‘They call this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,” says tour guide Marius Lazin, his breath expelling a procession of cotton-wool ghosts into the sharp evening air. “So many people have disappeared here, some say it’s a portal to another dimension.” Marius is leading me on a night walk through what is often described as the world’s most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca. He’s been coming here three nights a week for the past 12 years, but even he looks a little uneasy as he arcs his torch like a searchlight against the knotted walls of elm and beech trees which embrace us on all sides, looking so thick that they might be the boundary of the known world.
Marius motions with his torch towards several pairs of slender beech trees, eerie in their symmetry, branches intertwined to form arches – portals or stargates, you might speculate, were you possessed of a particularly febrile imagination. “Many came in here and never came out. But don’t worry,” he adds, turning to me with a grin. “Our tours have a 100% return rate.”
Reports of strange happenings here date back centuries – the forest is named after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a UFO hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest. In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from across the world, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest.
‘Home of Dracula’ … Bran Castle, in Transylvania’s Carpathian mountains. Photograph: Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images
It may be one of the world’s premier pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, but the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks. Barring a few hectares home to locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the company he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest’s value as a tourist attraction. The company offers day and night walks in the forest, yoga sessions, paranormal lectures, treasure hunts and escape games – and even, for the particularly intrepid, overnight camping.
As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath our boots, Marius recounts some of the folk tales and alleged paranormal happenings here. One famous story describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, only to rematerialise five years later with no memory of what had happened to her, having not aged a day, her clothes shy of the slightest speck of dirt.
More common reports describe mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods, while emotional responses range from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy. Some people report seeing strange rashes on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel hands grabbing or pushing them, even when sure they are alone.
Marius pulls an iPad from his rucksack and shows me the UFO images which catapulted Hoia-Baciu to international attention in the 1960s. Grainy and monochrome, they appear to show a button-like flying saucer hovering above the trees. He flicks through dozens of other photographs taken in the years before and since, with similar saucer-like objects, glowing orbs or wraith-like apparitions. Enigmatic photographs of this nature have been a fixture of paranormal research for more than a century, not much use as evidence, but it’s worth noting that Barnea did not stand to profit from publishing his photographs – on the contrary, he lost his job in the military, with the communist government not looking kindly on anything with a supernatural tang. “Many of the old researchers who investigated the forest ended up in psychiatric wards,” Marius says. “Did the communist regime put them there? Or did something really happen to them, here in the forest?”
An evening walking tour of Hoia-Baciu. Photograph: Hoia Baciu Project
While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there is much before my eyes that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes. Some bulge outwards at the base, their crowns disappearing into the black night, so they resemble giant meat hooks hanging from the heavens. Others droop like melted candles, or are bent in strange, spiralling patterns. Various suggestions have been given to explain the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil account for their crooked growth. But scientific investigations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.
Marius’s tours allow visitors to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the trees where Barnea took his famous UFO photographs, he hands me an EMF meter, a stalwart of ghost-hunting kits which measures electromagnetic fields. “We’re entering the most active part of the forest,” he says. “See what you can find.”
The trees suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it’s clear that it hasn’t been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of human hands.
Wielding my EMF meter, I sweep the clearing like a detectorist, briefly excited when the needle begins to tick madly back and forth, only for my vibrating phone to indicate that the electromagnetic disturbance was just an incoming text message. Despite spending several hours in the forest, and being genuinely baffled by the twisted trees and the strange clearing, I haven’t seen anything I’d describe as supernatural. Perhaps the forest is a blank canvas, on to which people project their own fears and desires.
Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi (“screamers”) – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.
Misty and spooky: Hoia Baciu wood. Photograph: Pal Szilagyi Palko/Alamy
Bram Stoker’s famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith perched on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains around four hours’ drive south of Hoia-Baciu – is keenly marketed as “Dracula’s Castle”. While it bears little resemblance to the shadowy ruin described as Dracula’s dwelling, and there is no evidence that it inspired Stoker, it’s still a major attraction for fans of all things gothic and ghoulish – particularly around Halloween, when the castle hosts costumed parties.
But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, “the place beyond the forest” – feels solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a nexus for human imaginative power. “In Hoia-Baciu,” Marius says, “the line between reality and imagination is very thin.”
Hurricane Melissa is causing havoc in Jamaica as the Caribbean nation faces the strongest storm in its modern history.
The hurricane, a category four with wind speeds of 150mph (240km/h), was heading towards Cuba on Tuesday evening and then the Bahamas. Earlier, Melissa made landfall on Jamaica’s coastline with winds of more than 185mph.
Earlier in the day, a Meteorological Service of Jamaica official warned conditions would get “significantly worse” and the US National Hurricane Center predicted “catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surges”.
Jamaican authorities have urged residents and visitors to continue sheltering, with nearly a third of the country already without power.
Photos emerging from Jamaica since Hurricane Melissa made landfall show fallen trees and damaged homes.
“It’s a catastrophic situation,” the World Meteorological Organization’s tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan said at a press briefing, warning of storm surges up to four metres high.
“For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century, for sure.”
