Voices Newspaper

10/09/2026

Plogging in Didim report from Nurdan Gedik (Eng / Tr translations follow)

This week, the "Plogging in Didim" group visited Fener Bay. With a team of 13 ploggers, we collected 20 bags of waste. At the bay, alongside fishermen who praised our group's efforts, we encountered camper vans, parked there despite the ban, and the significant amount of trash their occupants had left behind.

During our one-hour plogging session, we gathered items such as ropes, nets, pillows, a camper awning, and books that had been read and discarded during vacations; we left these alongside the trash bags for municipal crews to collect.

As always, we wrapped up the session with the classic trio of conversation, tea or coffee, and *simit* before heading home, ready to meet again next week.

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Bu hafta Plogging in Didim grubu olarak Fener koyunda idik. 13 plogger ile 20 torba atık topladık. Koyda, grubumuza övgü dolu cümleler kuran balıkçıların yanısıra yasak olmasına rağmen halen konaklayan karavanlar ve etrafa bıraktıkları bol miktarda çöp vardı. 1 saatlik plog süresince bulabildiğimiz halatları, ağları, yastıkları, karavan tentesini, tatilde okunmuş ve atılmış kitapları da toplayıp belediye ekiplerinin alması için poşetlerin yanına bıraktık.
Her zamanki gibi plog sonrası sohbet, çay-kahve, simit üçlemesini tamamlayarak haftaya görüşmek üzere evlerimize döndük.

10/09/2026

A reminder from the Didim District Public Health Council which has banned owned and stray animals from entry to public beaches, coastlines, swimming areas, and pools in Didim. The decision also includes keeping animals in sandy areas.

The regulations, adopted on August 12, have been introduced regarding the use of animals in beaches and swimming areas in order to protect public health.

The Didim District Public Health Council, chaired by District Governor Mesut Çoban, finalized the measures.

According to the decision, within the boundaries of Didim, all beach areas used by citizens, swimming areas on the coast, and pools will not be allowed to contain owned or stray animals, with the exception of guide or assistance dogs for elderly and disabled citizens.

The decision also banned swimming animals in the sea and on beaches, as well as keeping them in sandy areas on the coast.

The Public Health Council's decision noted that animals entering communal swimming areas could lead to the spread of various pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Salmonella, and E. coli.

The decision doesn't only cover animal entry to beaches. It also addresses preventing pet owners from allowing their animals defecating in open areas, public spaces, streets, roads, and vacant lots while walking them on streets and roads. It was emphasized that owners should clean up their animals' f***s and not leave it in public areas.

In accordance with the decision, warning signs referring to the Blue Flag Program and the Didim Municipality Regulations on Orders and Prohibitions, clearly stating the prohibitions and applicable administrative sanctions, will be posted at the entrance points of beach and pool facilities in Didim.

The Public Health Council's decision stated that the implementation of the measures taken would be monitored by the District Police Department, the District Gendarmerie Command, Didim Municipality's law enforcement units, and relevant public institutions and organizations.

10/09/2026

Taking advantage of the warm weather, residents of Didim and tourists flocked to Altınkum Beach to swim and enjoy the sun. Despite it being September, the crowds on the beach showed that the summer season is far from over.

Besides Altınkum, activity continues at the 2nd and 3rd Bay public beaches, Uslu Beach, Yeşilkent, and Cennet Bay. With the warm weather continuing in the district, citizens are spending their days on the beaches, extending the swimming season.

According to the General Directorate of Meteorology, hot weather will continue in Aydın in the coming days. Temperatures are expected to reach 38-39 degrees Celsius between September 10-13, while they are predicted to drop to 33 degrees Celsius on September 14.

09/09/2026

Flight delays will continue on Wednesday after an air traffic control problem in the UK has led to more than 2,000 flights cancelled.

Tens of thousands of passengers have been hit with disruption which saw 291 flights cancelled on Wednesday after 1,750 were axed on Tuesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Nats, the air traffic control provider, blamed a technical glitch and its boss Martin Rolfe apologised, saying there would be a full investigation after admitting resolving the issue had taken "longer than hoped".

