Nut man
They say no-one visits Kalkan just once. We’ve been coming here since the year 2000, and many have been holidaying here even longer. A lot has changed in this time, but a familiar face in the town for many years is Hasan or, as he’s more commonly known, “nut man”. Hasan is a much-loved character… Details
The tiny town of Sutlegen
For most foreign tourists staying in Kalkan, Sutlegen is just another small village on the drive to Elmali, the largest Ottoman town in the southwest area of Turkiye. This larger, more popular, town is named after the apples (elma) it produces, and famed for its well preserved wooden houses (some from the 17th century), and… Details
Heading off the tourist track
For over half a century BMW marketed its cars with the slogan ‘sheer driving pleasure’. Our Turkish hire car, the ubiquitous Duster, doesn’t quite live up to this tagline, but sometimes it’s the drive itself, as much as the destination, that’s the prize. For us, this ‘prize’ is the drive from Kalkan through the mountains… Details
Walking the old goat trail
Bezirgan is a beautiful, rural village nestling in an ancient lakebed some 700 metres above Kalkan. Only a few decades ago, locals would spend the winter months in Kalkan and the summer months in the cooler, mountain villages such as Bezirgan. To get to school from Bezirgan the children would have to walk from the… Details
A wedding at the villa
On a beautiful spring day in May 2022, Villa Yazlik played host to the wedding of our manager’s eldest daughter Buse, and her groom Hakan. The radiant couple looked resplendent against Kalkan’s classic backdrop of rugged Taurus mountains and turquoise sea. In Turkey a wedding ceremony is a fairly short and simple affair. But the… Details
This isn’t going to hurt – much
On my numerous stays in Kalkan I always treat myself to at least one of the amazing Turkish haircuts. Well … haircut only begins to describe the “experience”. Prepare yourself for a gentleman’s pampering treatment, which, if you go for the “works” will take a good hour. The haircut in fact begins with a hot… Details
Day trip to Saklikent Gorge
We wait, and we wait, but still nobody comes. The 10am dolmus to Saklikent is going nowhere. It cuts a solitary vehicle in the bus station now all the other dolmus’ – to Kaputas, Kas and Patara – have long since departed. There is a problem. This dolmus needs a minimum of four passengers to… Details