Roofs have been torn off hospitals, former Jamaican senator Imani Duncan-Price told the BBC.
“People are trying to rescue people in the middle of the storm just to save lives.”
Up to 30 inches (76cm) of rain is expected in some parts, with areas already experiencing flash flooding. Around 70% of the island’s 2.8 million population lives within 5km of the sea.
AFP via Getty Images
Wildlife is also a threat. Flooding may displace crocodiles from their natural dwellings, Jamaican health officials said.
“Rising water levels in rivers, gullies, and swamps could cause crocodiles to move into residential areas,” the South East Regional Health Authority said in a statement.
“Residents living near these areas are therefore advised to remain vigilant and avoid flood waters.”
Winston Warren, who said he lives less than 1km from the ocean, described “a constant roar of water”.
“There are times you just wonder – are the waves going to come crashing into your house?” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of roofs blown off.”
One woman told the BBC: “There is water coming in through the roof of my house. I am not okay.”
EPA
The slow-moving storm is expected to remain powerful as it crosses Jamaica, whose highland communities are vulnerable to landslides and flooding.
Even before the eye of the hurricane reached land, the region experienced extreme weather and fatalities. On Monday, Jamaica’s government said three people had died in “storm-related” incidents, involving falling trees.
The storm is heading towards Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s second-largest city.
In Cuba, authorities said they evacuated about 500,000 people from areas vulnerable to winds and flooding.
“Melissa will arrive with force, and there’s great concern about what it could destroy in its wake,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a message published in state newspaper Granma.
Additional reporting by Brandon Drenon and Gabriela Pomeroy
IT’S that time of year again where it’s cosy pub season – and one UK spot takes it to the next level with an extravagant Christmas display.
The Churchill Arms in Kensington, London may just be the most Christmassy pub in the country.
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The Churchill Arms in Kensington, London has a spectacular Christmas display of 22,000 lights and 80 treesCredit: PAInside the pub is also full of curiosities including memorabilia from the world warsCredit: Alamy
Each year it glows with over 22,000 lights over the festive period and is adorned with 80 Christmas trees.
This isn’t the most Christmas trees the pub has boasted, though – back in 2019 the pub featured 105 trees, which were dedicated to the NHS.
And if you head there on November 13 at 6pm you can watch the lights get switched on.
During the event, guests can grab some mulled wine and mince pies.
The pub’s Christmas menu includes lots of Thai dishes such as Jungle Curry for £14, which features coconut milk and vegetables cooked in Thai herbs.
Alternatively, you can grab some chicken wings for £7.50.
For dessert, a classic apple pie will set you back just £5.25.
When it comes to having a tipple, you can expect everything a normal Fuller’s pub would have, including craft lager and seasonal ales.
During the period the pub’s tables are first-come, first-served and the restaurant is walk-in only.
The pub was built back in 1750, making it one of the older pubs in London.
Plus, the pub has even had some notable visitors, including Winston Churchill‘s grandparents – which ultimately led to the pub being called what it is today.
And inside guests can look up to the ceiling which is full of items from the world wars and lots of garlands.
On the walls there are evening newspapers, such as an old copy of the Daily Mail with the headline ‘Stalin Attacks Churchill’.
There are multiple different areas to explore too, including one section with lots of hanging plants and another cosy area with a fireplace.
Look out for a small plaque ’round the back of the pub as well, which is dedicated to Gary O’Brien who was the pub’s landlord for 32 years before retiring in 2017.
The pub is also known for having amazing floral displays in the summertimeCredit: Alamy
It isn’t just Christmas when the pub has a spectacular display either.
In the summer, the pub is known for its extravagant flower displays which have even resulted in the spot becoming a Chelsea Flower Show winner.
One recent visitor said: “Such an adorable spot.
“We grabbed two pints of some tasty raspberry cider just to try out the place and it was very busy on a midday Friday.”
Another added: “Cool Christmas lights, definitely gets you in the festive mood.”
Ancestry has uncovered which Downton Abbey actors’ real-life family stories mirror their characters ahead of the hit ITV show’s upcoming third and final film
The Downton Abbey cast have all collaborated for a third and final movie(Image: Getty Images)
New research shows some of the cast of Downton Abbey have real life similarities in their families compared to their on screen roles
With a new third and final film about the ITV period drama released into cinemas this week on September 12, the results from family history site Ancestry uncover which actors’ real-life family stories mirror their characters and which tell a very different story.
Michael Fox who plays butler Andy Parker has a three-times-great-grandfather who was a butler and great-great-grandfather a chauffeur. It seems he was almost destined to play a loyal footman. This was uncovered using marriage and census records.
Downton Abbey is back for a third film(Image: TV Grab)
Allen Leech is well known as Chauffeur turned Estate Manager Tom Branson. Like Branson, Allen comes from a family of principled public servants. Using an obituary from the Drogheda Independent in 1962 it can be revealed his great-grandfather Thomas Leech was an Irish peace commissioner known for his honesty and integrity, and may well have inspired one of Branson’s iconic speeches.
