Altinkum

Pictures of an amazing holiday in Turkey

Turkey is a vast country and a safe place to buy a holiday home. Pound for pound you will get much more for your money than in Spain. Let’s take a look…

Akbuk Bay

It’s always been something of a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ place, hasn’t it? Will they join the European Community or won’t they? In fact, Turkey has been an associate member of the EC since 1963. Given the success of its economy, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised if it now declines any offer to join the club that brought its EC Greek neighbour to its knees. But with 11% interest on savings in the bank (at the time of writing) no wonder so many ex-pats are making Turkey home, living off the interest on their savings, buying fresh fruit for peanuts in the local market and living it up on the ‘Turkish Riviera’.

Go to Altinkum for a holiday first and see if you like it. Trust us. You will!

Milas, Bodrum airport for Altinkum

Getting there: There are now more flights in to the airport at Bodrum with a choice of airlines: Thomas Cook, EasyJet, Turkish Airlines and Jet2. An interesting way of getting to Altinkum is to get a cheap flight to Cos and get a ferry. The new airport at Bodrum is ideal for all the best places. The airport at Izmir is good for Kusadasi or winter spa/ski resorts and the airport at Dalaman for Fethiye. A little over four hours and a waft of warm air will greet you as you step out off the plane and onto the tarmac.

Temple of Apollo at Altinkum

Once you’re at Bodrum, you’re around half-an-hour by bus, hire car or £40 taxi-ride away from Altinkum on the new road to this popular resort with its new marina flanked by 5-star hotels, the ruins of the Temple of Apollo and a long promenade beside a sandy beach and the Greek islands visible on the other side of the Aegean Sea.

5-star luxury hotel by the marina

We even pick you up at the airport and take you back after your holiday. If you prefer a hotel, there are any number to choose from, including 5-star ones right by the new marina.

The marina at Altinkum

If you need somewhere to stay, Let’s Live Abroad! can help with a choice of apartments and villas if you are intending to view properties. Just call us on lo-call 0844 991 0777.

Rental apartments with balconies, pool and pool bar

And at night for chatting with your new friends

Turkish bread cooked in a stone oven

Eating out: Food is fantastic. Fish and chips or an Ottoman dish served in a clay pot; beer mugs of ice-cold drinking yoghurt or delicious Baklava. It’s all here. Don’t miss out on a thick ice cream that you’ll see the vendors swinging in the air in an enormous lump off the end of a long scoop! The first thing that will surprise you is the customer service. In cafes and restaurants the dishes are not too spicy (if you don’t want them to be) and in holiday resorts chefs go out of their way to keep you happy. One restaurant in Altinkum even boasts a chef called Gordon Romsey! No country in the world beats Turkey. Where else do restaurants pick you up from where you are staying for the privilege of having you eat at their restaurant? And drive you back afterwards! And where else do garages not only fill your car with petrol for you, but offer you a free hand or automated car wash afterwards?

Along the front, Topkapi is a magnet for British ex-pats

The promenade that skirts the shallow sandy bay of Altinkum is a delightful way to take in the scenery – and the best restaurants! There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, including Topkapi which not only has tables set high up to enjoy views across the Aegean Sea to the Greek island of Cos, but serves a wide range of inexpensive dishes that are cooked in an open oven.

These cakes are made without any sugar or fat...

...Well, they’re not really, but perhaps you could say you didn’t know that until you went back and read the rest of this.

You won’t need to tread the Silk Road to China to pick up valuable herbs and spices

Taffy’s boat

Markets: There are lots of them. Take Taffy’s boat out for a day-trip to the one in Akbuk Bay. You will enjoy a lovely meal by the shallow bay under the trees after you’ve wandered around the market filled with clothes, household goods, fruit, vegetables and spices. At the market, enjoy a refreshing lemon drink which is poured into glasses from a wooden barrel. There’s no shortage of real lemons in this drink! A pile of change is all you need to walk out of a market with bags of fruit that will have any Tesco shopper looking on in envy. Fruit grown in hot countries is always bigger and sweeter than what you get at home. If you enjoy shopping; you’ll be spoilt. Don’t pay the price they ask; haggle a bit. If you’re really cynical you might sneer at the fake goods. But take a closer look. These are hand-made to a high standard at a fraction of the price you’d pay at home.

Enjoy a trip across the Aegean Sea to the islands

Soak in the sun or jump in for a soaking in the warm sea

Boat Trips: The boats moored at the end of the bay in Altinkum cater for a wide range of tastes, from party boats with belly-dancers onboard to gentle sails across the water to the Greek island of Cos. Many boats offer plenty of refreshing stops to enjoy ice cold refreshments or to swim alongside in the warm water..

