A Boat trip along the river Azmak, Akyaka..

Posted on July 7, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

When I mentioned that I was going to Akyaka, someone recommended that we go on a short boat trip along the river, and when we arrived and saw how beautiful it was, that’s exactly what we did!

We found the ticket kiosk and asked how much it was, I think it was 10tl each but I’m not 100% sure, I can’t remember, but whatever it was it was cheap and well worth it! We were directed towards a boat which had a few people already waiting, and as soon as we got on, they started up the engine and off we went.

The Azmak river runs through the valley, winding, twisting and turning until it reaches the sea. It’s surrounded by tall reeds which make wonderful sounds when the wind blows.

We weaved in and out of the reeds and sailed along the crystal clear waters – they told us the water was a ‘natural aquarium’, perfect for the many fish living in it. It was so clear you could see right to the bottom, and it was deep! As we sailed along we admired it’s natural beauty, the sea plants and the shoals of fish swimming past, some were really big! We also saw a lot of pretty birds flying past or perching on the reeds singing.

The fish and the birds were’t the only wildlife, at one point we turned a corner and came across a gathering of ducks, Berkay referred to them as the ‘duck mafia’ because they were all grouped together. It soon became clear why – on the other side of the boat there were several restaurants lining the route of the river, some of which had seating areas actually IN the cold water! The customers at these restaurants were throwing food in for the ducks, which they definitely seemed to be enjoying!

One part of the river in particular seemed particularly popular with locals, and they had taken camping chairs and picnics and were sat on the edge of the river bank, under the trees, feet dangling in the cold water, although some of them were diving in, right in front of the boats! I suspect that it was only busy like that because it was a Sunday, and during the week it wouldn’t be so bad.

After around 15 minutes the boat turned around and started its journey back to the marina area, giving us all another look at that beautiful ‘aquarium’ area of the river.

The entire boat journey lasted about 30 minutes, but was well worth it, very relaxing and a real natural beauty. I think we timed it perfectly as well, as when we returned the sun was starting to go down, creating a nice glow over the boats moored up in the marina. If you visit Akyaka, I definitely recommend a trip down the river Azmak.

Akyaka – Beautiful scenery, authentic houses & crystal clear sea..

Posted on July 2, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

Whenever we visit Turkey we end up doing the same things and going to the same places, so this year we fancied a bit of a change and did a few days exploring. After spending a day in Denizli and the village, we left in the early afternoon and drove a couple of hours to Akyaka.

The road down to Akyaka is very winding and bendy, and has a place you can pull over and take photos of the view – we stopped there when we were passing by last September and it looked really pretty so that’s what made us chose there to visit!

By the time we arrived it was late afternoon and we were really tired, hot and bothered so we found our hotel and freshened up before going out for dinner.

We went to the first restaurant we came across, which was more of a lokanta, selling traditional Turkish dishes which are cooked in bulk and then you can chose which you want. There were a lot of those type of small restaurants around, advertising home cooked food – Berkay chose it expecting it to be cheap, but it wasn’t really! He had Etli Nohut (beef and chickpea stew) and rice, and I had Karniyarik (aubergine stuffed with mince) and rice. We also had künefe to share for dessert, yummy!

After dinner we went for a walk, totally clueless about where we were actually going or where anything was! We came across a river and walked across the bridge to the other side and followed the little marina around and then walked back again. I’d heard about the boat trips down the river Azmak and when we were crossing the bridge we saw one returning so we went to ask about it and ended up on one 2 minutes later! I will write another post about that as I have lots of photos to share.

When we got back from the 20 minute boat ride, the sun was close to setting so we followed the path from the river towards the main marina where the big boats were docked. Whilst walking along the promenade we came across lots of little stalls selling handmade goods and souvenirs like jewellery, painted pebbles, dream-catchers, fridge magnets etc – they were really pretty. We also came across a ‘phone box’ in the shape of a seagull, which I just had to get a photo with, I loved its quirkiness!

All the wandering around we had done and we hadn’t yet found the beach… until we turned the corner and finally reached it, just in time for sunset. It was really beautiful small beach, the shallow waves lapping on the sand, the red glow on the horizon and the mountains framing the view perfectly.

The beach in Turkey wouldn’t be the beach without some street food vendors selling Midye (stuffed mussels) and salted corn on the cob, so we just had to get some before heading back to our room for the night.

