Visit Kalkan and Friends of Kalkan. Please join the discussion.

It is not too late for action. Unlicensed building can be stopped. Then country land should be opened for sustainable development where appropriate. The planning department should be properly resourced to develop and implement plans for the type of tourism it wants to see in consultation with stakeholders.

Let us wake up “the grey pound”, the “gümüş kürüş” if you like. Foreign investment put this area on the map. Let us make our voices heard about its future

The fantasy: Mural in Islamlar Village by Kaş Belediye

The Reality Check (recent photographs of Upper Islamlar)

“On detruit çe que l’on aime”

That which we love, we end by destroying