Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => Holiday Reports and Reviews => Topic started by: BearsdenTony on August 03, 2009, 03:25:21 PM
-
Looking out of my window here at Glasgow's drizzle, it is hard to believe that this time last week we were melting in the 110F lava pot that was Kalkan.
Our party of seven, including one-year-old Zachary, thoroughly enjoyed our first visit there, despite our villa being broken into on the second night as we slept.
A few observations. Kalkan guide books "boast" of the fact that the village has almost 200 restaurants. Well, I would say that is about 100 too many!
Most lie empty at lunchtime and in the evening, and any time you walk through Kalkan at night you are plagued by touts urging you to eat at their establishment.
It is too hot to enjoy a holiday there in July. I am no stranger to warm temperatures, having lived and worked for a year in the "sweatbox" of Bahrain. Kalkan was no cooler.
Yes, I will definitely return, but in May or September, when those daily-plus highs in the 100s have lowered considerably.
Our villa was called the Mystic, and near the top of Sedir Sokak, on the dirt-track road above the petrol station.
It was all we might want - and more - of a holiday residence, and our every need (apart for cooler temperatures!) was there for the asking of the ever-willing Ertan.
Every morning he arrived on his ramshackle scooter to clean our pool, and with the chlorine tablets he brought large loaves straight from oven and a five-litre water bottle. Cost - 2.5TL. No charge for the chlorine!
A couple of finds. Adam's Restaurant, just a mile or so out of the village on the Kas road. Okay, the food was not the highlight here - not that it disappointed - but the views (and breeze) from the top terrace were wonderful.
Owner Adam (Adem Onder) was the warmest of hosts, and provides a free pickup-and-return service to Kalkan for guests.
Indigo Beach Club at the harbour was our favourite stop for lunch, however. A terrace table frontline to the sea is the place to covet.
Food is pretty good and not expensive. A meal for two, with an Efes each and a bottle of water, could be had for 40TL.
My favourite was the chicken pancake. Oodles of chicken for the filling, with lots of chips and salad. Not for the calory counter.
Chops, out of town at Ishmalar, lays on a Village Night every Tuesday with traditional dancing and very tasty meal for a fixed price of 30TL. That includes complmentary taxi ride there and back!
Here you may be served the most succulent lamb at Ottoman style tables with traditional cushions under cool grape-laden vines.
Young Zacahary's first birthday was celebrated on the roof terrace of the picturesque Ibo's Restaurant, and a superb time was had by all.
Full marks to Ibo's attentive staff for making the night so special. The birthday cake and candle were a wonder for young Zac, who could not have asked for a more hospitable venue to mark his first 365 days among us.
What I considered the best dining view in all Kalkan was on offer at the Mediteran Hotel, just 100 yards below the villa we were staying in.
I strongly urge any holidaymakers visiting Kalkan to take the 8TL taxi ride there - armed with camera - and prepare to be stunned by the panorama. Yes, simply breathtaking.
By chance, we dropped in for an Efes at TripAdvisor's No1-rated Hotel in Kalkan, the Pasha.
My wife and I were warmly welcomed by owners Mark and Imelda, and were courteously shown round the property by the coleen herself. Very impressive it looked, too.
Will definitely consider staying there on our return.
Amazing to think that M and I only took over Pasha a year and go and the place has hit top spot already. Full marks to them.
Many a night we declined the culinary delights of the village below, opting to cater for ourselves barbecue style.
We found the chicken and lamb purchased from one of the local butcher's delicious, and washed it down with many a cold Efes.
Although we had hired a car from Adda Rental, we did not venture far during our stay. Yes, the drive to Kas was a delight, but finding a place to park there a nightmare.
Patara beach was a breeze by comparison, but there's not much fun sitting on golden sand when it's hot enough to fry an egg!
So despite a burglary and the added misfortune of my son breaking his foot a week later (when sober, too!) we are now all confirmed Kalkan fans.
Hidden secret it may no longer be, but if there is a prettier seaside village in all Turkey, then lead me to it!
-
Great post Tony....sorry to hear of your bad luck ..but you still made the best of it and by the sound of it you are now one of us!! ;)
-
Great report Tony
Sounds like you'll be back :)
-
Hi tony,who is the "coleen" ?
-
Fab report Tony, so pleased you and your family still managed to thoroughly enjoy your stay in Kalkan despite your misfortune. It is very sad that you had to experience such bad luck on your first visit, and I sincerely hope that you don't experience any such problems on your next holiday in Kalkan.
Alison
-
Tony, I agree with the comment on the Mediteran, the food was as good as in town and the view is amazing. This year we have a villa, nearby and will be going there a few times as it is a wonderful setting.
-
Fidimax, the coleen is Imelda, the Irish lassie now co-owner of Hotel Pasha. A real outgoing sort, as is hubby Mark. Easy to see why the place is doing so well with this pair at the helm.
-
Yes, Scots in Kalkan, the Mediteran was a huge boon for us, being just a two-minute walk from our "eagles nest" of a villa.
I see it is No1 rated in the Speciality Lodging section of TripAdvisor. Good pictures of it, too.
My youngest son is keen to return to Kalkan soon, and has earmarked the Mediteran for his visit. They quoted him an apartment rate of £50 a night, which I guess is about right for a place of that standard. The infinity pool is awesome!
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g297964-d1079692-Reviews-Mediteran_Apartments-Kalkan_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html
-
Thanks Tony,I shall call in for a Efes or two in a week or so,Ive not been to pasha since Adele moved on,it will be nice to see the "new" Pasha.
