Twenty three years ago, we decided that a life without neighbours was for us. Not that we had particularly bad neighbours but one was partial to DIY at six in the morning, the other wasn't keen on our dog and after 10 years watching Bodrum town change from a small fishing village to an international holiday resort, we wanted a bit of peace. This is probably the most hypocritical sentiment I have ever written as we were more responsible than most for making Bodrum crowded. As travel agents we hosted journalists from The Telegraph, New York Times, Times, Daily Mail and Observer and even made a programme with the fledgling TVAM thus ensuring everyone found out how unspoilt and beautiful our part of the world was and thereby encouraged the World and his wife to visit. Our escape plan was reliant of finding a quiet plot and building a house. But, despite being very busy looking after an ever increasing number of new visitors, we weren't particularly flush with cash, so most of the pieces of land we looked at on the Bodrum peninsula were out of our price range. Which is rather a long winded explanation of how we ended up 36 kms from Bodrum, next to a forest on the outskirts of a small village. In retrospect, our lack of funds was a saving grace. All of the places we would have chosen, had we been affluent, are now built up and busy, where as our couple of acres is unchanged. Well almost! We've been neighbourless since we moved in in 1992 up to this year when the plot in front of us was put up for sale and a small weekend retreat has gone up. It's only just visible from the terrace and the building work hasn't disturbed us at all, so I don't think we'll be bothered if the new occupants decide to do DIY at 6 am.
Over the past couple of decades I haven't paid much attention to the property market in the area but I was chuffed to be included in a list of 10 useful blogs by www.propertyturkey.com and clicked on the link to have a look at the houses for sale. There are some amazing residences with 7 figure prices to match, but also flats with sea views for 5 figure sums. I am returning the compliment by putting their link here for those of you who like to dream of a palace (or place) by the sea.
Annie, How wonderful! You most certainly deserve it. BTW, excuse my ignorance, but what is DIY?
ReplyDeleteI need a glossary! D.I.Y stands for Do It Yourself , home improvements without professional help. If I'd used the correct punctuation you would have got it.
DeleteI'm a bit embarrassed, actually. I kind of guessed 'do it yourself' but wasn't sure since I suspected the 'y' part might be some kind of yoga! Duh!
Delete. . if we ever get neighbours here I'll be heading for the mountains!
ReplyDeleteGreat mention you have on that propertyturkey.com site. Well done! Bodrum and the peninsula may be unrecognisable from how it was in the earlier days but you don't have to travel far to find unspoilt areas and a warm welcome. It's what keeps us coming back x
ReplyDeleteVery true.
DeleteAmazing, really! And here we are contemplating whether a move to your part of the world would be a good move or not!!
ReplyDeleteIt would be a VERY good idea.
DeleteAs you know, we lived cheek by jowl with our neighbours which was sometimes a challenge given their volatile relationship! Whether by accident or design, you got yourself a beautiful spot.
ReplyDeleteMy comment disappeared again! Your neighbours did give you plenty of column inches for your blog though.
DeleteActually Senior Dog, there is an upgrade to DIY. It is BIY. This refers to the common tasks done by many Brits....Bodge-it-Yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane. BIY is about our speed.
DeleteMany congratulations BB, a very well deserved recognition - your part of the world is in our radar big time when we retire - and if we can afford it, enjoy : )
ReplyDeleteThanks Özlem
DeleteThat piece of land was a very wise choice wasn't it? Years of apartment living made us very grateful for the village life we now have x
ReplyDeleteIt would be difficult to return to an apartment, wouldn't it.
DeleteHmm, completely get what you mean with telling people about your beautiful area. It's always a debate isn't it and sometimes people say to us, "Don't tell anyone about this place."
ReplyDeleteAnyway, well done on and long may your relative solitude continue. ;)
If you are ever up this well you are welcome to visit.
DeleteWhat a great mention, :-) I'm glad your foresight of so many years ago has paid off and you still have your lovely country peace and quiet.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to know whether to tell people about your little piece of heaven, since that causes it to change. I will look at that link, just for fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Terra - we have been lucky that change in our area has been minimal.
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