How do you spot a tourist in Alanya

[SnowyWakey]

Answer, They are the one's using the rubbish bins. I know I'm generalising but having just returned from a brilliant 2 weeks all I seem to see is rubbish littering the streets and picnic sites. The Dim Cay river bank is plastic city, the sidestreets have plastic and glass bottles strewn around and the local residents seem to add more and more. One really big cleanup is needed and a lot of educating.

 

[Freedom 49]

Answer, They are the one's using the rubbish bins. I know I'm generalising but having just returned from a brilliant 2 weeks all I seem to see is rubbish littering the streets and picnic sites. The Dim Cay river bank is plastic city, the sidestreets have plastic and glass bottles strewn around and the local residents seem to add more and more. One really big cleanup is needed and a lot of educating.

Your description reminds me of the last time I was in Blackpool, many years ago I hasten to add!
Hope they've cleaned their act up? Plastic, glass, takeaway food packaging with a fair sprinkling of used condoms remains clearly in my memory.
I've never seen anything that even closely resembles that during my many years living on Turkish soil.

 

[shirleyanntr]

i cant agree with you there Snow wakey..most of the litter comes from tourists ..
İ aloso

 

[babsgood]

It used to be the same in Turgutreis, and it definitely wasn't tourists there as it was very close by where we lived and that was a very Turkish area there were no tourists around, I have been out with Turkish friends who think nothing of just dumping their litter when they leave, and I am talking bags of rubbish, plastic bottles, dirty nappies etc.

 

[shirleyanntr]

yes you are right Babs ..i was too quick off the mark there...but i think that people on holiday wherever they come from tend to leave more stuff lying around.

 

[giglets]

We pass an area, just outside Fethiye, every time we drive into the town, which is used exclusively by local Turkish people for picnics and the like.

It is an absolute disgrace and resembles a huge rubbish tip.

The amount of rats and other vermin feeding off it must be immense.

I have lost track of the times we have seen families drive away, leaving all their discarded crap behind them.

Why the Local Authority hasn't cleaned it up is beyond me, as it is a major eye-sore and cannot be missed.

 

[Lez Zetli]

As a child in England I remember days out in public parks and when everyone went home there was a sea of litter left behind. But education really has transformed this. These days I've noticed that people bag up their litter and take it away, there is general condemnation if someone litters. Let's be honest, Turkey is 50 years behind us in this respect. The only tourists in my area are Turks. They come to an area to have a picnic because it is beautiful and end the day sitting in the middle of the rubbish that they have thrown down. And the next week they come again and sit in the middle of the same rubbish.

 

[SnowyWakey]

I thought this would be a good discussion topic, thanks to all who replied. The areas I mentioned are generally used by locals, the banks of the Dim Cay where locals sit and picnic, the side streets where locals walk. I've seen people pick up a plastic bottle remove the top and then discard the bottle. Of course there are many exceptions my own neighbour for one who I've often seen picking up other peoples rubbish. Visit the beach in January/February not many tourists then and count the bottles. I've been going to Alanya for seven years now and it seems to get worse each year. Alanya belediyesi take note.

 

[martin m]

Hi all
It seems to me that education is the key, and in this regard then every council in Turkey seem negligent, though the UK is very tidy by comparison to Altinkum for example, the council have had a long job in the uk getting to the standard they are at.
I remember some arguments years ago when people would just stop and let their dog just do its buisness out side someone elses gate, but these days NEARLY everyone picks their dogs mess up, over the years thousands of people have been fined for throwing litter out of their car windows,and out on the streets people have been fined for throwing rubbish down even fag buts.
1. more bins.
2. fines
3. painted warnings on the footpaths.
4. litter wardens.
5. specific dog waste bins.
6. use of cctv.

I personaly can not understand how the mayor of Altinkum can walk round his town day in and out and not see the litter, it just simply must not register and there lies the problem, they just do not see it as a problem. heres a link to a thread with 46 replies and almost 1 quarter of the replies when asked what would you do if you were the mayor, mentioned litter.
http://www.turkishliving.com/forums/altinkum-forum/59844-if-you-mayor.html
regards
martin

 

[SnowyWakey]

i love some of the replies in that thread Martin, especially the Hello lovely couple one. But seriously the mayors of the various districts in and around Alanya do need to open their eyes to this and other problems that take the gloss off their towns and city's.

 

[shirleyanntr]

i think the bottles on the beach in winter are due to wind rain and stormy seas uncovering what's been left by summer visitors.how many Turkish people do you see carrying bottles around with them
im playing devils advocate here because i do go on to my husband about the same thing when i see rubbish on the roadside when we travel around..and he used to be guilty of slinging stuff out of the car window..doesnt do it now though

Alanya has improved a lot over the years can you remember when they had those big bins with heavy lids that nobody bothered lifting they were lethal..and so the rubbish was left lying outside the bins...the green ones were an improvement and the rubbish is collected regularly...of course this is household rubbish and we are discussing general litter

since 2010 there been a fine of 50 lira for dropping litter...Çevreyi Kirletene Ceza Var 50 lira for polluting the environment 50 lira fine

i saw this on a forum and one reply was that a person had walked three streets in their town and hadnt seen one place where he could put his rubbish..crisp packet cola bottle ...and there's a point there..we see big bins but i dont think there are many small litter bins around ...the same in the mountains ..(they do have a few notices there to take your rubbish home) ..and along the river.....and of course there's no education

maybe if the Zabıta became pro active had bins all over the place..it wouldn't cost much..and then started issuing fines for dropping litter people might get the message

 

[beyazbayan]

No sure what the answer is apart from education start young. Recently in Adiyaman İ donned rubber gloves and rubber shoes and cleaned the area in front or our house. Took five mins and filled two plastic bags put them into the street bin. Husband came home and of course the local neigbourhood alert informed him. He said ''İ am ashamed you cleaned the land'' İ said ''How right you are my love. Local women sitting on their arse letting their children play in rubbish- indeed a shame'' Husband a bit non plused but the good news. Two days latter a local lady with brush and dust pan cleaning round. the street bin. There is hope.

A campaign by the great and good and especially pop personalities could help a lot. Slogans such as ''Be clean it's a sign of a good Turk'' ''Show respect to your country Ataturk would approve'' ''Real Muslims care for the environment'' .

Lets get active can we find the e mail of the mayors etc and start a campaign.

 

[Akasya]

We seem to be lucky on our site which is almost exclusively Turkish folk.

The rubbish bins are always used , never seen litter anywhere.

Alas the drive up to Dorttepe is a rubbish tip , builders rubbish everywhere.

Such a shame.

Steve.