Neil. ;D
-
Sorry if this is slightly off topic but could someone tell me the exact location of the Pasha Aparthotel. We are back in September for 2 weeks and I would love to drop in for a look around for a potential future holiday.
Thanks
-
Going out of Kalkan...Kalamar road, 10 mins walk on the left (just before the Asfiya which is on the opposite side) ;)
-
I'm really worried about the break ins. Im coming on Sat to Kalkan and sounds like our villa is up by where this break in was. Im quite scared as im a young female with my 4 girl friends
-
I'm really worried about the break ins. Im coming on Sat to Kalkan and sounds like our villa is up by where this break in was. Im quite scared as im a young female with my 4 girl friends
Must admit I'm a bit worried too. We are staying in a villa this time (although in a different part of Kalkan).
-
We are out at the weekend and are not worried about the possibility of a break in. There is no more risk in Kalkan than any other holiday destination. We too are staying just near Mediteran and will just simply take the usual sensible precautions.
-
The guys who broke into our villa were only interested in what was easily disposable. They left passports, diamond rings - even Visa and Mastercards.
Among the stuff they took was cash (of course), a camcorder and mobile phones. You might call them a discerning lot!
The best advice I can give is put anything worth stealing in the safe, if there is one, and if there is no safe, lock it all in the highest room in the building.
In the five or six break-ins reported on the same night as ours, the raiders went no further than the main living area downstairs. None of the bedrooms were approached.
Hope this helps. Tony.
-
Sound advice but I never put the passports in the safe, those things are pretty useless...I hide them in the villa...not too bothered about losing stuff that can be replaced...but passports lost abroad is a mare :D :D
-
Hi Natsky,hi kalkanbelle,
The subject of burglaries has been discussed many times b4 on this forum and is likely to be discussed again and again as there is no happy solution or end to what, after all is a very distressing situation, exasperated by the fact you are on holiday and in a foreign country.
If you have booked a villa or apartment, find out from the owner what support they can give you, e.g. do they have somebody at hand in kalkan to represent you, rather like your rep would if you travelled with a travel company. It's very important to have somebody to turn to immediately to help you, who can speak to you and can speak Turkish
If you are staying somewhere without 24 hour security, The only real deterent, is to make sure your villa has adequate window and door locks and most importantly, bars on the windows, I would never stay anywhere abroad that didn't have these fitted.
Hope that helps
-
I agree with Misty, we don't risk putting anything really valuable and easily hidden in a safe as they are often the first thing stolen. For passports, cash and camera we have a couple of hidey holes that aren't likely to be found if we are burgled.
As to security measures, we may install a basic PIR alarm in the near future but if we reach the stage of needing 24hr security or bars on all of our windows, I think we would probably up sticks and leave Kalkan.
-
Lets not drift off topic. ;)
-
Good detailed report Tony.
Mediteran sounds great and the website pix look fantastic too.
You said you stayed up above petrol station and that Mediteran was nearby. We're at Samira Deluxe just below petrol station so can you let me know directions to Mediteran from that area as it sounds like an evening meal there could save hubby at least one long walk up from town!! :o
-
Its an easy walk, come out of the Samira (main gate) turn left and walk about 30m uphill to the crossroads, turn right and walk along the road until you come to the Mediteran, its reasonably level (for Kalkan) and will take about 6-7 mins (about half way you will see a small yellow hotel on your right).
Regards
Alan
-
Just did Mediteran for a 11.30 brunch yesterday and was fab. Tons of lovely food and all served in a great setting. Booked for the BBQ Thurday. Kalkan seems very quiet compared to last year and restaurants last night were giving us vouchers for 10/15% off? This did not happen last year.
-
Our friends and some others we know with children have gone elsewhere on all inclusive ....(credit crunch outcome)........less business to go round,hard for local businesses but nice for a tourist.
-
Thanx for the directions alantj (once I find the Samira DL main gate I'll be fine LOL ;D !!)
Sounds like Mediteran would def be worth a daytime visit with lunch and a night time visit too. :P
-
The setting of the Mediteran is simply stunning and the food is lovely too - in fact we were there last week booking our wedding!
Give it a try.
-
Re the break ins, our villa was in the process of being burgled on Monday a vigilant Turk saw the men prowling around and called the Jandarma who arrived just as they broke the patio door, The good news is they have been caught seemingly they have been travelling from fethiye, lets hope now that they have been caught no more break ins, we have had the villa for 5 years and never had any trouble. Hope this puts your minds at rest
-
Hi Sandarra,
Where is your villa ?
-
I just now heard about 11 break-ins between Sunday and last night. At least 3 of the men were caught and are in jail. The person did not know about the others.
-
There have been many discussions on here about 'improvements' and new things to do in Kalkan. I have just asked the deputy Mayor to consıder putting stocks by the taxı rank and a few boxes of last month's tomatoes to pelt these burglars with. Anyone care to join me?
-
Hi Kalamar Dream
It's Kalamar Bay
-
If you were to look at Kalamar Bay from the sea, we are top left ( no villas behind us ) Is this anywhere near you ? lovekalkan. >:D
-
If you were to look at Kalamar Bay from the sea, we are top left ( no villas behind us ) Is this anywhere near you ? lovekalkan. >:D
-
Hi Kalamar Dream, We are 3 streets up so a couple below you, lets hope now that there have been a few arrests things get back to how they have been :-)
-
Hi Sandarra,
Yes we must be just behind you.
Lets hope so, its getting worse thats what concernes me the most >:(