A WARM AND SUNNY BREAK...

ALL PHOTOS: SOPHIA HOME

 Good morning!

I do hope you are all well this Tuesday afternoon? Thank you so much to all of you, regular readers and new, who have 'popped in' this past week to read the blog, and so sorry for the lack of new posts.  Mr. 'SH' and I left work behind, and slipped off to beautiful Turkey for a week of blue skies, warm sea, sunshine and good food….very spoiling and relaxing and it went past too quickly! 

We stayed on the stunning Faralya coastline, a very unspoilt mountainous stretch on the south/west coast, away from the main tourist areas…. 'Zakros Boutique Hotel' was the perfect little retreat.  Found hidden away down a long unmade and unassuming track down from the mountain pass and built in to the mountain side with breathtaking and dramatic uninterrupted views over the Mediterranean sea.  

With swimming in the beautiful hotel infinity pool… 

Our own lovely terrace by our room with a secluded and refreshing plunge pool to dip in to cool off….

Various quiet spots to just chill and relax with a good book…

Beautifully planted terraced gardens around the ten individual Ottoman style lodges…

With beautiful Bougainvillea growing in abundance…. 

….and a view like this to wake up to each morning!  It really was a spoiling and very rejuvenating break, and definitely a hotel that I would highly recommend! 

The coastal road along this mountainous stretch takes in the 'Lycian Way', a popular destination for adventurous walkers….with break taking views down to tranquil, perfect coves such as 'Butterfly Bay' and passing through unspoilt villages which were like stepping back in time….where the local community went about their daily lives, growing vegetables, figs and pomegranates, looking after their goats and producing the delicious salty local cheeses of the area.

Dinner each night was enjoyed on the beautiful candlelit terrace of the hotel, overlooking the ocean….but in equally delicious but authentic, fascinating contrast, we took ourselves off in the day time to have lunch at one of the simple little restaurants along the mountain pass, where local villagers produced the most delicious traditional dishes….

This smiling woman and her husband welcomed us warmly on to the terrace of their home and cooked the most mouthwatering Turkish pancakes in front of us, called 'Kiyma Gozleme'…

This family's grandparents' generation had originally been Nomads, travelling between the high mountains of this area in summer and the coast in the winter with their herds of goats…

I wish I had taken more photographs, but above is just one of the fascinating family artefacts they had saved and displayed….a wooden board with flint inserted in to slots, which was originally pulled by a horse over wheat to separate the grain from the husk.  A beautiful decorative piece now in its own right I thought!  

If you are ever in this area of Turkey, I would recommend a trip in to the nearby fishing port of Fethiye, and particularly in to the old town, with its streets and alleyways of shops selling an array of traditional Turkish wares and a great choice of restaurants….this was such a pretty street with its colourful array of umbrellas, suspended up in the vine trellising overhead.

A must is a visit to the fish market….where local fishermen sell their wonderfully fresh catch of the day, surrounded by restaurants where you then take your fish for them to then cook and serve to you…..we enjoyed some of the freshest and most delicious prawns and calamari I have ever tasted.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderfully scented browse around the vegetable and spice market...

And of course, a few of these made their way back home in my suitcase and I look forward to trying to recreate some of the delicious dishes we enjoyed throughout our trip...

I really do think I could live on Meze!

So there is my little snapshot of a very beautiful part of Turkey. Warm and friendly people, spectacular scenery, sunshine and fabulous food…

And as we sat on our terrace on Sunday night and had our 'sundowners' overlooking the last beautiful sunset of the holiday, we decided that it really was a very special place….

….and so I left a very special thank you to the wonderful staff of 'Zakros Boutique Hotel'

in the visitor's book and we hope to return again some day in the future….

***

Have you ever visited this beautiful part of the world?  I would love to hear…

Wishing you a happy day!

Sophia xx