Bodrum Turkey contemporary Holiday Villa, Yalikavak for rental, private pool 

 

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 white washed cubes, similar to those in the Greek Islands. This is because this part of Turkey used to belong to Greece and some of the Greek Islands used to belong to Turkey. As you can imagine, there is a lot of history around the area. 

 

Archaeological excavations have established that human habitation in the Yalikavak area began in around 2000BC, and there are ruins and artefacts from the Carian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras. The historic sites such as Sandima, Pasanda (Geris), Kandiba and Termil (Dirmil/Gökçebel) attract visitors from all over the world. Yalikavak is famous for the numerous windmills found in the vicinity. The winds, that until recently turned the vanes of these working windmills, now fill the sails of boats and windsurfs. Another “typical” feature found in abundance here are domed water cisterns which, in the past, were used in times of drought and are now being adapted for artistic and cultural uses. 

 

A 20 minute road journey will take you to Bodrum Centre with its historic castle which was built from 1402 onwards, by the Knights of St John as the Castle of St. Peter or Petronium. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus is also located in Bodrum town. 

 

Ferry trips to the Greek island of Kos can be made from Turgutreis and Bodrum 

Further afield you can visit Ephesus, the largest archaeological site in the world, the stunning pools at Pamukkale, the royal rock tombs at Dalyan, and the temple of Apollo at Didim. 

 

Tilkicik Beach is to the Northeast of the Peninsula on the Southern shore. Most of the swimming beaches are backed by hotels, to which you can pay a small fee for entry to their beaches. Dodo Beach and Xuma Beach are both on the Kudur Peninsula, a short drive away from Villa Koyu, both have great beach clubs. There's a public beach (Halk Plaj) also with no facilities, but free entry. 

It's worth the price at Xuma and Dodo for the facilities and the panoramic views of the bay, the harbor, and the town of Yalikavak. Highlight Hotel also has a great beach club with day pass for non-hotel guests. The sea in this area is turquoise, clear and very calm. 

 

Yalikavak's town centre has retained its traditional Turkish charm. With its simple but stylish laid back atmosphere and friendly welcoming locals, this is its main attraction and the reason why holidaymakers return to the area year after year. Along the coast road en-route from the villa to Yalikavak you will pass some of the best fish restaurants on the Bodrum Peninsula huddled together in their own 'fish restaurant village' area. A couple of minutes further on takes you to Yalikavak's fashionable Marina (Palmarina) with super yachts, gullets and sail boats visiting from all around the world. The Marina is home to smart shops, bars, restaurants and a beach club which hosts open air concerts during high summer.  

 

The centre of Bodrum is less than 20 minutes from here with its own smart Marina, town centre shops and, of course, the famous Bodrum Castle. Bodrum town has fabulous shops in the Marina area and also along the narrow streets of the old town near the Castle. At night, the Marina has open air live music starting at 10pm until the early hours nightly during high summer. 

 

Yalikavak has supermarkets, banks, ATMs, Taxi ranks, bus station, petrol stations etc. 

 

A car is advised for this location but not absolutely necessary as Yalikavak is walkable and the dolmus (public transport minibus) runs along the road below the villa. 

 

Distances: Bodrum town is 15 mins drive; Yalikavak is less than a 5 minute drive, Gundogan bay is 10 mins drive, Gumusluk fishing village and harbour restaurants are 20 mins drive