By Chris Evans – Spring in Didim is the perfect time to go exploring. It’s normally dry if a little overcast, with temperatures perfect for being outside without wearing the entire contents of your wardrobe. There are hundreds of routes you can take around the area. My favourite, as I live in Sagtur, is wandering…
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By Jay Jean Jackson The Buyuk Menderes (Great Meander) river in Türkiye begins its 382-mile-long journey from a spring in Dinar (ancient Phrygia) twisting and curving its way through the countryside until it reaches the Aegean Sea near the Ancient city of Miletus. Watery source It was a critical water source which had contributed to…
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By Jay Jean Jackson Springtime in Miletus is a beautiful sight. The Asphodel is in full bloom and gives a wonderful array of colour in the foreground, where it grows among the fallen columns, creating a wonderful juxtaposition between ruins and nature. The backdrop of ancient Miletus, 20 km from Didim, completes the picture: both…
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By Jay Jean Jackson – It is hard to imagine when you stare across the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coastline at the many islands dotted around that the area was once controlled by a ruthless bunch of pirates over 2,000 years ago. According to Plutarch, the Greek philosopher, historian, biographer and essayist, the small…
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By A.J. Griffiths-Jones – Last month the world commemorated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. It was a dark time in history that will forever be a blot on Europe’s campaign for human rights, yet one that should be remembered so that such a terrible place…
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By Jay Jean Jackson – Some 2,500 years ago, the annual spring festivities were starting. They’d taken place, and would continue to do so, for many centuries. The atmosphere around Miletus and Apollon Temple would have been buzzing like the crowds at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The sacred stones (Gyllos) are placed…
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Maximilian Sam, the alter ego of Voices columnist Chris Evans, has stories appearing in a new anthology, Not Marriage Material, coming out on Valentine’s Day (14 February). The anthology, collected by Sue Bavey, brings together stories and poetry from 20 authors to celebrate the ones who got away and the ones we were lucky enough…
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Residence permits, whether permanent or temporary, have been the hottest of topics in Turkiye for the past year, writes Chris Evans. Confusion has been the default emotion for most. It has seen many expats of all nationalities leave the country as uncertainty has caused unnecessary stress. Twists and turns Voices has covered every twist and…
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By Jay Jean Jackson Approximately 2500 years ago, there was a significant shift in the way people thought about life, the universe, and everything. Thales of Miletus moved away from mythology as a way of explaining the world and started exploring nature to understand the machinations of existence. However, he did not refute the presence…
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Tapping into humanity’s darkest fears, Akbuk author A.J. Griffiths-Jones explores factual incidents in which people have been buried alive – and some who have lived to tell the tale. Griffiths-Jones decided to explore the darker side of her claustrophobia and her own fears of suffocating alive in her new release, Buried Alive, due for…
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