Here’s What Ex-pats Get Up To In Didim During Summer, Autumn, Winter & Spring (Part One)

No matter what season it is there’s always plenty to do in Didim and that doesn’t just mean Altınkum, it covers Akbük, Yeşilkent and Mavişehir also. If you are a social person and like to meet up with other like minded people for activities you’ll never be bored. Those who prefer to live a more quiet life in Didim or are animal lovers, will often find themselves drawn to helping out at one of the few Animal Shelters or other Charity organisations.

One particular group I admire much is Plogging in Didim Group, for they have a desire to keep the town free from rubbish as much as possible not only for themselves but for others also to enjoy more cleaner looking beach areas. The group name is derived from a Swedish Eco-friendly activity where picking up litter is done at the same time as keeping fit by jogging. Their message to everyone is.. “We want to encourage Didim residents and holidaymakers to pick up plastic, cigarette butts and other rubbish in every day life to keep our wonderful Didim cleaner, for our own well-being, our environment, our animals and not least for the next generation.”  

The group meets up on the first Saturday of every month at one of the local cafés or restaurants where together they decide which beaches they will clean up that month. One week they plog on Wednesday and the following week plogging will be done on a Friday. In winter it is not always possible to keep to the suggested days if inclement weather is forecast. Occasionally, they plog at areas a little further away and will even go as far as beautiful Bafa Lake Nature Park sometimes, as sadly not all visitors are respectful of nature and the environment and they could just as easily take their rubbish home or look for the appropriate place to deposit their rubbish.

A couple of times during the summer season, the ploggers enjoy a boat trip together where they combine plogging on some of the Bays beaches around the Didim area. Can’t be bad, a great day out at sea, swimming, sunbathing and plogging. Other times in the warmer weather after plogging they sometimes enjoy a BBQ together. Occasionally they plog in Akbük University area too. Needless to say, they celebrate together and enjoy their Plogging Group Anniversary in July and have events at other times too. There are over 200 members in the group, roughly half are Turkish and the other half English, though not everyone is able to participate as frequently as others so there’s no fixed rota for the days planned. Whoever is available and wants to participate that particular day, their help is appreciated and it seems to work well this way. Some members even wear T-shirts and caps with a plogging Logo stitched on. People who are on holiday are also welcome to join them if they so wish to, anyone is welcome to help of course as it will be much appreciated.

Next we have Didim Glee Club, who I visited today and watched them rehearse. The Glee Club was founded in 2010 by Lee McGowan and Jenny Scott, which started with only 6 members who decided to get together to enjoy singing and dancing in a very formal manner. It has slowly evolved over the years with more emphasis on drama. They stage annual pantomimes and exciting murder/mysteries to raise money for charities in Didim and the surrounding area. The main cause they donate to are the local government schools and local children in need. They have been going on for many years and as it stands today there are 30 active core members who are headed by leader Lee McGowan who produces and directs all the shows and Jenny Scott who is the writer.  

Apart from the performers, there are also many other people involved, from the seamstress/tailor, lighting and sound crew, make-up, stage hand, stage props etc., who together with the performers make a great team. Then after much fun and hard work from rehearsals at Toros Hotel every Thursday, they put on a wonderful performances in the town theatre for those who wish to come and watch the show. All money collected goes to the local charities as mentioned previously. They of course, celebrate well as a group after each performance. The Glee Club take a break from performances and rehearsals during the summer as I’m sure you’ll agree it’s far too hot for that! New members are always welcome!

If you like to keep fit we also have a twice weekly one hour Yoga class, with an experienced teacher, where ladies are free to come along whenever they are available. Some ladies live in the UK and join the classes when they come for a holiday to Didim. These classes have been going on over a few years on and off and from different locations and venues. You bring your own mat, water (and blanket depending on time of year) etc. and usually, after the lesson and relaxation, the ladies stay together for a coffee and chat in the nearest café.

The latest news with the Yoga class is that it will again, soon be moving to another new venue and will starting up as an Aerial Yoga class, where silk bands are tied to a secure metal fixture in the ceiling and the yoga positions will be done in the air as you can see in the photos, though I’m not sure if these ladies will be practicing outside from the trees just yet lol, which seems to be the trend these days! Sounds interesting so I might give it a go myself.

As there are quite a few more activities to write about I’ll continue Part 2 in another article, and if you’re reading this and not living in Didim but will be coming this year at some point, you might want to get in touch with https://bit.ly/DidimTours for booking your return airport transfers, trips and activities or https://avestatravel.com/ and Hotel accommodation through https://bit.ly/Avestahotels

To be continued……..  

~By Aleyna~