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THERE'S a revolution going on in Southern Turkey but it shouldn't alarm the United Nations. There are no victims, no bloodshed, no one's been hurt, in fact the populace is delighted.
Because this most ancient of lands has just discovered the Royal and Ancient game, with most gratifying results.
The region in question is the Turkish Riviera, the coastline that hugs the Mediterranean. Part of this is the district of Belek, a half hour or so south of the ancient city of Antalya and its airport.
The setting is an endless vista of rolling, pine-covered sand hills reaching into the distance, edged by the Mediterranean that laps a beach stretching as far as the eye can see.
There's 100 miles of it or more but we're looking at just a tenth of that: they call it Paradise Beach. It's a grand place for such a revolution.
Here the pine trees grow to 80 feet with a water table so high that if you dig a hole in the sandy soil you'll soon have wet feet and a pond. It's all been itching for golf to come along and those who saw the potential didn't hang about once they'd teed up.
Only six years ago there wasn't a bunker or a flag stick in sight. Now there are four first class courses in play with two others under construction and sites allocated for three more, all within a short drive. The objective is to convert the region into a major holiday destination and the quality of the infrastructure they've installed says the ambition is not misplaced.
The latest addition is a new international terminal at Antalya airport, linked to the resort by a recently completed motorway that reduces the drive, via hotel shuttle or taxi, to less than 30 minutes. Don't even think about a rental car. You won't need one.
Tourism got a toe-hold hereabouts just after the war in the shape of some isolated beach hotels, catering to the domestic market and reached via rudimentary roads.
The region has begun to blossom since then but it's all still under-stated although the roads are much improved, the hotels more numerous and luxurious.
Initially, though, the season was limited largely to the summer months, which was fine for the beach crowd from Northern Europe and city types eager to escape the heat of Istanbul, four hours to the north. Not good news, though, for hoteliers and their staff.
The former weren't fully realising their investment; the latter were working for less than half the year in a land where social security is unknown and poverty, as in destitution, is a fact of life.
BUT someone on high did his homework and came up with a one word solution: golf. He wasn't the first to discover that our game can be an economic lifeline, bringing financial rewards and a buoyant economy through mass employment as it attracts multitudes of addicts who arrive in odd seasons, when everyone else has gone home.
Given a brace of sound courses, an agreeable hotel and something decently drinkable, it was found, and golfers are not too fussed about unending heat. Warm and dry is just fine, and that nicely sums up the Turkish off season.
Well, the courses are rather better than sound, as I will reveal, and the hotels -- there were 24 at last count -- are all sumptuous. Most of them are five star, all are individual in style and design. And the tower block syndrome that has blighted Iberian resorts is anathema at Belek.
Here most hotels are low profile; each is set in 25 acres or so of gardens running down to a private beach; all are gated and with stringent security. For those who want privacy and a little extra luxury, most have reNtal villas in the gardens.
All hotels have a full range of leisure facilities, and internally they want for nothing: daily laundry, air conditioning and satellite television are standard, as are shops, beauty parlours, fitness centres and gyms and entertainment for children.
Meals, generally, are carvery-style offering multiple choices and unlimited quantity to appeal to every taste, often with wine included.
Most hotels offer an all-inclusive package but for those seeking the exclusive in apres golf cuisine a la carte dining is readily available in hotels and clubhouses
For the adventurous, too, there's a selection of beachside restaurants in nearby villages, or a 40 minute drive away is the ancient city of Antalya (population 1.5 million) whose picturesque harbour is a venue for first rate cuisine and evening entertainment.
In short, the Turkish Riviera has it all: outstanding golf and hotels, all at good value, easy access, a welcoming populace and a reliable climate.
This is a land where life's drum beats to a more measured pace, an age-old rhythm that has the omni-present sun as a metronome.
It's a place where time is to be relished. Go once and you'll become addicted.
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