Lesley Nichol’s character Mrs Patmore had a loveable role in the Downton kitchen, in real life her ancestors were shepherds, butchers and wine merchants showing a real-life passion for food and drink that mirrors Mrs Patmore.
The 1911 Census of England and Wales record shows Henry Thomas Isaac, butcher.
Harry Hadden-Paton was Bertie Pelham in the ITV series and Bertie is an expert at estate management.
This is similar to Harry’s three-times-great-grandfather, a banker called Henry G Marquand involved in major railroad interests who might have been able to save the Crawleys from financial ruin. This was discovered via a report in a copy of a Chicago Tribune newspaper from 1902.
Laura House, DNA and Family History Expert at Ancestry, said: “Downton Abbey has captivated audiences with its stories of class, conflict, and connection.
“These real-life discoveries show just how closely some of the cast’s personal histories align with the roles they play. From wartime heroes to world-travelling diplomats and hardworking cooks, it’s a reminder that fascinating stories lie in all of our family trees waiting to be discovered.”
The new third film follows the much-loved Crawley family and their staff as they enter the 1930s.
Lady Mary finds herself at the centre of a public scandal going through divorce, the family faces financial trouble, and the entire household grapples with the threat of social disgrace.
The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepares for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future and off into the sunset.
Israeli destruction in al-Mughayyir near Ramallah is part of push to forcibly displace Palestinians, researcher says.
The Israeli military has destroyed about 3,000 olive trees in a village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the head of the local council says, as Palestinians face a continued wave of violence across the territory in the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza.
The Israeli military issued an order on Saturday to uproot olive trees in a 0.27sq-km (0.1sq-mile) area in al-Mughayyir, a village of about 4,000 residents northeast of Ramallah.
The army justified the measure by saying the trees posed a “security threat” to a main Israeli settlement road that runs through the village’s lands.
The destruction was carried out as al-Mughayyir has been under lockdown since Thursday after an Israeli settler said he was shot at in the area.
The deputy head of the village council, Marzouq Abu Naim, told Palestinian news agency Wafa that Israeli soldiers had stormed more than 30 homes since dawn on Saturday, destroying residents’ property and vehicles.
For decades, the Israeli military has uprooted olive trees – an important Palestinian cultural symbol – across the occupied Palestinian territory as part of the country’s efforts to seize Palestinian land and forcibly displace residents.
The West Bank also has seen a surge in Israeli military and settler violence since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, and tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced out of their homes.
Palestinian men collect wheat after an attack by Israeli settlers in al-Mughayyir in May [File: Mohammed Torokman/Reuters]
More than 2,370 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have been reported across the area from January 2024 to the end of July this year, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The highest number of attacks – 585 – was recorded in the Ramallah area, followed by 479 in the Nablus region in the northern West Bank.
At least 671 Palestinians, including 129 children, also have been killed by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers across the West Bank in that same time period, OCHA said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Saturday on the uprooting of the olive trees in al-Mughayyir.
Hamza Zubeidat, a Palestinian researcher, said the destruction is part of Israel’s “continuous” effort to force Palestinians off their lands.
“We have to be clear that since 1967, Israel is still implementing the same plan of evicting the Palestinian population from the countryside and the cities of the West Bank. What’s going on right now is just a continuous process of this eviction of Palestinians. It’s not a new Israeli process,” Zubeidat told Al Jazeera.
He noted that al-Mughayyir has a long agricultural history and, like other villages in the West Bank, relies almost entirely on agriculture and livestock as its main source of income.
“This area where more than 3,000 olive trees [were] uprooted is one of the most fertile areas in this part of the Ramallah area,” Zubeidat explained.
“Uprooting trees, confiscated water springs, blocking and preventing Palestinians from accessing their farms and water sources means more food and water insecurity.”
OZZY Osbourne has been buried near bat boxes – and it feels “like Ozzy had the last laugh”, a family friend said.
The Black Sabbath legend, who died on July 22 at the age of 76, was laid to rest next to the lake in his Buckinghamshire home on Thursday.
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Ozzy has been laid to rest on his Buckinghamshire estateCredit: Getty
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The gated residence is tucked away in the countrysideCredit: mancpicss66 / Aaron Parfitt
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The Prince of Darkness was buried on ThursdayCredit: Getty – Contributor
A family friend told the Mirror: “This was like a classic Ozzy move. The man loved humour and this sure would have tickled him pink knowing how close friends reacted to this bat situation.
“After all those decades caught up in this drama around bats and animal rights groups, here at his final resting place there are bespoke bat boxes to help encourage the animals thrive in the UK countryside.
“It has prompted quite a few laughs and funny reactions. It is just like Ozzy had the last laugh.”
They added that the bat boxes – installed in trees by the lake a few years ago – have brought moments of laughter to the grieving family.
One of the most controversial moments of the heavy metal singer’s career came in January 1982, when he famously bit the head off a bat on stage.
Something small and black landed near him on stage during a show at Des Moines’ Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
Believing it was a rubber toy, Ozzy picked it up and bit into it.
In his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy, he wrote: “Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it.
“Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong,” he added.
Ozzy said he deeply regretted the incident as he had to have daily rabies shots for months.
