KAYAKOY
The flight from Baku to Istanbul and Istanbul to Dalaman was the best kind - smooth and uneventful :-) We were met at the airport by a representative of the Middle Earth Travel Co. and drove us about an hour to a lovely guesthouse in Kayaköy, Turkey. Misafir Evi, run by Phyllis, is a lovely guesthouse in a small village near the sea. The food was homegrown, home cooked, exceptionally delicious, seasoned with local herbs and all with thoughtful presentation. Breakfast was traditional Turkish with cheese, bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, tea - but here each jam was home made and the bread fresh and toasted. Dinner was mushroom soup, eggplant on toast, the biggest artichoke we've ever seen with home made chili sauce and a yogurt sauce, then watercress, home made pasta in a light cream sauce, and chocolate cake with a tahini, nut sauce on the side - sigh... so yummy. OK, enough about food - the guesthouse itself has a lovely decor and grounds.
About a half hour walk from the guesthouse are the ruins of the greek village of Kayaköy. The village dates back over 300 years, but was abandoned in 1923 when Greek inhabitants were deported to Greece through a massive government mandated population exchange between the two countries following the Turkish war of independence.
We walked through the village up and over the hill and caught our first view of the Mediterranean and WOW, what a view! The various shades of turquoise water along the coast with forest above and beach below were stunning. We didn't do well with our direction following for this first walk, but did have fun and managed to find our way back to the guesthouse.
About a half hour walk from the guesthouse are the ruins of the greek village of Kayaköy. The village dates back over 300 years, but was abandoned in 1923 when Greek inhabitants were deported to Greece through a massive government mandated population exchange between the two countries following the Turkish war of independence.
We walked through the village up and over the hill and caught our first view of the Mediterranean and WOW, what a view! The various shades of turquoise water along the coast with forest above and beach below were stunning. We didn't do well with our direction following for this first walk, but did have fun and managed to find our way back to the guesthouse.
