Do you know the legend about the king who is forewarned by a fortune teller that his daughter would be poisoned by a snake? To protect her, he then built a castle on an island, but the prophecy came true, and she did die from a snake’s bite. The snake had been hidden in a grape basket that had been sent to the island because the daughter asked for grapes.
And where is this castle?
Well, the remnants can be seen from the balcony of our airbnb in Kizkaleci, on the Turkish south coast. It turns out that Kizkalesi translates to ‘Maiden Castle’, and the legend refers to this specific castle.
The old castle is truly a mesmerizing site, constructed from bright-white stone situated near the sandy beach.
Yet, the legend sounded so familiar to me that googled more. I then learned that this was the version in Kizkaleci’s tourist brochures. Apparently other places also claim their own castle ruins to be part of this legend…
Who knows of other places that allude to this tale, I wonder?
Kizkaleci has a second castle, right on the beach. It’s much bigger but closed off, apparently due to renovations although I see no activity whatsoever and we’ve been here for a couple of weeks already.
Each late afternoon I go for a walk, along the beach, where others, locals or vacationers, come for a stroll as well. Some bring camping chairs and a drink to enjoy the early spring weather. Kids splash around in the water – still very cold – and some men as well as women enjoy fishing.
While not exactly an exciting place to be, Kizkaleci has its own charm. Early spring, that is. I bet it will be packed with vacationers in the summer; for now, the dozens of hotels and restaurants are still largely closed up.
On Sundays I visit the market at the far end of the village. It’s the only place with a proper selection of vegetables, homegrown olives, homemade honey, and – if lucky – a fresh batch of tongue-melting locums (Turkish delight).
Why are we here?
To get our Dutch book Over Bruggen edited and ready for printing. By the second half of April we plan to sign and send them to all those fantastic people who pre-ordered the book during our crowdfunding campaign. Thanks again, to all who have contributed. And we promise, the book is great reading!
By the way, you can still order Over Bruggen – Dwars door de Amazone via our website. Note that we have special offers for bundels with our other books!
For English readers who have ‘forever’ requested an English book, well here’s your chance! You can now pre-order and contribute to a successful Kickstarter campaign, a prerequisite for printing Forever Off Track.
Check out the page, featuring a video and text explaining the book, along with extras!
In less than 2 weeks we got almost 70% funded, and so we have confidence. Yet you never know, do you… The nerves are running high here.
To those who have pre-ordered the book, thank you immensely!
Also, to all who have helped share the Forever Off Track Kickstarter project on your socials or in other ways – we are super grateful!
With that, I return to my editing until I can indulge in my daily beach walk in three hours…
best
Karin-Marijke & Coen