The next morning we went for a early morning walk before breakfast, we went straight to the beach and saw it in all it’s glory – blue sky, palm trees, calm sea and crystal clear water. The best thing about the beach is the fact the sea is so shallow, you can walk really far out and it only be up to your knees, perfect for children paddling. The water was so clear you could see the pattern of the sand on the floor, and little fish swimming around. I wish we had a little more time to spend there, so we could have swam properly!

After our walk we went back to our hotel’s restaurant for breakfast (it was a separate building a few feet down the road, owned by the same people). There was a bit of an issue getting it, since the staff didn’t turn up to open it until after 10.15am, and that was only because we asked someone to ring them and wake them up! But when we finally did get it it was a nice, traditional Turkish breakfast with eggs, honey, jam, tomato, cucumber, cheeses, olives and bread.

We stayed in the Ala Butik Hotel, a small boutique hotel. It didn’t have a pool but the rooms were lovely, modern and clean and it was in a perfect location a few minutes walk away from the marina, but honestly the staff weren’t very friendly or helpful at all (even before the breakfast incident!) I don’t think either of the receptionists smiled once which made us feel more of a nuisance to them than a welcome guest!

Something we loved about Akyaka was the fact that the houses, hotels and buildings were all the same design, white buildings with carved brown wooden roofs, windows and balconies – they looked really impressive and pretty.

Unfortunately, like most places, too much tourism is having an impact on Akyaka. In the 1970’s it was a small fishing village, but it’s becoming more popular and struggling since it’s not built for so many people. Before we went, I was warned to avoid it on a Sunday, since that’s the day when a lot of Turkish people have their day off and flock to the beach for a free day out, often leaving lots of rubbish behind. We arrived on the Sunday afternoon and it was really, really busy, with cars everywhere, parked in really random places, leaving us struggling to find a spot anywhere near our hotel. The streets are fairly narrow too, with lots of the restaurants and bars having tables and chairs along the paths, leaving us no choice but to walk in the road and having to dodge cars here there and everywhere! Thankfully, by Monday the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed with a lot less people and it was much more enjoyable, so I would stick to the advice one of my blog readers gave me and definitely avoid Akyaka on a Sunday! We also noticed the restaurants and shops were more expensive there, I think they rely a lot on organised tours and day trippers for their income, so raise the prices a bit to reflect that.

I definitely want to visit Akyaka again as we loved it, especially Berkay, he loved it so much he looked to see how much it would cost to buy land there, unfortunately for him it was in the millions of lira! It’s definitely worth a visit, especially for the beach and the boat trip down the river, I’ll share some photos of that in my next post.

If you’re looking to visit Akyaka yourself, it’s around 2 hours drive from Fethiye, or 30 minutes from Marmaris and the Mugla city centre.

Two weeks in Turkey …

Posted on June 22, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

This time 3 weeks ago we had just landed in Dalaman, with our whole 14 days holiday still ahead of us! This time last week, we were waiting back at Dalaman for our flight back home.

I’ve definitely had post-holiday blues this week, because we had the best time! We visited a lot of different places, old and new, and of course I took lots of photos to share in future blog posts.

We spent our first night in Köyceğiz before driving to Denizli, where we spent the day having a BBQ with family, amongst the trees. Then we spent a night in the village of Beyagac, visiting more family and of course we were reunited with our beautiful doggy Boncuk. We drove to Akyaka and spent a night there, as well as taking a boat trip down the river Azmak, then onto Dalyan where we spent a day at the beach, a night in a hotel and then a visit to the Caretta turtle hospital. After what felt like the longest 3 days ever, we drove back towards Fethiye, via Yeşil Vadi in Yaniklar. Nothing quite beats the feeling of driving over the hill and seeing Babadağ mountain in the distance! We drove briefly to Oludeniz, Hisaronu and Kayakoy before spending the night in Calis and then checking into my favourite place, Jiva Beach Resort – we were supposed to stay there for 6 nights but I just couldn’t tear myself away and we managed to take advantage of someone’s last minute cancellation and stay for another 2 days!

We landed back in London last Saturday morning, and by Tuesday night, less than 84 hours after stepping off the plane, we booked our flights to go back in October! That’s the best way to beat the post-holiday blues, right?