Tearful Sharon Osbourne reads fans’ touching tributes to beloved husband Ozzy as she joins family at funeral procession
It remains unclear whether the bat was alive or dead – in a 2006 interview with the BBC, Ozzy described it as a “dead real bat”.
Buckinghamshire – home to many brown long-eared and pipistrelle bats – has recently taken steps to improve bat conservation.
Ozzy’s name was displayed in the funeral cortege with purple flowersCredit: Alamy
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Zakk Wylde and Marilyn Manson attended the funeral on ThursdayCredit: Splash
The home was decorated with pictures of Ozzy, and mourners were given a photograph of him to take home.
110 of the singer’s nearest and dearest attended, joining his wife Sharon and his children Jack, 39, Kelly, 40, Aimee, 41, and Louis, 50, his son from his first marriage to Thelma Riley.
Stars at the service included Ozzy’s Black Sabbath bandmates, Metallica’s James Hetfield, punk singer Yungblud and Sir Elton John.
Rock icon Marilyn Manson flew in from the US to attend, alongside Ozzy’s guitarist Zakk Wylde and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor.
The family friend said: “Everyone at the service just wanted to support Sharon and the kids, it has been an awful time.
“Toasts were raised, memories were shared – it was a very fitting goodbye.
“Ozzy wanted his final place of rest to be at home and he is buried at a beautiful point on the lake.
“As well as the ‘Ozzy f***ing Osbourne’ wreath, which made people smile, there was another floral tribute which spelt out ‘Ozzy’ that was placed by the fountain on the lake.
“There was a stage where people including Yungblud, who grew very close to Ozzy in recent years, were set to pay tribute to him.
“The day was incredibly emotional. Pictures of Ozzy were dotted throughout the house and a photograph of him was given to everyone who attended to take home with them.”
Guests were sent a simple black invitation featuring a cross and the words: “In loving memory of Ozzy Osbourne.”
The road leading to the couple’s Buckinghamshire home near Gerrards Cross was closed from 1pm.
Mourners were transported from The Crowne Plaza and The Bull in Gerrards Cross to the house at 2pm, with the service starting at 3pm.
The day before, thousands of fans gathered in the streets of Birmingham to pay tribute to Ozzy.
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Fans gather to pay tribute to Ozzy in a procession in BirminghamCredit: Getty
Out on the moody, flame-licked front patio of Mojave Gold in Yucca Valley, Ryan and Alexis Gutierrez took in their first goth show in their new neighborhood.
The couple had just moved to the high desert from the Inland Empire, and given the considerable face tattoo count between them, they’d been looking for some witchy fellow travelers.
After watching the electro project Tantra Punk’s set — a singer marauding across the stage, fogged over with blood-colored lights — the couple passed by a merch booth hawking fresh herbs planted in tiny metal pots. The two were pleasantly surprised they’d found their people here.
“I didn’t even know there was a scene for this out here,” Alexis said. “I literally just passed this place and thought it looked hip. We used to drive to San Diego for something like this.”
“It’s kind of slower out here in the desert, but there’s things like this that make it fun,” Ryan said, “Being in the alternative scene, having shows like this is really important to us.”
The six-week-old Mojave Gold is the most promising new entry in a desert music scene that, lately, has seen its share of high-stakes ownership drama at venues like Pappy & Harriet’s and the Alibi. Mojave Gold’s owners are betting on a more permanent, independent-minded scene for local acts and edgier nightlife in its wake.
“A part of why we moved here 10 years ago was that there are so many amazing musicians, and a lot more people live here now,” said the venue’s co-owner Cooper Gillespie. “I’m like, ‘Yes, bring on all the amazing music venues and new places for the music community to be.’”
The bar inside the nightclub is decorated in gold colors at Mojave Gold, a brand new music venue near Joshua Tree that’s counting on a continued interest in year-round nightlife in the fast-gentrifying area.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
While Joshua Tree is famous for its rough-and-tumble (if sometimes set decorated) roadhouse aesthetic, Mojave Gold looks more like it zigged left up the 111 from Palm Springs. A black and gilt disco vibe permeates the 500-capacity space, from the undulating wood ceiling made from salvaged Hollywood Bowl seats to velveteen booths and a winking poster advertising Quaaludes.
“There’s a purposeful make-out corner,” said Mojave Gold’s interior designer Brookelyn Fox, wryly arching her eyebrows toward the rear of the venue.
Mojave Gold’s attached restaurant is worth a visit in its own right (a cactus and citrus ceviche, charred cauliflower steak and a chocolate mole custard looked especially eye-catching). But in a small town with an outsize presence on the region’s music scene, it could help turn the area into a year-round tour stop in its own right and become a new festival-season mainstay.
“If you’ve got all these bands playing Coachella every year, well, only one of them is going to be able to play Saturday night at Pappy’s,” said Dale Fox, who manages the venue’s financing. “Now, there’s another place.”
Landers residents Gillespie and her Mojave Gold co-founder Greg Gordon are both former Pappy’s employees, working under longtime owners Robyn Celia and Linda Krantz. They suspected there was room for more live music than that beloved and hotly contested venue could handle year-round. They had their eyes on the former AWE Bar space since it closed after a brief run in 2023, with ambitions to rebuild it into a locals-first venue.
