Hotels and Holiday of Turkey! » small hotels

Safranbolu City Guide

Hotels for You — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:36:52 +0000

Safranbolu is a town boasting a glorious collection of old Ottoman houses, with a rich collection of pieces of art which represents traditional Turkish life and culture. Its rich history and success in preserving it earned the town an inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The best known for its old Turkish houses, the town is attracting more attention especially as these 19th century homes are gradually disappearing from other areas of Turkey. Visitors enjoying walking along the old narrow cobbled streets, and seeing some of the traditional crafts and trades that are still practised today. It is also known as the Capital City of Preservation, acknowledging its ability to hold onto not only pieces of art, but also the atmosphere.

Climate

The climate in Safranbolu is a combination of the Black Sea and Central Anatolia. The summers are hot, winters are cold, spring and autumn are tepid and cool and very long.

History

Previously known as Paphlagonia, Safranbolu took its name from saffron and has hosted many different civilisations in its history including Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans. It was conquered by the Turks in 1196.

The town reached its economic and cultural peak during the Ottoman Empire, partly because its position as an important stop on the Istanbul to Sinop trade route in the 17th century improved the commerce and wealth of the region. During this period it had close relations with Istanbul and Kastamonu, and state officials from the Ottoman Palace had important pieces of art in Safranbolu. The wealthy inhabitants of the town built large houses made from wood and stucco, many of which still survive. During the 19th century nearly 25% of the population were Ottoman Greeks, who left after World War I.

Milas City Guide

Hotels for You — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:28:25 +0000

The touristic district Milas remains in Mugla city, which is valuable to see with its beaches, lakes, antic cities, Turkish and Islamic pieces of arts.

History

One of the most important cities of Karya, antic Mylasa, has taken its name from Mylasos, who came from the Aiolos generation, and was the reign of winds and resides within Aiolia Island in Mediterranean according to mythology. “asa” suffix of Mylasa name, is showing that Milas is founded at very ancient times (3.000 B. C.).

Alexander the Great, who had begun his Asia expedition in 334 B.C., had conquered South – West Anatolia and of course Milas, and just after conquer he had given his conquered lands to Karya Queen Ada.

Mylasa had arbitrated to a class contradiction with the request of Roman Emperor, Macmilius, in 143 B. C., and after this date, become the center of Roman Governors leading courts. During Byzantium period, Milas become bishop center, then conquered by Seljukian, Menteşeoğulları and Ottomans.

Pamukkale City Guide

Hotels for You — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:27:45 +0000

The stunning white calcium pools, which cling to the side of a ridge, have long been one of the most famous picture postcard views of Turkey. Pamukkale, literally meaning “cotton castle”, is also the site of the ancient city of Hierapolis of which there are many interesting ruins, and is a very popular destination for a short visit.

Pamukkale was formed when a spring with a high content of dissolved calcium bicarbonate cascaded over the edge of the cliff, which cooled and hardened leaving calcium deposits. This formed into natural pools, shelves and ridges, which tourists could plunge and splash in the warm water.

Hotels were springing up from the 1970s to cater for the large influx of tourists, and shortly afterwards UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site. But by the 1990s, this took its toll on the state of the calcium pools and restrictions were placed on these travertine terraces. Many hotels were knocked down, visitors are only allowed on major paths around the sites, and must remove footwear to stand on the calcium deposits. This seems to have been a successful move, as the water supply is now used for preservation and some of the damaged calcium deposits have been strengthened.

Climate

The summers are hot and dry, and winters warm and rainy.

Marmaris City Guide

Hotels for You — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:32:53 +0000

Once a sleepy fishing village, Marmaris has ballooned into one of the largest resorts on the Aegean coastof Turkey. Little of its history remains, as the town is now a modern development with tourism at its heart and soul. The population swells to a massive 200,000 in the summer, with most hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and shops catering to low-cost package holidays, although there are facilities for all budgets.

Despite the development which reaches around 10km along the west of the bay, Marmaris is also well-known for its expanse of green, present the whole year round thanks to the pine-covered hills which surround the town. There are many beaches around the bay, and there are ancient cities and seaside villages close by for day trips. The yacht harbour is the biggest and newest in Turkey, and therefore the busiest charter port especially for trips along the Turquoise Coast.

In addition to the climate, beaches and facilities of the town, the transportation infrastructure is a definite plus for attracting visitors. It has easy connections to the nearby airport Dalaman, ferries to Rhodes, and on the road to Datca and Fethiye. The harbour has attracted by private boats from around the world, with yacht maintenance and production in the workshops on the Yalanci Strait. With the climate being comfortable even in winter, and the nearby impressive mountains and pine forests, Marmaris is likely to remain a popular and practical holiday spot for a long time.

History

It is thought that the first settlement in Marmaris, whose history dates back to 3400 BC, began with the arrival of a tribe in to the region, whose leader was called Kar. The area was then called Karla after him, and its location around the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas always made it an appealing region.

