Merhaba from S.W. Turkey - Forums

Topic starter

Feb 25, 2022

Hi,
Doug here, old, retired Englishman living in South West Turkey. I wanted to make a small fortune so I built up a big one and got into astrophotography.

I've always been interested in astronomy, like a challenge and have a bit of disposable income. I'm probably gonna need help!

Engaging

Tom Boyd

Feb 25, 2022

Hi Doug,

Welcome. Curious, what is your Turkish connection? Did you work there? Family? Should have great clear skies…

Tom

Doug Trumper

Topic starter

Feb 26, 2022

Hi Tom

Thanks.

Long story short. After 23 years in the army, mostly spent in Germany and N. Ireland, the UK didn't feel like home, the wife and I never felt settled. In 1995 we came to this village (Turunç, south of Marmaris) on holiday and kept coming back. Eventually sold up in the UK and retired to live here. Sadly lost the wife to cancer in 2011 but I stayed and no place has ever felt more like home. I like the climate, we have hills on 3 sides and the Med to the East, it's cheap to live here and most importantly the people are great.

Lots of clear skies but summer temperatures affect seeing and last year, forest fires on our doorsteps made things even worse!

tonymacc

Feb 26, 2022

Hi Doug, I've been to Turunc a few times, stayed in Icemeler round the corner from you.

Doug Trumper

Topic starter

Feb 26, 2022

Hi Tony,

If you haven't been to Içmeler for a while you're going to see a big difference when you come again. The forest fires were devastating around Içmeler with the hills to the West, now bare. After cutting the burned trees they also removed the stumps and roots and the winter rains washed all the soil into the town. Google Earth has photos of the area now, taken after the fires and the devastation is clear. Turunç was lucky, many fires in the hills around us but no damage in the village. A couple of houses damaged in Amos and a friend's house destroyed in Dereözü (at the top of the hill on the Içmeler/Turunç road).

Helpful

Tom Boyd

Feb 26, 2022

Doug Trumper:
Lots of clear skies but summer temperatures affect seeing and last year, forest fires on our doorsteps made things even worse!

I live in the western US. Fires have been horrible here too. Glad to hear you were safe, but sorry to hear about the devastation.

Enjoy your time there and clear skies....

Tom

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Alex

Feb 26, 2022

Hello Doug, and welcome to Astrobin! I completely understand your feeling that you couldn't get settled in UK. While not personally in the Army in the US, my dad was, and the longest I've ever been in one place was five years, and that was after I had graduated college. Before college I was in 10 different schools in 12 years as a kid. After a year or so I feel the itch to move, but I'm finally at the point where settling down seems like it might be a nice idea. One of the most popular pieces of woodcraft my mom sold was a house that said "Home is where the heart is" and then she would make a heart for each location and use a woodburner to put in the name of each location with the years there. Since we were always on military bases, almost everyone of our friends bought one, and some people had dozens of hearts for all the places they were. That's been my take on life, too, and while I enjoyed each and every place I've been, I hadn't felt like it was a place to settle.

Unfortunately, where we are now is an absolute disaster for clear skies, but I enjoy it none the less - 1.5m above sea level, high temps, and 99% relative humidity pretty much every night. I guess that's what you get when you more or less live in a small patch of land surrounded by marshes/swamps.

Welcome again and clear skies!
Alex

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