In my quest to find the tiny fishing village of Bogazici, I got lost in the Mugla region of Turkey. I was previously told directions of how to get to Bogazici but instead found myself driving up narrow, mountains roads that were taking me to the middle of nowhere.Eventually, I made it back onto the Bodrum Mugla highway where crazy “MALE” drivers were breaking the speed limit and playing roulette with their lives and everyone else’s on that busy highway.
It eventually turned out that the reason I missed the turn off was because a car had been hiding the signpost that showed the turn off. At this point I felt relieved however combinations of events throughout the morning lead to torrents of Turkish swear words escaping from my lips which criticized every male driver on that road, their manhood’s and their mothers.
I turned off the highway, only to be faced with a long straight road that was surrounded by deep marsh lands on either side. Feeling certain that this was a day, when I should have stayed in bed, I carried on slowly with fears that I would end up calling breakdown services to retrieve my hire car from a watery ditch.
Arriving in Bogazici, Milas
The fears were soon replaced with calmness as I realized that I had arrived in Bogazici village. It is a small fishing village that seems to have two identities like many other places in Turkey. On the left hand side of the main road into the village are old houses that need a good lick of paint and even possibly have seen better days. The only exception to this is the new brand-name supermarket which totally looks out of place and frankly ruins the overall appearance of the village, even more so then the old houses.
On the right hand side of the main road are fish restaurants that have the traditional Mediterranean vibe that I hamper after so much. They are located on the sea front and every so often, the whiff of fresh sea air fills your nostrils with an overwhelming, pungent smell of fish.
It is a small village but I was still alarmed at the rows and rows of empty tables in the restaurants and the minimal presence of tourists and cars. One of the locals told me that nighttime is when this fishing village comes alive. Rich Turks arrive from the coastal resorts of Bodrum to feast on expensive wines and fine cuisine.
So since I was in a fishing village, I figured that the main course for my lunch had to be fish. At a restaurant, I ordered the most sumptuous spread of Jumbo king prawns, octopus salad, red mullets and calamari. The size of the King prawns and red mullets led me to believe that they were either genetically modified, on steroids or the sea water in this area must be something special.
So I spent a total of three hours in the small village of Bogazici. This is not a long time; however there was not a lot to see. If you find yourself with a need to get off the beaten track, then do visit Bogazici however don’t expect a rushed pace of life or your day to be filled with sights to see and things to do. Bogazici is so laid back that it is probably more suited to those suffering from stress overload or a need to escape the rat race of life.
