After a few days spent unpacking and settling into the new (to me) flat, I packed up Ziggy, Jinx, and myself, and relocated us to Dalyan for the rest of the summer holiday. Driving down with one cat was always noisy–but with two it was three hours of them calling back and forth to one another, and Jinx reaching her paw out trying her damndest to get hold of something, anything.
Believe it or not, this was my fourth summer to spend time in my personal paradise. From the Series Menu page you can find my previous posts about Dalyan–first meeting in 2020, and my summer holidays in 2021 and 2022. This summer was different because I had to rent a place for me and the kitties that was NOT where I had stayed the last two summers. My friends, Myra and Les, sold their villa last fall. The place I had called home for two summers was no longer available. 😢
This year I stayed at Mavi Köşk (translates to Blue Corner), a corner property, something we call an apart hotel, that has two large buildings, each with six apartments, and a nice, large pool and garden area. I liked the location more than I thought I would. While I missed being close to the river, I liked being in a quiet location that was out of the busy-ness of the village.
I was initially disappointed with the apartment because I had been promised that it had an AC unit in the living room AND in the bedroom. But alas, there was just one unit in the living room. After surviving the first week–which was very, very hot–I managed just fine by leaving the AC on all day long (sorry, it was required) and asking my rental guy (Happy Rental Agent–aka Apo) to provide a pedestal fan (which he did).
The onsite manager, Deniz, was lovely and helped me coordinate water delivery and all other things. I would stay in the same location (depending on price) but would require a two bedroom for next summer. I suppose I will soon have to explore options for next summer.
This summer’s apartment was actually very cute–it had two balconies: a front one that the cats and I enjoyed in the morning with my coffee. We watched the pool guy come each day to treat the pool and the various exercisers and dog-walkers. In the evenings the kitties could enjoy the the back balcony which looked out over an empty field. They watched the goat-herder move his four goats around the lot, and watched cats, dogs, birds, and even a turtle. We could watch the sun rise from this balcony and it was a great space to dry laundry.
This summer was markedly different from the last two. While I had a couple visits of friends, I did not host people this summer. The cats and I were on our own. Unlike previous summers, this summer I spent time reading, watching Netflix, and taking naps in the heat of the day, while also doing the regular things I enjoy–spending time at the beach, taking boat trips, going out for beers with friends, and enjoying lovely dinners–some in old trusty favorite places, while also exploring new places.
One of the best parts of this summer was spending regular and frequent time with my dear friends Doreen and Hubert. We went on boat trips, we drove to beaches (Sarigerme and Iztuzu), took a dip in the pool, and enjoyed many beers together–sometimes at Cafe Dalyano, sometimes at their villa. And certainly dined together for a number of meals.
I spent time with other friends I’ve made over the years of my time spent in Dalyan. And as always, I made new friends too. Here is a photo collage of some of my dear friends–old and new! Clockwise from the top left corner they are: Megan & Euan (new Scottish friends), Servet, Esra, Selim and Mesut, Erdem, Serdal and his new wife Zeynep, with Abdel and Denise, Doreen, and with Serap (in the center).
And I enjoyed sharing the beauty of Dalyan with two colleagues from Izmir–Emily and Gabrielle. They came down at the start of August to enjoy a full moon night boat trip to the lake on Dalyan Mesut’s boat–he’s the captain (photo included above) I always book for lake (and usually full moon) trips! And we also made a trip to the sea on Erdem’s Blue Bead boat.
We enjoyed dinner at a LOVELY and DELICIOUS new restaurant in town–LUZ, Latin Food & Drink. I cannot recommend this place enough! Every item I tried from the menu was absolutely fresh and mouth-watering, and the definite MUST TRY dish is the Queso Fundido. I had this each and every time I went which was about four or five times across the four weeks there. I even ate it ALL by myself one time. 😆 Yes, it is THAT good. The proprietors–Hakan, Can, and Melike (i think!)–were kind and accommodating, even as they adjusted to becoming a popular venue and felt the growing pains that can go along with that.
About 10 days after the girls came from Izmir, my friend Harika came for a few nights and we did a repeat of pretty much the same program, minus the moonlight boat trip. We made a sea boat trip together my friends Serap, Charley, and Eylül, from Ortaca, as well as Doreen. We also made a day excursion to Fethiye and despite the heat enjoyed walking and exploring the harbor and central shopping area. We had a delicious meal at Kukina, a restaurant that is somewhat hidden but has beautiful decor and atmosphere as well as wonderful food.
All in all I went on six boat trips this year. Half on what I call my “regular boats”–two on the Blue Bead and one night cruise on Mesut’s boat, but I also tried new-to-me boats and their captains/crew. For the first time I was on Princess of Ekincik, Princess of Ozalp, and with Captain Boris. It’s always interesting to see how different boats are laid out or designed. The last trip was with the Ent family–a Dutch family I met first with Servet back in the summer of 2021. We have now spent time together in three summers. This year we went on a boat trip together and then enjoyed drinks together another night.
All in all it was another lovely summer holiday in this place that has stolen my heart. I will continue to visit it regularly and continue to dream of buying a little place of my own, and when the time comes–retiring to this gorgeous village. I’ll leave you with these last shots of me on the beach near the end of my time there and hope that maybe someday you will join me for a walk on Iztuzu beach.
