Akyaka – Mugla Province.
Our drive from Cesme was roughly 4 hours, about 300 km the route taking us close to Izmir then south to Aydin and finally Akyaka. The scenery en-route was particularly beautiful, especially as we crossed through the mountains and the final stages between Aydin & Akyaka. The view from the top descending down around the hairpin turns was totally breath-taking. Green lush vegetation everywhere, with the azure blue gulf of Gokova shimmering beyond beckoning us to stay.
We had pre-booked a small boutique hotel (Baga Hotel) our sat-nav knew where to go! We parked in the Hotel’s car park and checked in, the procedure now becoming second nature on our trip. Passports photo copied, check in form filled in, we were shown to our room. A lovely bright clean room with a sea view. Our two small cases once again unpacked. Time to relax and have a wonder around our new destination.
Akyaka is a coastal town with its own municipality in the Ula district of Mugla Province in southwestern Turkey. The town is situated at the far end of the Gulf of Gokova, at the start of the fertile Gökova plain, and is a rising centre for international tourism. It is also the first coastal town encountered on the busy road from the province centre of Mugla to the resort of Marmaris. Nearby Sakar Pass is a paragliding spot where the road descends from an altitude of 670m to sea-level in the space of a pine-clad section of a dozen kilometres along very sharp curves. At the base of the hill is the intersection to Akyaka. The bit we just drove very slowly down.
The township of Akyaka is sometimes referred to as Gökova, after the name of the gulf and the plain, while there is also an inland township of Gokova neighbouring Akyaka. A mere 20 miles from Marmaris and I’m very pleased to say is a very different place to its neighbour.
Much of the Gökova plain had been unproductive for centuries, until the latter half of the 20th century, and was covered with marshlands ridden with malaria. The inhabitants abandoned their settlements and fields entirely during the months of active malaria and moved to highland plateaus. The arable land available was usually owned by large landowners from the district centre of Ula. An organized program to combat malaria, one of the priorities of the young Turkish republic of the 1920s, was enacted under a specific law in 1926, in the frame of which ownership titles were awarded to individuals or groups of people on the basis of the swampland they drained, and were quite successful in the transformation of Akyaka region, especially through the local projects lasting from 1925 to 1940. In the following decades, conversion of fields for cash crops, particularly tobacco, dominated the local economy and this until the 1970s when the first steps in the tourism industry were taken. Akyaka has become quite cosmopolitan in recent years. It is known for its fishing and for being a very traditional town and is popular for its slow life. It has been known to seriously guard this way of life as it is what sets it apart from other towns in Turkey. There is no rush in Akyaka. It’s a popular area for Turkish retirees and holiday makers alike from other busy cities and areas in Turkey. In addition, Akyaka’s architecture is one of the things the town is well known for. The architecture here follows uniform construction regulations, whereby houses are built by combining modern architectural style with the former Ula house style. These houses have flowery and gardened double stairs with wooden balconies and overhanging roofs. Hence Akyaka is known for its authentic houses. They are truly beautiful.
Our first morning started with breakfast, an array of local Turkish treats, honey, jams, fruit, yoghurt, cheeses, eggs made in their own oven dishes, olives, soft hot bread. Black tea in small glasses. Our table side view looking out over the gulf. I’m not sure how we are ever going to get used to crunchy nut cornflakes or special K again.
Followed by a lazy day in the sun. I was determined to take a swim, there were a couple of bathers that had already beaten me to it. First a test of the water, as I slipped my first foot in my brain didn’t quite comprehend the feeling I was having, surely it can’t be that cold, how could they be swimming so happily.
What I hadn’t realised was that a stream of cold water descending from the mountains behind us was entering directly to this small bay via an underground stream. The stubborn me said you go for it girl, if they can do it so can you. I decided to make the entry as quick and as lady like as possible. Not sure that’s how it actually looked. The coldness instantly took my breath away, however as I swam further out the water became slightly warmer and warmer still with every stroke I took. Ah ha so that’s how you are able to be here I thought. Now if that was me, I would have been shouting don’t worry once you are over here its lovely and warm. Perhaps they delighted at the torturous expression on my face as I took the plunge. It’s fair to say I didn’t make polite conversation with any of them! 20 minutes later time to swim back, braced, I just went for it. It was just as cold and shocking for the last 2 minutes that I swam like Sharon Davies, before I emerged slightly blue and grabbed a towel very un-lady like as quick as possible. My comments to Ed, well it’s a little cold when you first get in, but don’t worry its lovely further out. He was having none of it off course and carried on listening to music through his ear phones.
The evening plan was to take a taxi down to the town for a slap-up Turkish meal and a few glasses of whatever the locals drink, we enquired at the reception to how far it was, and whether we could walk it. The gentleman said yes, no problem it will take about 15 minutes. Off we went in the direction he had given. Well 15 minutes in and no sign to the end of the road or the tree lined forest we were walking through, we decided let’s just get a taxi. Cars had been passing by, how hard would it be. The first taxi approached we hailed it down as it just sped on past, a passenger already on board. We carried on, the second one approached, this one slowed up; however, it did already have another passenger, aren’t you supposed to turn your taxi light off when you are out of service? the driver lowered his window and to our surprise asked Ed, do you know where the forest camping site is? When we explained we had no idea and wanted a taxi ourselves, he told us he would be back in 5 minutes. Famous last four words I thought. Well 5 minutes later yes he was back, but with the same lady passenger, he slowed up again and we offered to share the fare with her if she was going back in to town. Offer accepted great. Well lucky us, apparently the wild boar often cross over this stretch of forest road, they can be quite aggressive when with their young. I guess that’s one way of keeping out too many tourists. Just 5 minutes by taxi later we arrived down town Akyaka, very small with a few streets leading to the sea front and a few more heading back into town, lined with small bars, shops & restaurants. After strolling around trying to get our barrings, we did eventually settle for a waterside restaurant, small tour boats passing by every 10-15 minutes loaded with small groups of Turkish family’s, the women mainly head scarfed, giggling as the boats sent waves through the water. Scores of ducks now bobbing up & down waiting for the next hand out of bread from each occupied table. There was a noticeable lack of foreign tourists which we didn’t mind at all. The staff were interested as to where we had travelled from and even more amazed when we announced that we had driven all the way from London.
Our second evening we kept much simpler, a taxi straight from our hotel to a recommended restaurant. Both nights were very enjoyable, we felt that we had defiantly witnessed the social scene of Akyaka. We had a great few days here and the hotel surroundings made it very easy to switch off and have some quality down time. We especially enjoyed our chats with Gamze, working at the reception, a lovely young lady, bright, intellegent, she had a great sense of humour and an even greater knowledge of the English language. She’s a great asset to the Hotel. We even had a traditional send off with water thrown by her over the back of our car as we left, surely we will return one day !
Next stop Fethiye ….
