600-year-old Turkmen village 'Sandima' must be protected

This week's stop of the excursion tours organized by the Ecosystem Conservation and Nature Lovers Association (EKODOSD), which carries out important works for the protection of the historical and natural beauties of Aydın, was the Bodrum district of Muğla. Nature lovers from Aydın who visited Sandima Village, one of the oldest settlements of Yalikavak and abandoned with 600 years of Bodrum's history, called on the authorities for the holistic preservation of the region. Noting that the region is starting to lose its former naturalness, EKODOSD President Bahattin Sürücü; "Something must be done to keep those wonderful houses and the works of art in them alive."

Expressing that nature and culture trips will continue as always, EKODOSD President Bahattin Sürücü gave information about the trip and said, “We went to Yalıkavak, one of the most beautiful places on the peninsula, for the Bodrum event we hold traditionally every year. Since 2004, we have been visiting almost every part of Bodrum and observing its beauties and the natural landscape that changes almost every year. This year we went to Sandima, which is located on the ridge of Yalikavak, an old Turkmen village. As in all tourism cities, we visited Sandima, one of the rare places in Yalikavak, where almost every hill is filled with constructions. We saw that roads paved with cobblestones were built up to the village, and concrete mixers and model vehicles roamed on the road that was used by horses and donkeys in the past. In the geography where tangerines, which were exported with trucks in the old years, were grown, we saw that sites named tangerines proliferated. We watched work of the construction buckets that came up to Sandima with concern. After the death of volunteer İsmail Erkoca, who gave life to Sandima and struggled for its preservation, bought one of the ruined houses of the village and turned it into an art center with his wife, we thought that something must be done to keep that wonderful house and the works of art in it alive. We hope that Bodrum Municipality develops a project to keep those old memories alive and to preserve and protect Sandima as a whole.”