Antalya: Crazy Cat Lady Heaven & Flags Galore

I travelled all the way to Antalya to go to ...

When we were looking for a bar in the Old Town in Antalya, we discovered the "Sheffield Pub" - and obviously I had to pay it a visit. One of the staff members spoke some English, so we asked about the choice of name and were told it was because the first ever football club starte din Sheffield (not Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday, the two main clubs nowadays - but Sheffield FC). As it happens, I knew this fact (despite having zero interest in football myself) as I had been invited a good 5 years ago, to speak at an anti-racist initiative alongside the Lord Mayor at Sheffield FC.

They do seem to be keen on their football in Antalya, there are shops that sell exclusively football shirts and sports bars decorated with flags.

In fact, they are a bit flag-mad in Turkey, everywhere you turn in Antalya, there are flags: either the national Turkish flag or a flag printed with the image of the national hero, founding father of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The Primary schools especially are adorned with flags and bunting - they are clearly instilling the nationalist loyalty from a young age....

Antalya is also heaven for crazy cat ladies, I've never seen so many cats in one place!

Every street has strays begging to be fed and/or petted. I've started carrying a packet of treats with me everywhere I go...

I have been somewhat alarmed by some of the pet shops where they sell the cat treats - with far too many fish/birds/rodents kept in very small spaces and with inadequate food/water...

I don't know what to say about these poor fish in the tiny cups - it's just awful...

The experience of the city has at times been overwhelming, but I love the variety of the colours and textures on display at every street corner ...

Even the trees are decorated with little crocheted and knitted sleeves...

I've been struggling with finding food here, as the cuisine is very meat and dairy heavy and the very few vegan options available usually contain onions/garlic (which I have developed an intolerance to). We even asked Chat GPT what Turkish food I could eat and it came back with "chickpeas and rice" which is basically what I have been eating (along with salad and beans). I was happy to try some authentic Turkish tea and coffee though....

Ink Sketches

Watercolour Nightmare

I have been so overwhelmed with work recently, I didn't do a very good job of packing - especially my art materials. I forgot my watercolour paints and didn't bring enough waterproof ink pens (and obviously the two I did bring ran out almost immediately). I bought a watercolour paint set from a stationery shop, but I think they were not a great quality and it somewhat ruined the (above) artwork when I used them.

So, I found a fine art shop - which was an hour's walk away and bought a more professional watercolour set, but the colours in the set were a bit odd, very vivid, jewel colours - but they are at least a decent quality.

My waterproof ink pen ran out whilst I was drawing the above artwork, so I switched my style, so that I apply the watercolour first and then the ink lines afterwards.

I sent my sketches to my Dad and he kept saying how much he loves this last one...

I went to a stationery store and after trying a hundred different pens, I found another one with waterproof ink, so the normal process can resume....