Patrons gather in the outdoor patio adjacent to the nightclub at Mojave Gold.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“The space and the time we’ve had is so much more than we could have done in L.A.” Gillespie said. “Everything takes a lot of time and money in the city, and out here, I feel like there’s a lot more space in all aspects of your life to create. We’ll have national acts, but also bring up our local talent and give them opportunities to have a place to call their own.”
They got lucky when Liz Garo, the talent buyer for the late, lamented Alibi in Palm Springs, was unexpectedly free and looking for a new project in the area after decades booking the Echo, Regent and other venues in Los Angeles. The shows so far have spanned the modern desert’s full range of scenes — country dance nights, the scuzzy punk of Throw Rag, cabaret drag acts and gothic folk from Blood Nebraska.
“It was a part of some music scenes where you didn’t even know who’s playing, but you went to the Echo because you knew all your friends were going to be there,” Gillespie said. “That’s what we want this place to be.”
Mojave Gold arrives as a new crop of nightlife spots have opened to serve both desert lifers and newcomers to the small towns near Joshua Tree National Park. The Red Dog Saloon, Más o Menos and the ad hoc gay bar Tiny Pony Tavern have found their footing for more ambitious desert nightlife. There’s still room for more, Gordon said.
“The big surprise for me when we opened, is that there was not one moment where I felt a sense of competition,” Gordon added. “None of the other restaurants or venues had this kind of cutthroat mentality. There’s no zero-sum thinking. I think we’re still so young out here that … everybody adds something to the market.”
Patrons dance to music from local artists on Desert Gothic night at Mojave Gold.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But passions about development run deep out here, especially after the pandemic-fueled boom in property flipping. The sad fate of the now-shuttered Alibi, the brutal court skirmish over Pappy’s and the gleaming nearby Acrisure Arena (which just landed the kickoff date and sole SoCal stop of Paul McCartney’s tour) prove that moneyed interests still have their eye on the area’s land and cultural scene.
For now though, the string of little desert towns are happy the Airbnb flippers have taken a beating and longer-term visions for local culture are taking root. “Shout-out to the city government in Yucca,” Gordon said, saluting. “They’re constantly thinking of ways to beautify the area and respect Old Town and encourage curated growth.”
Patrons dance to Tantra Punk on Desert Gothic night at Mojave Gold.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Mojave Gold team hopes that this sometimes-shaky boomlet of independent music in the desert can foster a scene like Silver Lake’s in the early 2000s — big enough to be nationally influential, but neighborhood-y enough to roll in twice a week and see where the evening takes you. Even if it’s straight to hell on goth night.
“A big part of those scenes were free or very inexpensive nights when you even if you didn’t have a lot of money, you could go out and have a great time,” Gillespie said. “I hope that the focus here is on fostering the local creative community and not just profiting.”
Aged seven or eight, planting onions on his father’s land above Kabak Bay, Fatih Canözü saw his first foreigner. Before the road came in 1980, his village on the jagged coast of south-west Turkey’s Lycia region was extremely remote, isolated by steep valleys and mountains plunging into the sea. It took his family two days to get to the city of Fethiye on winding donkey tracks, to sell their apricots, vegetables and honey at the market. Despite his shock at seeing the outside world intrude for the first time, Canözü remembers thinking even then that tourism was the future.
Four decades on and having trained as a chef, Canözü has not only built a restaurant and 14 tourist cabins in Kabak, he has married a foreigner too: a former Middle East correspondent from England, who came here to research a novel and ended up falling in love. Now they are raising their family on this wild fringe of Anatolia’s Turquoise Coast, a region that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founding father of the Republic of Turkey, is said to have called the most beautiful in the country.
The Olive Garden takes its name from the 200 to 300 olive trees growing on the terraced hillside above the sea. Canözü’s father dug them up in the mountains and lugged them here on his back, a testament to the years of hard work it took to make this place. Canözü designed the cabins himself, building them in wood and stone to minimise the environmental footprint. Then he installed an infinity pool where his family once threshed grain. When the restaurant opened in 2005, he waited a nerve-racking 45 days for his first customer. Slowly, people came.
My wife and I stay here for four nights, sleeping first in a standard cabin and then in one of two luxury cabins overlooking the sea. The room is airy, glass and pine, but we spend most of our time sitting on the deck outside, continually astonished at the view. On the far side of the forested valley rise immense limestone walls that mark the southern reaches of the Taurus mountain range – the summit nearby is slightly lower than Ben Nevis. On the beach below, a sliver of sand meets startlingly blue water. Kabak beach has long been known for its alternative vibes, a place where groups of hippies sunbathe alongside Muslim families, women in burkinis and dogs dozing on the sand.
Food at the Olive Garden restaurant. Photograph: Louise Pamment
This sense of coexistence – something that many see as the heart of modern Turkishness – extends to the marine life: at sunset, half the beach is cleared for nesting loggerhead turtles.