Suleyman the Magnificent assembled a force of 200,000 in 1522, whilst launching the siege of the Knights of St John’s base in Rhodes (Rodos). Soon afterwards, he made the city more powerful with the rebuilding of the tiny castle overlooking the town. Lord Nelson and his entire fleet sheltered in the harbour in 1798, en route to Egypt to defeat Napoleon’s armada at the Battle of Aboukir.

Marmaris therefore became a place where different civilisations reigned over time, and there is architectural and historical evidence of Egyptian, Asdur, Ion, Dor, Persian, Macedonian, Syrian, Roman, Byzantium, Seljuk and Ottoman presence.

Climate

Summers are extremely hot and dry, with daytime temperature reachs up to 35 degrees, and the winters are warm and wet, plunging to 5 degrees at night. The area is quite typical of a Mediterranean climate.

Bodrum – Torba City Guide

Hotels for You — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:02:36 +0000

The Bodrum peninsula, at the centre of Turkey’s Aegean coast, has attracted tourists for some 2,500 years. What those early travellers came to see – the natural beauty attested to by Herodotus and the architectural splendours of the civilisation into which he was born – remain the major attractions of the area today. Some spend their days enthralled by the sea – sailing aboard one of the distinctive broad-hulled gulets, snorkeling round a rocky headland or slicing an athletic crawl through the aquamarine water. Others head inland, exploring the ruins and travelling back in time to rediscover the peace and harmony of a world which, for most of us, has all but disappeared.

Away from the coast, this area of Turkey is an agricultural region, where the lifestyle of the farming community continues much as it did in ancient times. Living sometimes right amongst the ruins, with their animals stabled in antique houses, these families live off the land, relying on goats, bees, chickens, sheep and smallholdings for the majority of their food. Water bubbles from the very same springs that gave rise to the ancient settlements and the air seems as pure as it must have been in the days when Homer breathed it. In spring wild flowers of all sorts – anemones, cyclamen, orchids and irises – carpet the ground, while the air is suffused with the achingly sweet scent of citrus fruits.

Gölköy City Guide

Hotels for You — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:08:10 +0000

Gölköy: Located 13 km in north of Bodrum, where the beautiful cove blends the green of olive, tangerine and pine trees with that of palms. Because it faces the north, it is always lush and the water in the cove is cooler than that in the other coves.

Bodrum City Guide

Hotels for You — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:33:05 +0000

Homer describes Bodrum as “The land of eternal blue” and the words of another resident of Bodrum, Cevat Şakir, who said “The heavenly bliss of life in Bodrum is better than any eternal bliss that may await us” were not without foundation in reality. Throughout history of Bodrum, known as Halicarnassos in ancient times, has always been fought over and people have been unwilling to share its beauty with others.

Built on a peninsula formed by the meeting of the eastern and western harbors, Bodrum, with its narrow streets winding down to the sea, is famous for its castle, its world-renowned yachts, its shipyards and the dazzling white houses and tombs lining the shores of its two harbors.

Bodrum, has the all facilities to meet the expectations of tourists from all income levels, ranging from the rich yacht owners to the penny counting tourists who just want a reasonable room to make his vacation last all summer.

History
Bodrum has been the cradle of several civilizations. Down through the ages it has suffered from the countless invasions of those coming from the Aegean islands and has been important to all those powers wishing to dominate the Aegean.Halicarnassos(Bodrum) was an important city in the Caria civilization which was located between its much more powerful neighbors Lykia and Ionia. The region boasts such a greats as the historian Heredotus, history’s first woman admiral Artemisia I, and the just-as-skilled Artemisia II as well as artists like Leachares and Shepas.

Bodrum experienced the dominance of various civilizations throughout the history such as Persians,Mecedonians,Roman Empire and Byzantines. Byzantines lost their power in Anatolian region after they were defeated by the Seljuk Ruler Alpaslan at Malazgirt in 1071. Rhodian knights had constructed the present Bodrum castle and established theirrule over the region. Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent on his military expedition to Rhodes conquered Bodrum together with Rhodes and added them to the territory of Ottoman Empire.

Climate
Summers are hot and dry while winters are mild and rainy.

* How to Get
* Where to Visit
* What to Eat
* What to Buy
* Don’t Leave Without
* Contact Infrmation

How to Reach?

By Air:
Bodrum-Milas airport (50km / 45 minutes’ drive): served by summer charters from UK, including Aegean Flights, Monarch, First Choice, and with the greatest selection of departure airports.Thomas Cook and Thomson.

From the airport:
You will almost certainly want to hire a car for your stay in which case we recommend Holiday Autos, who are usually the most competitive price-wise. Otherwise, you could book an airport transfer through the hotel, or take a taxi (about 100 YTL), and use dolmuses (public minibuses) or hotel vehicles for short journeys around the Bodrum peninsula.

By Ferry from Datça:
There is a once-daily sailing (summer only) between Bodrum and Datça, which takes about 2 hours; see bodrumferryboat.com for details. You can take your car on board, allowing you to make a loop Dalaman Datça Bodrum Dalaman, which we did and found strangely satisfying.