Here’s a tiny selection of photos I took – I just love all the colours ❤

The 5* Titanic Hotel, Lara Beach…

Posted on May 14, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

Up until fairly recently I had never stayed in an all inclusive hotel anywhere, so when we had to go to Antalya for the day to apply for Berkay’s visa in 2016, we decided to treat ourselves and book a night in the stunning Titanic Hotel in Lara Beach.

I remember watching the travel channel on TV around 9 years ago and seeing this hotel advertised and thinking how amazing it looked, and looking at the photos online when I booked it made me really excited, I wasn’t disappointed!

As soon as we pulled up to the hotel in the car we were in awe at how big the place was. A member of staff helped us with our luggage and took our car keys to go and park it while we checked in.

The lobby is just as spectacular inside as it looks from outside. A huge glass ceiling letting in a lot of bright sunlight, massive sparkling chandeliers and very fancy glass lifts, taking you up to the several floors of long corridors of rooms.

Not surprisingly, there are a lot of Titanic references around the hotel (other than the fact the whole hotel is shaped like a cruise ship!), they even show the film in the on-sight cinema.

The hotel has 586 rooms, most are in the main building, but there are a few separate annex buildings which have lower level rooms with direct pool access via balcony steps. We had a standard room in the main part, which was lovely, and had a side on sea view. It had a huge bed , a sofa, coffee table, tv, wardrobe, shower and bathtub. It also had little bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, a shower cap, nail files, razor, tooth brush and toothpaste, cotton buds, makeup remover pads, shoe polish, lavender pouches, slippers and a robe, tea and coffee making facilities with lots of sachets of fruit tea, green tea, coffee, hot chocolate, bags of crisps and peanuts and a fridge stocked with bottles of water and soda!

As if all of that wasn’t enough, when we came back to the room a bit later on, we found a neatly wrapped plate of baklava, turkish delight and chocolate had been delivered.

Titanic hotel has several pools – a huge main one which is right infront of the main building, it stretches around the other side and you can swim under the bridges to other sections – I didn’t really get a decent photo! It also has an olympic sized pool with lanes, and another large pool which is heated from october to may, along with a Jacuzzi. For children, there is a kids pool and mini pirate ship with waterslides coming from it, and another separate waterpark area with 4 big slides, one of which is enclosed and has pretty lights inside while you’re whizzing through it! There is also an indoor pool, kids pool and Jacuzzi area which is stunning with beautiful tiled floor and pillars.

Around the main pool there are little gazebos which looked so comfortable with beds and cushions in, we didn’t realise you had to pay extra for these and went to sit in one before being told we needed to have reserved it and paid in advance – I didn’t like this idea, as if they weren’t already making enough money! Rather than everyone being in the same boat (no pun intended) I feel like this just made people feel a bit superior to us riff-raff!

The hotel has its own private section of beach, with rows of sun loungers, more gazebos and a jetty with giant bean bags. The jetty has steps directly into the sea, so you don’t need to struggle in and out of the water from the beach. I didn’t have time to swim in the sea but I wish I had because it looked so beautiful, especially at sunset.

As I’d never stayed in an all inclusive before, I wasn’t sure what to expect with the food – I’d heard bad stories about all inclusive places serving up the same things for lunch and dinner, reheating leftovers etc, but the food here was amazing! There was literally something for everyone and the mini desserts and baklava were the best! The breakfast buffet was delicious too. The only thing I didn’t like was that there was always a crowd of people waiting outside for the restaurant doors to open and then a bit of an initial mad rush. There’s a main buffet restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, but also 3 à la carte restaurants, one Turkish, one Italian, and one specialising in seafood. I think you get one night free in one of the ala-carte ones, but you have to book in advance so they can fit you in. There’s also 2 snack bars, and a patisserie serving cake, biscuits and ice-cream which is open in the evening until midnight.

Aside from the eating, swimming and waterslides, there are loads of other activities on offer, including a cinema, bowling lane, games and arcade room, beach and pool games, a gym, tennis courts, football pitches, a kids club, spa, Turkish bath and outdoor theatre with nightly entertainment shows. The hotel grounds cover 95 thousand square meters, so there’s a lot to explore and our one day/night there wasn’t nearly enough to see everything.