By road, the village of Kabak is literally the end of the line, which, along with the rugged terrain, has helped shield it from the overdevelopment suffered by resorts elsewhere.
On foot, it is a resting place on a longer, slower journey. One of the things that brings travellers here is the 470-mile Lycian Way, established in 1999 by a British-Turkish woman called Kate Clow, who still lives locally. We hike sections of this world-renowned walking trail, first along a rocky path through pine forest and strawberry trees to visit a nearby waterfall. Some beach party stragglers have landed after a long night, so we take our plunge to the thump of techno. A few minutes’ scramble and the trail brings us back to wild silence.
The following day I walk south for two hours while others go ahead by boat; we meet on Cennet Koyu, which translates as Paradise Bay. No road has made its way to this beach, and it fully deserves its name. Swimming here, in water as clear as glass with steep green mountains rising behind, is as close to paradise as can be imagined. Up in the forest is one of the “camps” that were founded before gentrified tourism arrived – vaguely piratical travellers’ outposts that keep things reassuringly scruffy. Dogs, chickens and donkeys wander among the trees.
One of the cabins at Olive Garden. Photograph: Louise Pamment
The boat, steered by a local man with an anchor tattooed behind his ear, takes us around the next headland to the site of a ruined village. Its archway and collapsed stone walls, half swallowed by greenery, are a testament to the darker history of this stretch of coastline. Kalabantia was once inhabited by Greeks, forced to abandon their beautiful home during the brutal “population exchange” that followed the Turkish war of independence in the 1920s. No one came to take their place – it was too remote even for local Turks – so now its stones are sinking back into the land from which they came.
A 45-minute drive away is the much larger settlement of Kayaköy, formerly Levissi, from which over 6,000 Greeks were deported in 1923 to a “homeland” they had never seen. This melancholy ghost town of 500 roofless houses is almost entirely abandoned, but for roaming goats and tourists. There is something particularly tragic in its Orthodox chapels and churches, with their painted stars still pricking the ceilings. Strangely, I realise I’ve been here before: under the fictional name Eskibahçe, this was the setting of Louis de Bernières’ novel Birds Without Wings, which describes how nationalism tore apart multicultural communities that had lived side by side under Ottoman rule for centuries.
The Greek influence is also apparent in Lycia’s most famous ruins: the rock-carved tombs that we saw on our way here from Fethiye. They were made by the ancient Lycians, who blended Hellenic architecture with the Persian technique of hewing structures from the living rock. Smaller tombs, which resemble lidded caskets made of stone, are scattered throughout the mountains and along the Lycian Way, monuments to another of Anatolia’s vanished cultures.
Life has never been settled here. Kabak might still be remote but the road has inevitably brought change, and since the Olive Garden opened, trees have been bulldozed and concrete poured, although the pace of construction has apparently slowed in recent years.
Owner Fatih Canözü
With increasing visitor numbers, the water supply is a big concern, followed closely, in this time of ever-rising temperatures, by the risk of forest fires. But other things stay much the same. Where the road terminates the mountains are still vast and wild, the forests are still full of boar, and the turtles still return to the beaches every year. As in other places where beauty masks a harder existence, there’s a balance to be struck: without tourism – including the hikers slogging along the Lycian Way – many of Kabak’s young people would be forced to move elsewhere instead of working locally, as the Olive Garden’s staff do. At least for now, Kabak feels on the right side of that balance.
On our last night we eat imam bayildi, which translates as “the imam fainted” – presumably because the dish is so good – roasted aubergine stuffed with onions, tomatoes and garlic, drenched in olive oil and smothered with melted cheese. The food has been consistently fresh, local and delicious. The moon shines on the walls of the valley, which glow as bright as bone. We have learned a new word, yakamoz, my favourite in Turkish or any other language: it describes the sparkling of moonlight on dark water. There is poetry in this land. Any culture that has a word for this must be doing something right.
Standard cabins at Olive Garden Kabak (olivegardenkabak.com) from £70, luxury cabins £120 (both sleep two), breakfast included
A WOMAN has been left fuming after claiming her ‘psycho’ neighbour chopped down her garden’s trees without permission.
In a video, she shared the before and after of her outdoor space, with her garden looking like a mess after the massacre.
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A woman shared her garden before her neighbour took actionCredit: TikTok
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She claims her ‘psycho’ neighbour chopped her trees downCredit: TikTok
On her account, she shared the entire story – and people are split in the comments.
She claimed: “About two months ago, our neighbor asked us to remove our trees because flowers were falling into his yard.
“Of course I felt terrible but we said no, because I loved those trees for many reasons. “However, we immediately had them professionally cut back (which we do every other year, per our landscaper’s recommendation). He lost it.
“He sent a bunch of unhinged messages to my husband but we thought it had blown over after we had the trees cut back and the flowers stopped blooming.
“Fast forward to this past weekend, while we weren’t home (which he knew), they were mysteriously chopped down. Every last one.
“They were cut aggressively and conveniently in a way that ensured nothing fell into his yard.”
She shared how she had asked neighbours if they had seen what happened – and word got back to the person they suspect did it.
The woman claims he then started sending her husband “threatening messages” filled with “profanity and intimidation.”
