Villa Anne-Marie, Seamed Palms, Yalikavak, Bodrum Peninsula, Turkey The villa is in the popular village of Yalikavak which is on the Bodrum Peninsula. It is an upmarket place often called the St. Tropez of Turkey and is where many Turkish celebraties take their holidays. The nearest airport to Yalikavak is Bodrum and this is approximately 45 minutes away. Recently "Port Bodrum" an extensive new Marina has been built at Yalikavak. It has a variety of stylish shops, restaurants, bars and Moorish style elegant appartments. A number of luxurious yachts are moored here with some of the owners being quite famous. From the Villa it is between 10 and 15 minutes walk to the sea front where there are umpteen restaurants overlooking the bay. Here fishing boats and traditional Turkish gulets moor side by side. Yalikavak's beach is in the midst of restaurants and small boutique hotels. Several of them put out loungers on the beach which they are happy for you to use - all for the price of a drink! Turkish restaurants are normally excellent and reasonably priced. Some have an very good reputation for their fish dishes. The Turkish people are extremely friendly and welcoming and it is easy to make some new friends here. People working in and around the restaurants generally speak some English. There is a bakery at the top of the road that leads to Seamed Palms which is open 24 hours a day. The bakery nearly always has the delicious smell of newly baked bread and costs only about 14p for a loaf! There is a general store next door which will deliver to your door if you ask them. As you go down this road towards the sea there are several other shops and another general store on the corner which again opens 24 hours a day. There are 3 reasonably large supermarkets in Yalikavak, similar to those at home. They sell most things that you can get back home including cheddar cheese and tomato sauce should you want this. Alcohol is freely available in this part of Turkey. The Villa The detached villa has a lounge, kitchen/dining area, large outside dining terrace, a downstairs washroom with a normal sized sink, two bedrooms, a bathroom (with shower) and there is a large furnished roof terrace with magnificant views. The master bedroom has a king sized bed plus a very large wardrobe and other furniture and the other furnished bedroom has twin beds, that can either be left like this or it's possible to attach both beds together which becomes a very large double. Both bedrooms have balconies. There are insect screens on most of the windows and the villa is air-conditioned with full central heating for if it gets chilly in the winter months. Both bedrooms, the lounge and kitchen/dining area have air conditioning. Should it be needed there is a single thick mattressed folding bed which can be placed in the lounge at night time. The lounge has a 2-seater sofa, a 3-seater sofa and a single chair. It has a TV/DVD with basic satellite programmes in English (Sky News etc) and a CD/cassette/radio unit. As the Complex is built on 2 levels and our villa is on the upper level, you would have to negotiate several steps to the villa. We mention this in case it could cause difficulties, but there are passages down each side of the complex that are easier to manage. From parts of the villa and especially the roof terrace there are lovely sea, hill and pool views. On the roof terrace there is a table, benches and lighting - so it is possible to dine here. From here you can view wonderful sunsets over the sea! The gated community has 14 Villas - 6 of them detached. Seamed Palms is often referred to as the premier complex in Yalikavak with many holiday makers returning year after year. The swimming pool is a particularly attractive one featuring an island complete with its own palm tree! It includes a paddling pool and the enchanting gardens are a feature of the complex.
Local Area Details
What There is To Do and About The General Area From the sea front at Yalikavak there are many boat trips taking you for the day to the various bays or islands and sometimes it will pull in to the charming fishing village of Gumusluk. Often the captain, within reason, will take you wherever you fancy. Normally you will be taken in a traditional Turkish gulet, these are attractive boats to look at, and the trips normally include meals, drinks, and snacks. Prices start around £11 which is very reasonable. Assorted types of water sports are available in the area including diving. In the Kudur area of Yalikavak there is a beach club called the Xuma Beach Club. It is quite exclusive an there is an entry charge. There is a mixture of water sports offered here and they hire out Jet Skis. The Beach Club includes restaurants and bars and it is very popular. At some of the shops in Yalikavak you are able to arrange excursions to places well known such as Ephesus, Pumukkale and Capodecia. Or perhaps you might like to have a Turkish or Mud bath, or even a Turkish evening with belly dancing. It's all on offer here. Several excursions are by coach and some may involve staying a night at a Hotel. Bodrum is a stylish, cosmopolitan, upmarket area with a myriad of luxurious yachts and numerous gullets sitting around its harbour. It has an abundance of shops, restaurants and bars, notably around the sea front area. By the Marina's entrance there are the more exclusive designer shops. You may have heard of the well known, outdoors night club called Halikinarsos, said to be the largest in the Mediterranean, which is in Bodrum. This is very popular. There are several other night clubs in Bodrum, one of them based on a catamaran moored there. It is quite lively here at night wheras Yalikavak is quieter. From Bodrum you can take a ferry to Kos and Rhodes in Greece. This can be a fun day out. Kos Island is very nearby and one can see it from many parts of the Bodrum Peninsula. From Bodrum Harbour you are able to take various organised day trips or slightly longer trips to the many ancient sites that Turkey has and some similar to the excursions mentioned previously that some Yalikavak shops can arrange. Turkey has countless Roman, Greek, Byzantian and Ottoman ancient sites to see, many are related to Christian as well as Islamic history. If this interests you it would be worth taking advantage of the opportunities here to see them. Bodrum is about 20 minutes drive from Yalikavak and, should you choose not to hire a car, it is easy to hop on a Dolmus - this is a very cheap turquoise coloured minibus. There is a Dolmus Station in the general shopping area in Yalikavak. Yalikavak always has a cool breeze in the height of summer and, because of this, there are fewer insects in this area as they do not appear to like strong breezes. This cooling wind is very welcome in the hotter months. You are almost guaranteed sunshine from May through to the end of September and April and October time are often like a pleasant English summer's day. The winters are extremely mild in this region. Whilst several restaurants and bars stay open throughout the year in Yalikavak, and especially now that many europeans have retired here, Bodrum remains a lively place to visit even out of season. On the Bodrum Peninsula buildings are not permitted to be built more than 2 stories high, and there are no buildings higher than 3 stories in the whole peninsula. This tends to make the area look particularly attractive. Most of the buildings are of a greek style as at one time this area had a large Greek community. The area if full of pretty low rise whitewashed buildings adorned with colourful bourgainvillaea cascading over the side of the houses. They are distintive to this area of Turkey only and the locals call them sugar cube houses. Palm trees, oleanders, and tropical style plants are in abundance throughout the local area. Most views have hills/mountains in the background. Frequently they are covered with green pine forests and as you look out towards the sea you will see a myriad of islands and enchanting bays.
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