Dog Bay

7/17/00 - 8/1/00

 

"Who let the dogs out?"

-The Baha Men

 

I started writing the story for this trip like I do the other ones, but there were just too many pictures, so this seemed like the easiest way to do it.

 

Tony, Juan and I went to Turkey this summer to visit my dad at his new bar, the Tiyatro (Theater) bar in Türkbükü, just north of Bodrum. The name of the town literally means "Turk Bay", but most people called the place "Dog Bay" because there were more stray dogs living there than there were Turks.

 

(Click the thumbnails to see the full sized pic)

 

Waiting for our flight in JFK.

On the bus in Istanbul heading to our connecting flight to Bodrum. Tony and Juan bought what they thought was a bottle of water (that's what happens when these two morons go off by themselves...), which turned out to be some of the worst seltzer ever bottled.

Boarding the plane to Bodrum.

One of Dog Bay's residents.

The bay itself.

This is the view we got to wake up to every morning. :)

Juan and I playing a little Gin Rummy (I kicked his ass, by the way...).

The hotel balcony.

Walking the boardwalk.

Getting a tan on the dock with our new friends.

Juan and Deniz.

Me with Mine (pronounced Mina).

The first girl Tony screwed up with. He pissed her off something fierce.

Juan and I having dinner at the restaurant.

Me and Mine Onat, a photo-model from Istanbul.

Me and Özge. She's a professional dancer, and one night she put on an awesome show in the bar.

Juan got put to work in exchange for his room and board.

Esra (Tony's official alarm clock because she would wake him up every morning just to be annoying), Juan and Mine.

Juan and our neighbor dancing the night away.

Deniz and a guy that we just called "The Ernest Hemmingway of Bodrum." He was one of those people that was everywhere, and had probably been there for the past eighty years.

Relaxing the day away at the bar.

Deniz, Esra and Mine.

Tony, Juan and I recovering from a night of drinking and dancing.

Me, Mine, Juan and Deniz.

Mine adjusting the goods.

Cem (an insane driver that Tony refused to drive with anymore) and Özge.

Özge and Deniz getting friendly at the bar.

Take-out.

Tony, Juan and Özge. Don't ask me why he's wearing sunglasses.

Tony and his actress girls before he pissed them off and they stopped talking to him.

Me and Mine soaking up some sun.

Our waiter, Mustafa relaxing on his off hours.

The actors, Mehmet Ali with his girlfriend, Mehemet's father, Mustafa Alabora, Sam, and Sam's wife. Mehmet Ali and Sam are the stars of the number one TV show in Turkey.

Mehmet Ali, me, and Sam. Tiyatro Bar was so named because there are so many actors, musicians, directors, producers, etc. So, many nights, we had TV crews there filming the place, interviewing people, and Juan ended up on TV almost every night.... well, he is one of the few "people of color" in the whole country...

Mustafa and I. I've known him my whole life. This is one of my father's best friends.

Me, Demet, and Juan. Juan was chasing Demet for a few days, but screwed that up, too. Shouldn't take lessons from Tony...

Me, Demet and Tony.

Tony met a few of the Jandarma (Military Police), and became friends with them because Tony is a cop, AND in the Army National Guard. So they loved him, gave him a Turkish Police courtesy badge, and invited us to tea in the Police Station. Apparently, this is an unheard of occurrence.

This is Lady Di. The evil Satan dog that bit me twice. It guarded the second floor of the hotel, which is where Mine's room was, and whenever I would try and sneak up there in the middle of the night, or early in the morning, this evil mongrel would chase me away. Should have kicked it off the ledge...

Juan and Esra.

Özge an Juan acting silly.

Me and Mine... and a dog. Actually, I'm impressed that there aren't dogs in the background of every photo. Literally, stray dogs were everywhere.

Mine striking a pose. Crazy girl never wore underwear.

Esra, Mine, and Ardal, the annoying bartender.

Another girl named Özge with Mine. This Özge, also stopped talking to Tony after he hit on her... or did he stop talking to her first? I can't remember, but either way, he screwed it up.

Me and my Dad relaxing on the cushions.

Me and Mine at sunset.

Esra, Mine and I drinking at the bar.

Having a quiet moment at the bar.

Tony directing traffic in downtown Bodrum.

Mine and Juan celebrating something.

Özge, probably still pissed at Tony.

Tony walking a mile for a Camel.

Okay, see the island behind these morons? They decided to see if they could swim to it. I decided to sit on the dock with Mine, have a cigarette, and then take out the boat to rescue them.

They are actually on their way.

Tony, so optimistic.

Almost there... Hard to believe Tony was beating Juan. Juan was known as the "Black Fish" of Bodrum.

Well, they made it to the island, started swimming back, and ended up swimming through the dumped refuse of all the ships that go through the bay, so my brother, Kerem and I decided to go rescue them.

Tony, covered in Dysentery, crawling into the boat

Juan, amazingly without Dysentery, crawling into the boat.

We took up the Jandarma's offer of tea at the Station, and had a great time relaxing with them all.

Juan dancing with a Cop.

Juan holding one of their MP-5's. Another unheard of act.

Me with a G-3. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me keep it. :(

Tony and Juan dancing with the Army guy.

Me, Juan, Tony and Ayden with the Bodrum Jandarma.

Another group shot. Notice that Tony no longer has a mustache. Shaving accident that morning.

 

 

If you have any questions, E-Mail me. Spat@spat-nospam-cave.com