Friends in Kaş (pronounced 'cash')

Here is Murat Cakmak who lives between Isbanbul and Kaş. He will be in Kaş throughout the summer with his young family - flying, diving, spear fishing, socialising with his many friends, and watching the latest episodes of 'Lost' at his sea front house with its wonderful view of Kaş beach, the town and the imposing ridge we fly behind the town. He is fortunate not to have to work over the summer - except for an occasional business trip. He is an experienced paraglider pilot (600 hours plus), diver, and skier, and ski-acro pilot - although he's given up the latter after breaking his legs doing acro with skis making him bed-ridden for a year. You wont meet a more friendly and hospitable man. He has a lot of good advice for beginner and intermediate pilots, particularly those wanting to do acro or SIV maneuvers. He talked me through a stall nicely but I'll admit I was in a cafe at the time, not in the air with a radio.

Murat Cakmak

And below you can see Uğur (pronounced 'oor') Yavaş in action, ready to take off with a tandem pilot from the 650m take-off at Kaş. 'Uğur' means 'luck', and this seems to fit. He was Murat's paragliding instructor, and runs Naturablue, a diving and tandem paragliding company. He has also spent time in Ankara and knows my friend Yiğit well. He has vision and is up for any adventure. He was talking to me about vol-bivouac flying this summer, and was keen to do some XC over the period we were in Kaş, along with a couple of more experienced Ukranian pilots. Murat says he is a man who keeps matters in black and white, avoiding the grey where there is room for dishonesty.

Uğur Yavaş