Kurudere is one of three villages that make up Saz Koy. Up until the 1970s the village was a thriving settlement on either side of the main road to Bodrum. Once the new Bodrum road opened through Güvercinlik, the village lost its butcher, tailor, baker, tea house and eventually its school. It is now a purely residential area with the young folk mostly working in Bodrum or in the large neighbouring hotels, leaving their elders to tend the fields and animals.Kurudere Sazköy’ü teşkil eden üç mahallenin bir tanesidir ( diğerleri Sazköy ve Çamarası ). 1970 lere kadar mahalle, Bodrum’a giden önceki karayolunun her iki tarafında gelişen bir yerleşim alanıydı. Güvercinlik üzerinden yeni yolun açılmasından sonra mahalle kasap, terzi, fırın, kahvehane ve sonunda okulunu kaybetti. Şimdilerde, gençlerinin çoğunluğunun Bodrum yada komşu otellerde istihdamları sebebi ile tarla ve hayvanlarının bakımlarını yaşlılarının eline bırakmış oldukları, sadece bir sosyal yerleşim alanı niteliğindedir.
Basket weaver Raşit Sarı is one such elder. One Sunday in November around thirty members of H3A walked with Raşit along the edge of the forest collecting suitable branches for weaving. At his house we watched him make a start on a new basket, using some of the branches we had collected then switched to one he had started earlier. Several of us bought baskets he had already made and placed orders for new ones. Raşit is planning to start a basket-making course.
We then went back to our host, Annie Onursan, house for a sumptuous afternoon cream tea. This is a time-honoured English meal consisting of scones, jam and the eponymous cream accompanied by lashings of tea, drunk from china cups. Cake is also a feature and Annie, in addition to the scones, had made several types including the traditional lemon drizzle.
Many thanks to Annie for a fascinating afternoon and a delicious tea.
