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A Taste of Turkey |
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Olu Deniz Beach |
At the beginning of every summer season we travel the road between Turunc and Side many times, double-checking our hotels and facilities in preparation for the arrival of our holidaymakers. Those of you who are regular travellers to Turkey may not need to read this section as, like us, you are already in love with Turkey. If however you are searching for a new resort, read on.
Turunc is breathtaking. The view from the top of the mountains with Turunc nestling in the small bay is unbelievable. The village of Turunc itself is fairly small; you can easily walk around it. However, you'll often find that after a couple of days it takes considerably longer as by now the locals know your name and want to stop and chat about any subject under the sun (depending upon their level and understanding of English!). What we really love about Turunc is that it is so peaceful and relaxing with hardly any traffic. The beach and harbour are all you need with a range of shops, restaurants and bars to ensure you need not travel anywhere else if you don't want to. There is a regular 'dolmus' (minibus) service plus a water taxi to both Icmeler and Marmaris throughout the day and night so plans are easy to make and nothing is a hassle. The selection of food is so good that we now consciously make sure that our visit to Turunc always coincides with a mealtime! Turunc is peaceful and beautiful and we love it.
Icmeler is a far more cosmopolitan resort, larger and less traditional than Turunc but smaller and more sophisticated than Marmaris. The old village is quieter and more residential than the centre and has a large market on a Wednesday. The centre of Icmeler is full of hotels, shops, bars, restaurants and a couple of waterparks. A number of roads lead down to the beach and many of the streets are pedestrianised. Icmeler is fairly flat and therefore good for pushchairs, wheelchairs and people who can't manage too many hills and steps. The beach runs around a large bay and is full of sunbeds and umbrellas, promenade cafés, watersports and water taxis. Icmeler has become very popular with the British and many of our holidaymakers visit twice in the season. It is also one of the key European Diving centres; perfect for the diving enthusiast.
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Pamukkale |
Marmaris is awake 24 hours a day. If your idea of a holiday is thousands of bars, restaurants, shops, markets and bazaars, you'll love Marmaris. The accommodation generally tends to be larger hotel and apartment blocks and nobody thinks twice about jumping on a 'dolmus' for a few minutes to get to the beach, the marina, Thursday market, aquaparks or supermarkets. The beach is long and narrow with rows of sunbeds for a good few kilometres. Watersports are also available to as far down as the Ataturk statue at the start of the marina. The marina area itself is mainly pedestrianised with restaurants facing the sea, and a multitude of shops, bars and lokantas within the covered maze inside. This is where Bar Street with a wide selection of bars and clubs is located for late night revellers and the fantastic Jewel Bar Crawl! The Netsel Marina further round the harbour is very classy with designer shops and elegant restaurants overlooking the yachts and private cruisers. At night there are a couple of cinemas to choose from including Netsel's open-air theatre as well as evening entertainment at the hotels, on the streets of Marmaris, or if you prefer, 'Jewel' has a full range of evening excursions as well as organised professional nights such as the 'Talk of the Town' and 'Turkish Night' (see this page for more details). Marmaris is suited to people who want lots to do. It's one of the most commercial resorts featured in our brochure.
Dalyan is some twenty-five minutes from Dalaman Airport and the next resort on the road south. To reach Dalyan you drive down the beautiful river valley surrounded by mountains. You can tell you are in an agricultural conservation area as there are more tractors than cars. The mountains really do seem to encircle Dalyan; making it very picturesque; the resort itself is full of historical artefacts and stories. Caunos is a historical site very close-by and you just can't come to Dalyan without a boat journey through the Dalyan Delta. The mud baths and sulphur pools are a local attraction which have been visited by many famous faces (see this page). The 45-minute boat ride down to the sandy beach which separates the river from the sea is wonderfully relaxing, very pretty, and gives the closest angle from which to wonder at the ancient Lycian rock tombs carved into the side of the mountain and captured on almost every picture and postcard of this area. Dalyan is a conservation area to prevent the extinction of the loggerhead turtle. The countryside therefore is respected and cyclists, keen walkers, bird and nature lovers are in their element. Dalyan village centre has all essential facilities including post office, cash machines, banks, chemists, restaurants, riverside bars, souvenir shops and a weekly market.
Calis is approximately an hours drive south of Dalyan, close to the busy harbour town of Fethiye. Calis has a superb beach with a promenade which is about half a mile long. The beach is ideal for sunbathing and sunbeds and umbrellas are available for hire. There are quite a few bars, shops and restaurants and if you wanted a night out you could visit Fethiye by 'dolmus' or even take a water taxi. Calis has always been very popular with the Europeans and it is now becoming more popular with the British, some of whom have also bought homes there.
