The main beach of Alanya, the most popular resort for family tourists in Turkey, has turned into a garbage dump. We are talking about the Damlatash beach, which was completely littered by tourists this summer, and the local municipality turned a blind eye to it. The author of the blog, who lives in Turkey, talked about the “trash drama” on her blog.
According to the guide, Damlatash is located at the very beginning of Cleopatra Beach under the rock, near the cave of the same name, where most vacationers flock to the resort. “Here is a wonderful entrance to the Maldivian-colored water, the gorgeous big sand for which Alanya is so famous, wonderful views of the peninsula with the fortress, the line of the Alanya coast, the mountains surrounding the city. Many people like to come here, considering this place to be the best in Alanya… Yes, we are periodically disappointed by something: sometimes the rudeness of the cafe employees, then too many people and lack of space, then a large number of algae on the sand and in the water. But in any case, we always come back here, because it’s beautiful here,” the blogger described the coast.
However, last week’s trip to the beach did not bring positive emotions: It’s kind of horrible. The favorite beach has already turned into a real garbage dump on the approach to it. The lawn is a dry area, littered with all kinds of garbage: bottles, candy canes, lids, bags, papers, some blankets, food scraps, rags, boxes, and even used diapers that someone did not take to the garbage can, but arranged by the path. For weeks, there has been a rusty, faded sign (which the employees of the beach cafe cannot take away). Piles of garbage bags left by vacationers are piled up everywhere. Where is the municipality looking? The problem is solved by simple cleaning. The situation is no better on the beach. At the foot of the rock, is the same pile of garbage bags and just separate garbage. The sand is covered with cigarette butts. Let the child play in the sandbox. No, I’m sorry, I won’t sit on this sand myself.”
In the photos published by the author, you can see sand littered with the remains of vacationers’ vital activities. Moreover, piles of garbage did not appear in one day but were collected and carefully trampled by tourists for a long time.
“The beach is now extremely disgusting. In addition to all the unpleasant things that we saw on the beach, I managed to drive a wheel into someone’s, sorry, shit – and this is near the central city beach! Pearls of the city!” — the traveler reprimanded the behavior of the locals.
The author saw the reason for what is happening to people. “This is done by people – Turks, Russians, Europeans, Arabs, and others – in general, everything. Decent and thinking units. Most of them just shit under their own feet,” she explained and reminded me about the need to pick up my trash.
On the other hand, the authorities of the resort town have “relaxed” and, according to the blogger, have not cleaned the central beach for weeks and have not given it to others: “In general, it’s just a shame. And people are resting – probably everything suits them… After all, the issue is solved simply by daily cleaning. And the sand can be cleaned of debris with special rakes. And there are not enough trash cans there, since people put waste in piles… The municipality even forbids the holding of Saturdays, when volunteers and activists offer their help with cleaning,” the author continued to be indignant.
The author turned out to be an activist and said that she would not let the situation go by itself: she wrote about the dire state of the coast and will continue to write complaints to the municipality in the name of the mayor. In addition, she informed journalists and bloggers about it.
“Alania positions itself as a resort, I read in the media that authorities at different levels are talking about the need to improve the quality of tourists in Alanya – in the sense that richer people come here. But what quality of tourists can we talk about if the city can’t handle the cleanliness of its main beach!” – wrote a blogger who is concerned about the cleanliness of the coast.