The social media user said she wasn’t sharing the story for sympathy but because she felt “heartbroken”.
She said she has filed a police report and is trying to get justice over the incident.
Your kids are breaking law if they kick their ball over neighbour’s fence, High Court rules after couple sued next door
People were quick to tune in on the tree debacle, with one saying: “Huge trees are a pain in a garden but you cannot just go in neighbors garden and cut them down!”
Another also supported her saying: “What type of psycho goes to another person’s yard and cuts down their trees!!!!
“It’s truly insane. I’m sorry this was done to you.”
However, some people took the neighbour’s side.
One wrote: “Why do people plant their trees so close to the border?”
Another added: “understand your feelings but anything hanging over his yard I presume he can legally cut back?”
What are your rights if a neighbour’s tree hangs into your garden?
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Overhanging branches can lead to nasty neighbour disputesCredit: Getty
In order to prevent overhanging branches turning into furious rows between neighbours, Natalie Welsh, head of property at HCB Widdows Mason shared what your rights are in this tricky situation.
“It can be really frustrating when branches or plants from your neighbour’s garden start to spill over into your space”, she said. “In England and Wales, you’re allowed to cut back any branches that cross onto your property, but only up to the boundary line.
“Just make sure you don’t step onto your neighbour’s land or damage the tree itself.”
Natalie advised that before taking any drastic action, it’s best to have a friendly chat with your neighbour first.
Rules on fences and trees
Fences:
Height Restrictions: In most areas, fences in front gardens should not exceed one metre in height without planning permission. For rear gardens, the limit is generally two metres.
Shared Fences: If a fence is shared with a neighbour, both parties are typically responsible for its maintenance and any costs associated with repairs or replacement.
Building Regulations: Ensure that any new fence complies with local building regulations and does not obstruct visibility for drivers or pedestrians.
Trees:
Ownership: Trees located on your property are your responsibility, including any damage they may cause. Conversely, trees on a neighbour’s property are their responsibility.
Overhanging Branches: You are entitled to trim branches that overhang into your property, but only up to the boundary line. The cut branches should be offered back to the tree owner.
Protected Trees: Some trees are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs). Check with your local council before undertaking any work on a tree, as unauthorised work can result in fines.
Roots: If tree roots from a neighbour’s tree cause damage to your property, you have the right to remove the roots. However, it is advisable to discuss this with your neighbour first to avoid disputes.
Always consult your local council or a legal adviser for specific regulations and advice.
LEVI COLWILL netted a rare and lucrative goal which propelled Chelsea’s billion-pound boys’ club into the Champions League after a two-year absence.
And for Nottingham Forest, it was a case of what Colwill giveth, Colwill taketh away.
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Chelsea secured Champions League football with a narrow win over Nottingham ForestCredit: Getty
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A 50th-minute goal from Levi Colwill secured the west Londoners a 1-0 win at the City GroundCredit: Getty
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Enzo Maresca’s troops will dine at the top table of European football next seasonCredit: PA
It was the Chelsea defender’s own goal, while on loan at Huddersfield Town, which earned Forest promotion to the top flight in the Championship Play-Off Final of 2022.
But early in the second half, the England man scored only the fifth goal of his career to settle this final-day shoot-out for a place at European football’s top table.
And Chelsea now head to Poland for Wednesday’s Europa Conference League Final against Real Betis, knowing they are assured of a place back in the elite.
This result ensured that Enzo Maresca will survive as head coach at Stamford Bridge and will allow Todd Boehly & Co to argue that their policy of bulk-buying young players on long contracts is beginning to bear fruit.
After a tense match of few chances, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men ended up in seventh place, which earns them a place in the Conference League next term.
This season had promised far more from Forest, who were up in the top three of the Premier League for the majority of the campaign.
But they have taken just one point from their final four home matches, which ultimately killed off their ambitions of playing in a higher echelon of European competition.
For Chelsea, this was only a second Premier League away game since December.
They were playing without a recognised centre-forward in their starting line-up – PedroNeto operating as a ‘false nine’ in the absence of the suspended Nicolas Jackson.
While Forest had looked nailed-on for the Champions League for much of the season, a return to European football had already been secured after a 30-year hiatus.
Taiwo Awoniyi seen for first time since horror injury as he receives hero’s welcome at Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
And a banner reading ‘Destination: Europe’ was unfurled on the Trent End.
Before kick-off, Gary Neville – banned from the City Ground for criticising Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis – was being widely accused of indulging in one-in-a-bed romps.
But on the pitch, it was deathly dull early on – neither side bearing any attacking teeth, with Forest wasteful from set-pieces.
It took almost half an hour for a serious scoring opportunity to arise – Noni Madueke feeding Cole Palmer down the right and the England man centring for Neto to volley over.
Almost immediately, Elliott Anderson responded for Forest with a dipping long-ranger which fell wide of the far post.
Largely, though, it was anxious and fractious stop-start stuff – Chelsea’s players doing an awful lot of falling over, with ref Anthony Taylor rarely responsive.