Overall, I loved the hotel and it definitely made us feel like royalty for a day! A huge bonus is the distance to the airport, which is only a 15-20 minute drive away. The food, entertainment, services and facilities were all great from what we experienced, but I do think that because it’s so big, it does feel very impersonal – there are thousands of people staying there and even though it’s such a big site, it did feel a little cramped – we were unable to find any free sun loungers at one point. As for Lara Beach itself and the surrounding area, we didn’t get out and explore it at all. Even if we had been there longer, I don’t think we would have since the hotel has literally everything you could want, and plenty to keep you busy. Essentially you could be anywhere in the world if you only stay within the hotel grounds, but I can see how people go all inclusive and never leave the hotel to see the ‘real Turkey’.

Titanic hotel is definitely 5* standard though, and worth a visit, even for a little ‘mini holiday’ within a holiday like we did, that way you get the best of both!

A Surprise Visit & Post Holiday Blues?

Posted on October 5, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

If you’ve been following my Facebook page or Instagram, you’ll have seen that we were in Turkey for 2 weeks in September! We flew out on Thursday 14th with Turkish Airlines, via Istanbul, stayed in Calis for a night and then drove to Beyagac, Denizli, to surprise Berkay’s family. When we booked flights back in July I suggested we keep it a secret and surprise them but I wasn’t sure we’d be able to pull it off. When we arrived there on Friday morning and pulled up in the car outside the family business they were very pleasantly surprised and had to do a double take to check it was us.

The first few days were spent in the village, where we did the least ‘touristy’ things possible – picking fruit and vegetables from the garden, sitting on a tractor, crashing a village wedding, squashing in the front of a pick up truck and sitting in the middle of a corn field at midnight, with a bonfire to keep a look out for wild boar, and of course lots of Boncuk dog licks and cuddles. Then we spent a few hours in Kale, where we visited a family member’s tobacco farm, then off to Denizli city centre where we spent one day and night. Then after a long drive and detour through Mugla, we arrived back in Calis and spent 6 days in my new favourite place, ever, Jiva Beach Resort. (After a few days in the village, covered up in 36oc heat, sweating from every possible body part, I was SO ready to get into the 5* luxury and jump into a pool!)

Fast forward 2 weeks and it was time to board the flight back home to London, and we were both very sad! I always say that going back to visit Turkey isn’t like having a holiday to me, it feels like going home and after a day or two it feels like we’ve been there forever. Calis and Fethiye are full of memories for us, at every turn. When we walk down the streets we remember walking there with Boncuk, or walking through the market where we used to buy all our fruit and veg, the shops, the beach, going past our old houses… and then suddenly it feels like we never left at all, which makes it all the harder to leave again!

Then comes the inevitable, moping around the house for days once you’re home, facing the reality of going back to work to a million and one emails, washing all the holiday clothes and shoving the shorts, bikini’s and flip flops back in the cupboard, never to see the light of day again until next year. I think everyone gets post-holiday blues, but for us it goes a bit deeper, our minds go into overdrive wondering if actually we done the right thing by choosing to live in England over Turkey.

The problem is, it’s so easy to look back and romanticise Turkey and life there, especially after coming back from a lovely holiday, but living there was not one big holiday at all, it was very lonely. Berkay worked 12-15 hour days or worked all night, slept all day, no days off in summer, rarely a day off in Winter. Sometimes in the winters he worked all month and didn’t get paid a penny, so changed jobs often. Living in Turkey wasn’t all swimming pools, fancy food and nice accomodation. It was spending all summer swealtering with no aircon and all winter freezing with no insulation or heating, it was having to heat up water in a saucepan to have a ‘shower’ in winter when the solar panels didn’t get enough day light. Ask me 4 years ago and I would have said the opposite, I was living in Turkey and the thought of moving back to England would bring me to tears! But now with my more sensible head on, I’m certain we’re better off here in England (although Berkay wouldn’t agree…) We wouldn’t be able to have what we do here, out there. We partly own our own flat, both work and have some savings, and we wouldn’t have that in Turkey. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to afford a holiday in Jiva Hotel in Calis either, one night would cost almost as much as a month’s rent there which we’d never be able to justify or afford.

