What is it like to stay in a Turkish village? You will notice that everyone is friendly and will greet you with ‘Merhaba’ (Hello). The Kecibuku hamlet has a population of around 350, so you can be sure [First Name] that everyone will know who you are or will work out where you are staying very quickly. As a stranger you are a guest in the community, so you may be given a gesture of welcome – perhaps an orange or a fig from a tree as you walk by.
There are the sounds of village life. If you are used to the rumble of cars and street life, you will instead get used to the call to prayer just before dawn and at intervals through the day from the village mosque. At night time you may hear cockerels, dogs, the snuffle of a wild boar, the occasional gun shot as the men hunt at night for them or the music of a wedding celebration. At other times there is utter quiet – except for the sounds of frogs in the spring whilst the streams are running and the cicadas in high summer.
During the day you are likely to see women working in the fields, or perhaps walking past carrying large bundles of firewood or animal feed on their backs. You may see goats trying to feed from our garden, chickens wandering through it, cows being walked up the hillside to fresher pastures, beehives lining the tracks into the hills. In late autumn the village is occupied with the olive harvest – either for curing at home or for taking over in bulk to Datca for pressing.
What is special about staying at Villa Nurtan? It is the house that we built for ourselves, that we would be proud to live in and share with others. We support Green Tourism. It is for those that want complete privacy and who will our enjoy our garden and the free produce that grows in it – including mulberries in May, herbs, tomatoes, salads, through the season, sweetcorn in late summer and grapes in the Autumn. Brochure
It is where to stay if you like a lot of space around you – both inside and out – whether you want to laze in a hammock, our wonderful pavilion, verandas or balconies. You can watch the natural world at your leisure – the bats and stars at night, birds swooping to drink at the pool, dragonflies over the water, the birds of prey overhead or just watch the garden grow. Surrounded by fields, woodland and the nearby hills it is a nature lover’s paradise.
Villa Lale nestles in the midst of orange groves. Close to the heart of the hamlet access is via a track away from any road.
Yet you will hear and see village life – the call to prayer from the nearby mosque, women (usually ) working in the nearby fields, chickens, cows and goats in the surrounding orchards. This is a place for those who want to experience rural village life, without sacrificing luxury.
Villa Anni has a more intimate feel. Built into the wooded hillside there is shade and sun – both of which are the essence of a summer holiday in Turkey. The villa is private but it is built above one of the village lanes, so you will see passing below a little of village life as people and their animals pass by on their daily business. Floating in the pool you look up into woodland in one direction and across the valley to the hills in the other.
You can eat in the large downstairs veranda or on the top floor balcony – ideal for those moments when you want to stop and stare, sit around the table companionably with the tipple of your choice or read a book quietly whilst listening to the sounds of village life.
