Kaya Köy - Cultural Connections part 2

When travelling in South West Turkey in April, expectations are not great.  April is the month when the hotelier suddenly wakes up and realises that the tourist season is upon him and starts frantic repairs. The term "tadilat nedeniyle" is used  as an excuse for everything;  favourite restaurants being closed, roads dug up, WiFi not connecting and telephone lines failing - all "because of repairs". So when 3 intrepid Bodrumites set out in search of literary titillation, we were only looking for food and a pillow to rest our heads after the Kayakoy walk, talk and cocktail. But we struck lucky. After a great meal of pit-roasted lamb at Cin Bal, described here by my friends at "Turkey's for Life" blog, we headed back to our pre-booked Doğa Apartment for a very comfortable sleep in a beautiful, well appointed stone building, full of character and style with the modern addition of lashings of piping hot water.

On Sunday morning, after a wander through the pretty gardens and a discussion with Ali, the owner, about the history of the farmstead and his plans for a small vineyard, we set off to find an equally scenic breakfast spot. More by luck than judgement, we ended up at Gemiler Beach and sitting in this tranquil spot enjoying a simple breakfast, I realised that I had last visited this spot 32 years ago. 

We were back in Kaya in time for the midday handicraft market with stalls ranging from ebru, the art of marbling paper, to finely produced British scones. A kind of eastern bazaar meets the Women's Institute.

The highlight of the a day full of delights, was retracing our steps back to Gunay's Garden to listen to Victoria Hislop talk of her love of Greece and how her  third novel "The Thread" set in Thessaloniki, uses the theme of people forced from their homes because of their religion. 

We sadly had to set off back to Bodrum  that evening, missing the rest of the event.  Next year, we'll be booked in for the whole week and hopefully will be meeting up with some of you reading this now.