Whenever we go at the beginning of the year we are always reminded how fresh and green the scenery is. There can be the odd day of rain, but generally the weather is around 20 C and it is quite pleasant to sit in the sun with a chilled glass of wine or beer; we were often able to sunbath.

Not being too hot it is also possible to embark on a walk or two and enjoy the profusion of spring flowers. So if you enjoy walking this is definitely the time of year to come (although October and November can also be very pleasant months for walking).

The season had not started properly and the restaurants along the shore were still preparing for the new season when we arrived on 26th March; painting the chairs, tables and pergolas, white washing some walls etc. By the second week of April, however, a few more restaurants were open and they had blankets draped on the back of the chairs in case the evenings got a little chilly.

Not quite the weather for swimming yet – although this didn’t stop two young girls jumping in the larger swimming pool on site. It was ‘cold’ they admitted – but the sun soon warmed them up again.

Mariette and her Turkish husband run the café; it’s more of a bar and restaurant really. Mariette is a very friendly ‘front of house’ host and will even teach you the rules of Backgammon if you want to use one of the boards available for guests.

It’s not exactly a prime position, but makes up for its lack of beach / harbour front with good old-fashioned hospitality and a friendly welcome. Check out their weekly steak night and buffet night and meet some new people. It is a particularly good venue during ‘off peak periods when it attracts a lot of the locals.

If you’re on a budget and have already seen how cheaply you can buy a glass of cay (tea) at the Gumusluk Cay Bar (next to the jetty in Gumusluk Fishing Village), look no further than the small kiosk sitting next to the Bar. Here you can buy piping hot meat balls in fresh Turkish bread for the price of about £1.25.

It’s probably not the place to go for that romantic evening meal, but it does provide a cheap snack at lunch time and a pleasant view of the harbour. You could even splash out on a bottle of water from the Cay bar for another 50 pence!

The market is held just a few minutes’ walk* along the Bodrum road from the fishing village. It’s laid out in a ‘T’ shape with tents shading the stalls alongside the edge of a couple of fields. Everyone is friendly and there’s the usual banter as the stall holders ply their wares. One of our favourite stalls is at the far right of the ‘T’, selling fresh ‘Gözleme’ or Turkish pancakes with a variety of fillings including aubergine, cheese, meat, spinach and potato. With some fresh salad they make a great lunch. Another popular stall is one with a vast array of herbs and brightly coloured spices and stallholders who can answer any questions you care to ask. We rarely come away empty handed!

Try to master a couple of phrase before you go to the market :

Merhaba Hello

Ne kadar lütfen? How much is that please?

…and a few numbers so you understand the reply:

1 bir (beer) yarim (yareem) half

2 iki

3 üç (ewch)

4 dört (durt)

5 bes (besh)

Tesekkür ederim (tesha cure edarim) Thank you

If you’re feeling hungry after all your shopping, pop into ‘Gönüçelen’ bar just up the hill from the market towards the fishing village. It’s run by our neighbours at Opus, Ken and Jim and a Turkish friend and they serve an excellent ‘Irish Breakfast’ which you can enjoy from their roof terrace bar with its stunning views.

* Alternatively it’s a pleasant 30-40 minute stroll from our villa through country lanes. Turn left out of the gate at the top of the Opus site and right at the brow of the hill. Gumusluk (inland) village and its mosque are clearly visible in the valley below and the path winds gently down towards it. Turn right when you reach the road and head for the mosque. The market is held close by. You can get a lift back by taking the ‘train’ pulled by a tractor. These ‘trains’ are provided free by Gumusluk council and are a fun way to travel. The one going in the Gumuskaya (rather than Turgutreis) direction will drop you off at the Opus turn off at the top of the donkey track.

The Turkish, as you probably know, have a tradition of tea (çay) drinking. This tradition is not only observed by the hospitality of being offered the beverage at various shops and businesses, but also by the preservation of unpretentious tea bars/ cafés ( usually with brown chairs and tables) where you can sit and order a small glass of çay for 0.50TL each.

One of the Çay Bars in Gumusluk fishing village sits next to the harbour where everyone, from locals to tourists, can sit and watch the world go by; try it yourself – the Gumusluk Çay Bar pictured also serves Apple (Elma) Tea for the same price, if you find Turkish tea rather strong.

Distance

Grade : Walk is easy apart from a 10-15 minute section (stony and often overgrown) as you approach Karakaya and the scramble up to the windmill.

Turn right out of the villa, pass the amphitheatre on your left and follow the road round to the right, past the pool and the site office. At the top of the slope is a black wrought iron gate. Go through the gate and turn left onto a dirt road. Keep right uphill. The road swings left behind new developments and you have good views out to sea of the Greek islands.

(For panoramic views of the islands, Gumusluk inland village and surrounding countryside with old windmills on the horizon, scramble up the highest mound to your left. Brilliant at sunset!)

Over the brow of the hill the road swings right inland in front of a tall wall of a development with a blue waterslide and tennis court. Continue along the now (mainly) tree-lined road as it meanders and takes you downhill.

At a junction just before a large water trough on the left, turn left. Trees overhang the path after a few yards. There is a view of an old windmill over to your right. (You can visit it later in the walk.) When you reach a makeshift broken wooden gate, turn right over a stream bed onto a small track. The next 10 – 15 minutes of the walk is stony underfoot and is on a largely disused ancient track, much overgrown and rock strewn in parts. However, keep the stone wall topped with barbed wire to your left and follow the sunken track uphill between two walls. After 10 minutes a house appears on your left behind the stone wall and you reach a track beside the entrance to the property.

