june-2010

PROPERTY DALAMAN
Over The Fence
When it comes to Turkey, holiday home owner Caroline and local resident
Jeanne say that nothing compares to Dalaman’s old-world welcome
78JetAway
NAME: Caroline Smith
OCCUPATION: Retired
Tell us about your home in Dalaman.
My husband and I started coming to Turkey on holiday
about 25 years ago and fell in love with the place. Four
years ago, we bought a three-bedroom bungalow with
its own swimming pool overlooking a lake in the Akkaya
mountain region. It cost us £108,000. The area we’re in
isn’t a tourist resort, but the airport is only 25 minutes
away, and the lovely beaches of Sarigerme and
Gumusluk are also just a short drive. So we have
it all – the peace and tranquillity of the mountains
close to all the action and nightlife.
What do you do when you’re out here?
We tend to spend a lot of time driving around the area
fi nding new places to visit, or relaxing on the beach
and pottering around the garden. We have made some
good friends, albeit English ones, and have a really good
social life. We like to explore remote villages and eat
in local restaurants – if you fi nd a restaurant that’s full of
local people you can absolutely guarantee the food will be
great and really authentic.
What would you recommend to visitors?
Dalyan is a really good place for its market and
restaurants. In the evening it really comes to life and the
spectacular rock tombs are wonderful when they’re lit up
at night. There are so many great places around that
wherever you go there’s always something interesting
for us to discover.
Where do you go to eat?
For a special experience, there’s a fantastic restaurant
close to where we live which has been built into a gorge
and overlooks the lake. In the summer you eat outside on
seating areas built into the trees. It’s amazing sitting up
there and enjoying a really good meal. The staff are very
friendly and the food is good. It also has a large swimming
pool and shower facilities you can use, and organises trips
on the lake and horse riding.