There were penalty shouts from the Forest fans when Anthony Elanga went down after a tangle with Palmer but Taylor and his VAR were not interested.
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Levi Colwill scored an own goal in the 2021/22 play-off final against Nottingham ForestCredit: PA
Just before half-time, Ola Aina swung in a cross from the right, Chris Wood arrived before keeper Robert Sanchez but the Kiwi striker volleyed over.
At the start of the second half, Chelsea were showing more intent and within four minutes of the restart, they were ahead.
A corner was partially cleared but a Marc Cucurella ball over the top caught Forest flat-footed and Neto rolled across goal for Colwill to tap in at the back stick and celebrate in front of the travelling Blues fans.
Soon, Madueke’s shot was scooped clear by Matz Sels as Chelsea went in for a quick kill.
Nuno sent on former Chelsea man Callum Hudson-Odoi and then Ryan Yates, after Nicolas Dominguez was forced to hobble after a heavy challenge from Madueke.
But Forest struggled to turn a spell of territorial advantage into goalscoring opportunities, although Wood had a close-range effort deflected over in injury time.
And Chelsea were able to secure qualification for the Champions League in relatively comfortable style.
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CHELSEA goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli has kicked off a row with neighbours after chopping down huge 40ft trees at his Surrey mansion.
The Blues’ stopper was given the go-ahead to extend his luxury pad near the club’s Cobham training ground – complete with a cinema and games room.
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Chelsea goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli has become embroiled in a battle with his neighbourCredit: Rex
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The footy star wants to rip out 40ft trees to extend his luxury padCredit: Getty
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The trees to be axed are reportedly decades oldCredit: Supplied
Planners at the local council told him he could chop down two trees to make way for the proposed development but neighbours say he has razed more to the ground – without permission.
They claim the 30-40ft trees are decades old, although not protected by a Tree Preservation Order, and help prevent overlooking on the leafy estate.
The former Fulham goalkeeper was initially granted planning permission for a front and rear extension including a ground floor family room, kitchen and breakfast room and cinema.
He also wants to demolish a porch and chimney stack and add dormer windows for a fourth bedroom and games room on the second floor.
Documents filed at Elmbridge Borough Council state that building work started last year but has not yet been completed.
Bettinelli, 32, has now submitted amended plans for tree planting and landscaping to allow for the removal of trees.
In a letter of objection, one resident wrote: “The initial proposal for ‘bush and hedge pruning’ turned into the felling of multiple 30ft trees, decades old.
“This has significantly affected local wildlife (there were documented owls nesting) and privacy/light shading of multiple properties around.
“The new proposal to replace four trees is well short of any remedial measure in my view and should be significantly enhanced.”
Chaos at Stamford Bridge as Djurgarden fans jump over barriers and clash in away end against Chelsea
Another neighbour wrote: “More hedging has been removed to erect the fence.
“This was not done by the neighbouring property.
“And versus the previous plan, there is now less commitment to hedging than before.
“As a reminder, 30-40ft trees were cut down without permission.
“There should be no reduction in commitment shown on the plan versus the one before.”
Bettinelli joined Chelsea in 2021 to boost the Blues’ goalkeeping ranks following the departure of Willy Caballero, having been out of contract at Fulham.
He spent a decade at Craven Cottage, making 120 appearances for the Whites and also represented England‘s under-21 team earlier in his career.
The 6ft,4in stopper bought his Cobham pad for £1.5million in September, 2023, before applying for a Grand Designs-style makeover.
In another objection, the local residents’ association said it was “saddened and deeply concerned that the developer, architect and builder have breached the conditions imposed on the allowed application”.
They added: “Mature trees provide benefits to humans and wildlife alike, trees also provide wildlife corridors to and from the surrounding green spaces, woods, commons and heathland of Cobham.
“Trees also provide screening to neighbours’ properties and garden amenity spaces which they should be able to continue the enjoyment of using for everyday activity without the perception of overlooking.”
Council officials are expected to make a decision on the trees later this month.
Bettinelli’s planning agent was approached for comment.
Rules on fences and trees
Fences:
Height Restrictions: In most areas, fences in front gardens should not exceed one metre in height without planning permission. For rear gardens, the limit is generally two metres.
Shared Fences: If a fence is shared with a neighbour, both parties are typically responsible for its maintenance and any costs associated with repairs or replacement.
Building Regulations: Ensure that any new fence complies with local building regulations and does not obstruct visibility for drivers or pedestrians.
Trees:
Ownership: Trees located on your property are your responsibility, including any damage they may cause. Conversely, trees on a neighbour’s property are their responsibility.
Overhanging Branches: You are entitled to trim branches that overhang into your property, but only up to the boundary line. The cut branches should be offered back to the tree owner.
Protected Trees: Some trees are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs). Check with your local council before undertaking any work on a tree, as unauthorised work can result in fines.
Roots: If tree roots from a neighbour’s tree cause damage to your property, you have the right to remove the roots. However, it is advisable to discuss this with your neighbour first to avoid disputes.
Always consult your local council or a legal adviser for specific regulations and advice.
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Bettinelli snapped up the £1.5million mansion in 2023Credit: Supplied