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Ovacik Area |
Ovacik is fast becoming a popular haven for British holidaymakers too. In fact many British people now live here permanently for at least part of the year and the demand for villas and private houses is growing by the day. Although Ovacik is quickly developing into a resort in its own right, it is still surrounded by countryside. The main Ovacik Road linking Fethiye to Olu Deniz is where the 'dolmus' can be found; a regular bus service connecting every resort in this area. Little lokantas, a few restaurants and small shops are dotted along this road becoming greater in number as you reach the roundabout at the top of Hisaronu.
Turning right here takes you down into the centre of Hisaronu village, an absolute ghost town in winter and a buzzing English resort in summer, so much so that the road linking the two roundabouts at the top and bottom of the village is now often referred to as the High Street! For so many of our guests, a visit to Ovacik or Hisaronu is the start of a life-long relationship with Turkey. This area offers better value accommodation than the famous beach resort of Olu Deniz, however it takes just 5-10 minutes on the 'dolmus' to get there. As Hisaronu and Ovacik are at a higher altitude than Fethiye and Olu Deniz, there is often a slight breeze with the temperature dropping a few degrees at nightime making it more comfortable to sleep! That's if you want to get some sleep of course as some of the bars in Hisaronu are open until 5am and have a great atmosphere. The noise-level is controlled by the local Jandarma and all bars with this licence have had to comply and make themselves soundproof. There is a wide variety of international cuisine on offer to suit all tastes. The best kept secret is the abandoned Greek village of Kayakoy which is 10 minutes away from Hisaronu. The 3,000 abandoned buildings are silhouetted on the hillside by the evening sun and it is quite surreal. Kayakoy's claim to fame is the mouth-watering tandoor lamb cooked in a clay oven for up to six hours, our Managing Director's favourite. On a recent attempt to eat 'village' food, he saw a waiter carrying a dish of fusulye (beans) and pilau rice and asked for the same. The meal came and, on asking for the bill, we were told that they didn't know what to charge as he had just eaten the staff food! This is a typical example of the friendliness and generosity shown by the Turkish people and you can guarantee that you will always leave this country with many wonderful experiences and stories to tell.
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Olu Deniz really does eclipse every other resort in Turkey. It is on the front cover of most Turkey brochures and is absolutely beautiful. The first time we visited Olu Deniz was in the early 'eighties. There was nothing there apart from a handful of accommodation units and the Blue Lagoon. A great deal of money has been spent to make it a sought-after destination. Most of the centre has been paved and there are lots of little shops, bars, restaurants and jewellery stores! Olu Deniz has a lively atmosphere that would be best described as 'chilled, up-market, with a touch of sophistication'. It does tend to be more expensive than Ovacik and Hisaronu, which is an approx. 10 minute dolmus ride away costing about 50p! Heading south towards Kalkan and Kas you will find the most dramatic scenery along this area of coastline. Right up until the end of June the stunning mountain range still has snow peaks despite the glorious weather, so beautiful that it really is quite mesmerising. On this journey you'll get to see the 'real' Turkey, totally uncommercialised, fertile land, open fields with villagers working hard and children displaying for sale home-grown fruits and vegetables to passers-by, herding the sheep or keeping an eye on the goats. In this area traditional methods of farming are used with little modern technology; life is basic and the people more respectful of Turkish traditions. On the way to Kalkan we pass Patara which is not only surrounded by archaeological sites but has one of the best beaches in Turkey. They are still finding historic treasures here, the authorities can't decide whether to close the resort and devote the site to archaeological excavation. Every week they change their mind. That's Turkey for you!
Kalkan is one of the most visually stunning bays along this part of the Turkish coastline. The Mediterranean is such a deep azure blue, a captivating sight. We cannot speak highly enough about Kalkan; it was always described as uncommercialised Turkey and although this is true to a certain extent, the number of repeat guests to Kalkan is high, in actual fact, for this very reason. This suits the type of guest who appreciates high standards, quality, efficiency, culture and tranquility. Although there's a small pebble beach next to the harbour, Kalkan is not promoted as a beach resort. It oozes elegance, style and sophistication. Most guests choose either a poolside or one of the beach clubs to relax by during the day, or take a boat cruise from the small marina by the 'Yacht Club', venture into the hills or along to the next resort of Kas. The cobbled streets are pedestrianised at night, very quaint and charming with people talking, eating and drinking whilst admiring the view.
The journey between Kalkan and Kas is unforgettable and one of our favourite stretches of road. The mountain lies on one side and the sea and many small uninhabited islands on the other. Kaputas Beach always looks inviting and the hotels on the Kas Peninsular have a view to rival most. Kas is sedate and seductive, lazy almost in that its charm lies in the fact that it has changed very little over the last 10 years. Life carries on as normal despite tourism and visitors are able to enjoy Kas, its harbour and little streets, tombs and mythology, to its full potential.
Depending on the type of holiday you are looking for, we know that Turkey has something to offer everyone. It is unique in that no two places are the same, despite how close some of them are to each other. We absolutely love Turkey, for its diversity and for what it offers; we're sure you'll feel the same way too.