 Follow this good path a few yards uphill to join another track. You will turn right here to continue the walk, but first turn left for spectacular views of the bay and islands after 50 yards. Retrace your steps and continue up the concrete slope to the ancient village of Karakaya.

This path skirts the village, so return to it after you have explored the village. (Many houses are in ruins but several have been renovated and are used mainly as holiday homes.) The path brings you out at a parking area and a road. Follow the main road ahead of you lined with telegraph poles on the right. Don’t forget to glance behind you as you walk for some of the best views of Karakaya. There is also a water tap along the road if you need to replenish your water bottles. After 5 minutes you reach the (lime green) electricity substation.

From the substation you can visit the ancient and almost derelict windmill you saw earlier. Allow 10 minutes each way. Go through a gap in the fence to the right of the substation, next to an electricity pylon. Climb uphill towards the next pylon and then continue forward. The windmill appears after another few minutes.

To continue the walk keep the substation on your right and go down a wide screed path, parallel with the road but soon turning right. Enjoy great views as you walk. The path descends for 10 or 15 minutes and as it starts to ascend slightly you pass a new pool centred development with a dozen or so villas on your right. (Gümüs Evleri) The track becomes a paved road and at a junction turn left. When you meet the ‘main’ road turn right beside the veterinary clinic (Veteriner Klinigi Özge). After a couple of hundred yards turn right after a bus shelter on your right, onto a track signposted ‘Avukat Evyilmaz’. (Or for shops, a café and the bakers in Gumusluk inland village continue along the road for a few hundred yards, then retrace your steps.) NB the café on the right is ‘men only’ and no alcohol is served. However they are very friendly and when we went there not realising it was men only, they served us and even popped over the road to get us a beer!

At the water cistern (large, white, dome-shaped) turn right and follow the path back to our villa. (25 minutes) Look out for views of the windmills and Karakaya over to the right on your way. After a large water trough on your right (10-15 minutes) you will meet the path you took on the way to Karakaya. Keep left here and continue on the main path. The blue water slide soon becomes visible to your right. As you reach this complex you can take a left turn to cut off the corner, going past an attractive landscaped villa with pool to your left. At the top of the track turn left and Opus village is on your right.

We have attempted to show this walk on google maps; click this link to Karakaya Circular Walk to view.

I have just discovered that EasyJet have announced a new route to Bodrum flying Gatwick Airport.  I have just looked at some dates and return prices seem quite good. Please check them out and post any experiences.

The link to  EasyJet new routes page is : http://www.easyjet.com/EN/About/Information/infopack_routeinfo.html

EasyJet Timetable

London Gatwick–Bodrum – Summer :  30 March 2009 to 25 October 2009; All times are local.

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Looks like a holiday in Gumusluk has become even more affordable.

I also read that a company called Pagasus is flying out of Stansted: but they fly to Istanbul ( not the main airport, but Sabiha Gokcen: SAW – see location) and you have to take a connecting flight. If you don’t mind taking a little longer they might also be worth checking; http://www.flypgs.com/EN/

So I have decided to tell you about one of the restaurants that has a slightly different feel and theme. Its name is Bati. Dining is alfresco, but with some trelliswork overhead and climbing plants providing shade during the day. It has a slightly elevated position; if you sit at one of the tables along the edge you have a good view of the harbour and can look over a low wall and watch the people walking past below.

Bati has its own wood-burning oven and its speciality is Turkish pizzas, garlic bread and the like; you can take a look for yourself at the food cooking in this baked-clay sided hole in the wall and the chef in front preparing pizzas and using the long wooden paddle to slide them into the oven.

Bati also has its ‘chill’ area at the rear of the restaurant, where you can sip a coffee or brandy after your meal; you take your shoes off before entering. There is an open fire for those cooler evenings early and late in the year. The tables are very low and seating consists of large cushions scattered around them; all under the shade of the extended branches of a gnarled old fig tree.

And as for the prices… they are very reasonable.

And it’s a pleasant walk. From the access lane you cross the Gumusluk-Yalikavak road and join an ancient donkey track; from here it’s a tranquil walk to the delightful fishing village.

Down the path there are stunning views of Gumusluk bay and the headland. The track winds down to the sea, past the remains of old stonewalls and a few ruins; some incorporating pieces of lost archaeology from this area. The picture to the left shows part of a marble column embedded in what’s left of a crumbling edifice.

At the end of the path you are rewarded with a view of Gumusluk harbour proper, its geography much the same as it has been for hundreds of years, thanks to a conservation order that prevents any new building around the bay. It’s a quaint setting with small restaurants dotted along the shoreline, a few yachts lying at anchor and fine views of the Greek islands on the horizon.

To view the walk to the bay yourself take a look on google maps where I have mapped out the path.

It is the closest fish shop to Gumusluk villa and probably has the freshest fish. One medium sized sea bream is about £2 to £3.

Alternatively we go to ‘Kipa’ (the Tesco Hypermarket in Bodrum): it has a massive display of fish. There is a whole counter with all varieties of fish on ice. There is also a large slab or island, standing on the sales floor, with a mountain of today’s fresh fish piled gullet to tail on a crushed-ice bed. It was an impressive display of sea bream (or was it red mullet) when I saw it. I remember being surprised that there was no smell of fish; it was as if they had presented themselves that morning directly from the Aegean.

Luckily on our first fish-buying expedition we were with our French friend, Anne-Lise. She educated us on the need for such things as ‘de-scaling’ and ‘gutting’. To achieve this we took the fish to the fish monger (or did we just point) and made gesticulations of cutting fish and running a pretend knife up and down the imaginary scales. It seemed to do the trick. We came back in five minutes and voila!