What Marmaris hopes to change with its vote
Güncelleme Tarihi:
MARMARIS - Just like every corner of Turkey, Marmaris is feeling the heat of forthcoming local elections, but with many foreigners living in this western town, hopes and expectations tend to differ a little. Expatriates’ wish list include many subjects such as forests or religious affairs.
For many, the city of
Currently the streets are decked with political party flags, the election bureaus are buzzing with activity and it is impossible to hold a conversation for more than a few minutes without being silenced by one of the ubiquitous vans cruising the streets, blaring music and urging the Marmaris electorate to vote one way or another.
There are five municipalities in this area, Marmaris, Turunç, İçmeler, Armutalan and Beldibi. Marmaris Council has a committee of 15 and has been under the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, control for the last five years and before that it was the Motherland Party, or ANAP (ANAVATAN), for 15 years. The passing years have seen the center of the town develop in terms of quality and homogeneity and now it can compete with any Mediterranean town for style and entertainment.
Plans to create a piazza shopping center are in the pipeline. As the municipality owns the prime land, which is now an unsightly multi-story parking ramp and supermarket, it is possible to build the shopping center, although there are court cases pending with the existing tenant.
Central bar area
A contentious election issue concerns the central bar area. Noisy and brash, many locals as well as foreigners would prefer to see a center sympathetic to Turkish culture, appealing to the traditional tourism market. Ideas involving the relocation of the area seem unlikely, owing to lack of space, but the planning controls that protect the residential area from noise pollution could be used to regulate and improve the area.
From the hills above Marmaris, it is clear that every available space has been filled and it now bulges at the seams. It is hard to see how it can expand. Indeed some would say that the town has reached its natural capacity.
But 42 mining licenses issued by the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government in
The AKP electoral candidate in Marmaris has inferred that the Housing Development Administration, or TOKİ, will have a stake in the future development of the town. The AKP candidate happens to be the Honorary British Consul for Marmaris as well as a high-profile business man in the area.
The CHP-controlled council continues to protest against the mining licenses and the local foreign residents are not keen that the encircling forests that protect the town from further development may be under threat.
Forests need care
"We love Marmaris and would be very sad to see the forests destroyed. Their very presence brings tranquility to the area and if the forests go so does the wild life that live in them," said Barbara and Denny Malone, American residents in Marmaris for the last nine years.
But for them, the most important issue is that the cooperation given to them by the present council continues. They run a successful evangelical Christian group in the area and offer spiritual and practical support to many foreign residents in Marmaris.
The group of about 15 expands to more than 50 in the summer, mostly comprised of British, Dutch, Germans and Finns. "For us to know that the Marmaris authorities will support us as a religious minority is so important," said Barbara Malone. "There is a large opportunity for religious tourism in
These are some of the diverse concerns being debated by the residents of Marmaris in the days leading up to the election. The polling stations will be in schools on March 29 and the results will be made available as soon as the ballots are counted.
The political parties competing in Marmaris are: AKP, CHP, Democrat Party (DP), Democratic Leftist Party (DSP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).