Of course it’s not just about the material things, but when weighing up the pros and cons, money is a big part. I’m sure maybe one day we’ll end up living back in Turkey, maybe when we’re old and retired, but for now we’ll just have to make do with holidays and when I’m sat at my desk in Canary Wharf, head in hands, grey skies outside, I’ll just have to fight off the ‘grass is greener on the other side’ thoughts!

AUGUST PHOTO SERIES – DAY 31 – SITTING IN THE SUNSET

Posted on August 31, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

I can’t believe the whole month of August is over and this is the final day of the photo series! I’ve saved my best photo til last, it’s without a doubt my most favourite photo I’ve ever taken. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve shared it a million times before, I just LOVE it. This is Boncuk as a puppy, we’d had her 4 months and were just taking a late afternoon stroll one day in February, along Calis beach. I was trying to get some good sunset photos and she just sat down and posed – pure luck, it’s not easy getting a puppy to sit still! I love her little smiley face, tongue out, ears flapped over, sitting up straight. The sunset in the background, the waves rolling in and Boncuk’s little doggy paw prints in the sand. She was the cutest puppy!

I’ve enjoyed looking back over my old photos this past month and sharing them, showing you all the beauty of Turkey in it’s many forms! I think this photo sums up everything I love most about Turkey personally, Calis beach, sunsets, the sea and our beautiful Boncuk dog.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the photo posts too, thanks to everyone for liking, sharing and commenting over the last month!

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AUGUST PHOTO SERIES – DAY 27 – Asiklar Tepesi

Posted on August 27, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

Asiklar Tepesi, roughly translated to ‘hill of lovers’ offers beautiful panoramic views of Fethiye. Accessible by a really, really steep hill by car, or via 163 steps (I counted!) from a backstreet below, the view at the top is definitely worth it. There are little seating areas overlapping the edge of the hillside, built into little wooden decks – I’m always a little afraid of falling through! You can see the boatyard to the left, and the main bay, harbour and town in the centre, with Calis in the distance, and various mountain ranges even further in the distance, creating a sort of gradient in the skyline. You can sit here for ages, watching the boats sail in and out – the views are just stunning. We had some wedding photos taken from this spot too. You’ll find piles and piles of opened sunflower seed shells on the floor, since it’s a popular place for locals to come and sit with a packet of them, a beer and their friends or ‘lover’! It’s particularly popular at night too, with the whole of Fethiye lit up.
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AUGUST PHOTO SERIES – DAY 23 – FETHIYE’S UMBRELLA STREET

Posted on August 23, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

In 2014, these multi-coloured umbrellas appeared in Fethiye and quickly became a tourist attraction! Tourists and locals love to find what has become lovingly known as ‘umbrella street’ and pose for photos underneath them. I’ve seen photos of similar umbrella streets in other cities in Turkey and saw some in Denizli when we were there, Dalaman airport has them too! It seems they are spreading like wild fire, places in the UK have them now too! I don’t know where the trend started originally but I love it, a simple idea but so effective – bright, colourful and beautiful ❤

AUGUST PHOTO SERIES – DAY 22 – EARLY MORNING CALIS

Posted on August 22, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

Most of my photos of Calis are taken from the beach, looking out to sea, or down the promenade, so today’s photo is a different view of Calis, taken from a boat sailing past. It was a January day and we were on a morning boat trip for breakfast. Obviously it was a bit cold and the boats don’t usually go out, but a few of the boats had the brilliant idea of offering a 2 hour trip, sailing from Fethiye, past Sovalye Island, along Calis beach and then back again, with a buffet breakfast served in between! The sea at Calis can get quite choppy during the day, especially in the afternoon, but for some reason the mornings are usually really calm – as you can see in the photo!
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AUGUST PHOTO SERIES – DAY 20 – SEEING DOUBLE?

Posted on August 20, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

Mountains Babadağ and Mendos form a major part of the scenery around Fethiye, and has featured a few times in this photo series, but today’s photos show them as you’ve probably never seen them before! When I was living in Turkey the first time, I had a beautiful view of the mountains from my kitchen window, most of the time it was a blue sky and mountains covered in greenery I could see, but on this particular winter day around 5 years ago it looked a bit different! A combination of rain, low cloud and fog made the mountains look very strange, like I was seeing double! There is lots of interesting aspects of Mother Nature to be seen in Turkey whether it’s Summer or Winter!
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