*Ilhan Berk, a pre-eminent, innovative Turkish poet and painter succumbed to cancer and died on 28 Aug. ’08 at the age of 90. Though not born here, he had been a resident of Bodrum for many decades so he can be justly claimed as one of the city’s Famous Sons. Acclaimed for his ground-breaking poetic works and bold paintings, Ilhan Berk was laid to rest on Sat. 30 Aug. after a commemorative ceremony in the Municipal Council chamber and a service in the Central Mosque. Members of Bodrum’s international community are likely to remember him from an exhibition of his paintings at the now-defunct ‘Galeria’ restaurant/gallery once run by Lon Breit. Ilhan Berk’s accomplishments in literature and art will certainly be inscribed in modern Turkey’s intellectual chronicles, but Bodrum also should have a street named after him to honor his achievements. **The popular mayor of Yalikavak, Mustafa Saruhan, was suspended from duties by order of the Ministry of Interior, the notification delivered late in the evening on Friday 29 Aug.’08 from the Bodrum regional governor’s office. The very next day at 08:30 a.m. a large crowd of Yalikavak residents and supporters from the Bodrum area gathered in front of the Municipality building to express indignation and anger at what they regard as a politically motivated, unwarranted exercise of executive power by the central government. The mayor’s private residence continues to be besieged by well-wishers, including many old village grandmas protesting the action which is clearly against the wishes of the local population. ***Bodrum’s real estate market is troubled. On top of the fact that the long building boom has resulted in excess capacity at a time when all over the world real estate sales are in a slump, it has been reported by the local branch of the society of professional geologists that very many overpriced villas stand on foundations that have not been examined for resistance to earthquake damage. Some contractors apparently avoid having such determination made in order to avoid paying a professional fee of approx. 600 YTL, or just about $500.00. Since the Bodrum peninsula is in an earthquake-prone zone, prospective real estate buyers should insist that the property they intend to buy should be subject to such an examination – even though the law requiring this is still to be enacted by the Turkish parliament.