Tuesday's incident marks the third time in as many years that Nats has suffered a technical issues, following outages in 2023 and 2025.

Flyers have been advised to continue checking flights with their airlines as it is expected it will take days for flights to fully resume.

09/09/2026

British tourist Stephen Kerr (58) has been arrested and remanded to prison for spitting on a Turkish flag in a hotel in Alanya.

Kerr, who was staying at a hotel in Dinek, Alanya, reportedly got into an argument with employees for an unknown reason before spitting on the flag hanging in the lobby.

Hotel employees held Kerr following the incident and alerted police. Officers from Alanya Police Department's Security Bureau arrived at the hotel and took him into custody.

Kerr later gave his statement at the district police headquarters with the assistance of an interpreter before being sent to the Alanya Courthouse.

After the legal proceedings, a criminal judgeship of peace ordered Kerr's arrest on a charge of "insulting the symbols of the state's sovereignty." He was sent to Alanya L-Type Closed Prison.

Source: Turkiye Today

(As this is an active criminal case, comments are closed as per the Voices policy)

09/09/2026

60 baby loggerhead sea turtles were released into the sea in Didim last night from a nest on Sağtur Beach.

Didim Municipality, demonstrating the necessary sensitivity on the beaches since the nesting season, continues its efforts to protect the habitats of Caretta caretta turtles and ensure the hatchlings reach the sea safely.

09/09/2026

Turkish Airlines has warned passengers of possible delays and cancellations as British airports struggle to clear a backlog caused by a failure in the country’s air traffic control system.

“Some of our flights arriving in and departing from the United Kingdom may experience delays and cancellations,” the carrier said.

Passengers were advised to check their flight status through the TK Assistant application or the airline’s website.

The warning came as 177 flights scheduled for Sept. 9 were cancelled across Britain, nearly all of them at London’s Heathrow Airport, according to aircraft tracking website Flightradar24.

About 1,300 flights to and from British airports were cancelled the previous day after a fault in the flight processing system operated by National Air Traffic Services, or NATS.

Source: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/uk-flight-disruption-continues-as-turkish-airlines-issues-warning

08/09/2026

A British man is in intensive care in a hospital in Turkey after breaking his neck while diving into a swimming pool on the last day of a holiday.

Will Ponter, from Carnforth in Lancashire, underwent a 13-hour emergency surgery, and doctors said the 24-year-old would be paralysed from the neck down.

His family are with him in Antalya with no timescale yet on when he will be stable enough to travel home, following the accident on Thursday.

His partner, Becky Francey, said: "We need to get him home, he's going to need special care. It's going to be a long road to recovery."

"In a second everything just changed," the 27-year-old said. "I was stood on the side as he jumped in, but he didn't come back up for a while, and when he did he was just floating face down," she said.
"I knew he wasn't messing, so I dived in, and I pulled him out and he instantly said 'I can't move'."

Will's family are now also in Turkey.

More on this news -

Will Ponter underwent a 13-hour emergency surgery, and doctors say he will be paralysed from the neck down.

08/09/2026

'We are all Turkish' is the abiding line of a fascinating look at the deeply integrated Afro-Turks, of which there is a settled community in Burunkoy, a farming village of about 600 people in Soke.

The community has been part of Turkish society for centuries, with a presence dating back to the Ottoman era. The ancestors of today’s Afro-Turks arrived through the slave trade from countries like Niger, Kenya, Sudan, and parts of Northern Africa, often working in palaces, large households, or in agricultural trades.

In contrast, others came voluntarily in search of work as merchants or sailors. During the Ottoman period, some Afro-Turks successfully rose through the ranks of society, attaining prestigious military posts and serving as elite guards and as Eunuchs within the imperial harem. These positions often came with immense political and financial power that could be wielded to influence state policy.

Here Sophie Fullerton, an American journalist, who learned of the Afro-Turks while visiting Didim, relates her experiences in this article in Türkiye Today -

In a Turkish farming village, an Afro-Turk community that never made race the point—until an American showed up looking for one

08/09/2026

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