A traditional Turkish meal sitting on cushions

A Hamam

Turkish Baths: Perhaps, while the sun is high in the sky or to end a busy day you might like to relax in a traditional Turkish Bath or Haman. You can put your things into a locker before wrapping yourself in a checked cloth and sweating in the hararet (the hot room) before going into the sogukluk (the cooling down room). You will finish up, in most cases, in an impressive chamber completely covered in marble featuring a big dome, several basins and an impressive göbektasi - the central, raised platform above the heating source to be soaped, scrubbed and lathered before, if you prefer, a full oil massage. Bliss!

If you have time, stop by Giritli, an unusual fish restaurant outside Altinkum

First pick a fish they’ve just landed. How about a delicious Sea Bass?

Or this Keman Balık or Violin Fish?

Ask for a salad you can douse in pomegranate juice

Don’t forget a nice bottle of delicious dry white Turkish wine from the mountain vineyards.Or some homemade bread baked in a clay oven and a salad soaked in pomegranate juice.

Now make your way to one of the pontoons...

Climb on-board and take a seat at your table...

Someone will row you out into the middle of the lake...

...Then leave you!

A boat will moor alongside to deliver and serve your freshly barbequed fish before rowing back to shore and leaving you alone once again in the serene silence. Now you are left to sip your delicious dry, white Turkish wine from the mountain vineyards with only the sound of an occasional fish jumping out of the water behind a glorious mountain backdrop, shaded from the sun by palm fronds. The whole experience with two fish meals and a bottle of wine served in an ice bucket will cost about 150 Turkish Lira for an experience you'll never forget. An easy taxi ride to Giritli which is not far from Akbuk Bay.

Don't worry. They'll be back to serve your barbequed fish

Is it any wonder so many people make Turkey their second home?

Buying a home in Turkey: When it comes to buying property, don’t take risks. There are four agencies (at the time of writing) in the Didim (Altinkum) area that are registered with the industry regulatory body, Association of Property Professionals (AIPP) and Let’s Live Abroad! make sure that it is in Turkey that you are covered by just such an agency for your protection should you buy.

Luxury three bedroom penthouse with white goods. £69,000

Like everything else here, you’ll be getting the sort of value for money you won’t expect from any other destination. A small apartment kicks off at less than £20,000; a townhouse from around £40,000 and a villa from £70,000. But go and look for yourself. This luxury 3 bedroom penthouse, for example is within walking distance to Akbuk Bay.

This is the view from your terrace!

In Turkey, where your money goes a long way, sterling is readily accepted

Water cooler

This chap is delivering a water-cooler to a British resident. He works for a company that supplies these water-coolers with hot and cold water and an integrated fridge.

Temple of Apollo

History: Once you are living in Altinkum, you’ll have Greece on your doorstep, enticing you over on one of the boat trips to sample all the riches of this ancient civilisation. But you don’t have to leave Turkey to tread where those ancient feet passed. The Temple of Apollo in Altinkum is a magnificent structure and at the end of a long route trodden by pilgrims who wanted to consult the Oracle there. They walked over the mountains via the huge amphitheatre at Miletus and Priene from Ephesus, but you can get a taxi driver to take you on day trip via Kusadasi to walk the streets of Ephesus, inspect the magnificent library where scholars would debate, the ubiquitous brothels and ancient latrines where men sat together to chat and do their business while musicians played nearby.

A stray cat sleeps in the shade under her ancient cousin

The view from Priene of the vast plain that was once sea

The amphitheatre at Miletus

Ephesus

The ancient latrines at Ephesus

The easy way round Ephesus

Take your time to wander through the cobbled streets of the wine-making village of Şirince, (sounds like syringey) - it is worth it. With the wooden shutters on the windows you’d think you were in an Austrian mountain village. The bazaar is filled with interesting souvenirs from scented soaps made with olive oil to fine wines which you can taste before you buy. Şirince was settled when nearby Ephesus was abandoned in the 15th century. Freed Greek slaves named the village Çirkince (meaning ‘ugly’ in Turkish) to stop others from following them, but the name was changed to Şirince (meaning 'pleasant') in 1926.

Şirince

The mountain village of Şirince

Wander the shady streets to the bazaar

Enjoy fresh orange juice, apple or rose tea and refreshments in Şirince

Plenty of opportunity for wine-tasting in Şirince

Pamukkale

Health Spas: The abundance of spa resorts makes Turkey a popular destination even in winter. At Pamukkale are the ancient ruins of Hierapolis where once warm mineral ran through the streets before cascading over a cliff. Now you can bathe in the warm, calcium pools while you look languidly up at the stars or gaze majestically into the valley below. The thermal pools are said to cure all sorts of ailments. In one of the pools you can swim amongst the ruins clearly seen beneath the clear water.

Sunset over Altinkum

When you get home and you pour the tea and open that box to savour just one more chunk of that Turkish Delight mixed with Pistachio nuts and covered in desiccated coconut, you’ll close your eyes and be whisked away back to the enchanted days and nights you spent in that beautiful land of magic and mystery.