Or, if you’re really clever, you could get dropped off here at the end of a gulet cruise.

Kuşadası – City Guide

Hotels for You — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:06:10 +0000

This seaside resort town has grown up immensely in the last 30 years, and is especially popular with package holiday-makers from Europe. From a population of 6000 in the 1970s, it is now closer to 50,000, although a high proportion of this are part of the tourist industry and here only for the summer.

Many cruising ships travelling around the Aegean Islands stop here, especially because of its close proximity (20km) to Selcuk. Kusadasi is a good base to explore this and other ancient cities like Priene and Didyma.

Although there is a little historical interest in Kusadasi itself, the town is popular predominantly because of its many hotels, restaurants, souvenir and carpet shops, and lively nightlife. The Kale district has some old traditional houses and narrow streets, and gives some indication of what the town used to be like. The most famous beach is Kadinlar Plaji, 2.5km south of the town, dominated by huge hotels and can get very crowded in summer. There are several small beaches further south, and closer to town is Yilanci Burnu, the peninsular.

Aydın / Didim – City Guide

Hotels for You — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:59:34 +0000

According to myth, “After God created men, he shook off the scrap clay from his hands; and the pieces of clay fell on the Aegean Sea. The islands and shores of this region are so awe inspiring because they have been created from the same clay with men.” With its thousands of islands of which some are not even shown on the maps and with its curved shores, Aegean Sea couldn’t possibly be described in a better way!.. Didim is set on this fantastic geographical part of the world. It is 175 km south from the Turkey’s third largest city İzmir; 70 km from Kuşadası and 110 km from Bodrum, which are the two important touristic resorts of the country.

We will talk about the advantages of this position later on. Now, let us first tell you the means to come here. Of course, it would be very nice to come to Didim with a yatch from the sea. But if you don’t have a yatch or enough time, you can always come by plane. Milas-Bodrum airport is only 73 km from Didim and it takes approximately 80 minutes by coach; İzmir-Adnan Menderes Airport is 175 km. The Turkish people normally prefer to travel by motorway to Didim, because then they have the privilige of seeing some marvelous sights and ruins on the way. Didim is one of the peninsulas surrounding the Güllük Gulf (the other is the Bodrum Peninsula).

It has a coast of 53 km in total full of bays. Almost all the bays have sandy beaches and allow people to sunbathe and swim freely. Among these bays, the most important one is of course Altınkum (meaning the golden sand), which lies right in front of the hotels region and which is one of the most beautiful and worldwide famous beaches of the Aegean coast. With its very fine sand and its clear blue waters, it highly deserves its reputation. Though it is in quite a hot climate and on a peninsula, either for its air of very low humidity or the breeze which mildly blows from the land towards the sea all day long, or for the sea which covers your horizon, Didim creates a feeling of infinity and eternity, as well as a feeling of limitless freedom in every visitor. Don’t you believe? Then come and live it for yourself!… There are about 200 touristic accomodations with an approximate 25.000 beds totally, in Didim.

Within wide range of different classes of accomodations varying from boarding-houses to hotels, and from camping areas to holiday villages, you will be able to find a place to suit your expectations. Some of these properties work with holiday makers and some are independent and most have pages on the internet. You may spend your days swimming in any part of the coastline, cruising on a boat in the magical Agean blue waters, doing water sports or joining the daily trips to the nearby archeological or natural sites. You may spend your nights eating delicious foods of the international or turkish cousine in one of the restaurants, and enjoying yourselves in bars and discos where you’ll find different types of music and drinks. Of course you have other choices like; shopping at Dolphin Square or after watching the sunset in Mavişehir, eating “mantı”, “gözleme” or “İzmir lokması”… Have you ever seen a forest of stone? We are not talking about rocks in mountany areas, but a man-made “stone forest”. Would you like to see it? Then come to Didim and visit the Temple of Apollon. Those columns erected by people who lived 7-8 centuries before Christ and who did not yet know how to mix sand, pebbles and cement to make plaster, have been standing almost for 3000 years. You will surely experience one of the most special moments of your life. Because at that moment, you will not only be in a foreign country, surrounded by foreign people but also you will be standing in a place shared by different civilizations for 3000 years.

And from that moment on you are one of those who shared it. You are in the third greatest temple of the ancient world. That temple is the architectural twin of the Artemision, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Artemision is no more there to see, but Temple of Apollon still exists with all its majesty. Besides, if your holiday coincides with the festival in Didim, you can even watch a concert here at night time.

We have mentioned that Didim is very adventageous because of its position. In fact, many settlements of the Aegean, thus the ancient world, is close enough to visit by daily trips. For example, the ancient “city of the philosophers”, Miletus is 20 km from Didim. One of the seven philosophers of the ancient world, Thales; Anaksimandros who drew the first world map to be known; philosopher and historian Hekaitos; city planner and architect Hippodamos have all lived in Miletus. The city which was originally by the sea, is now in the middle of a plane, due to the earth carried by the Meander River. And that plane is so huge that, the local people, in situations requiring patience and serenity say that “to endure all this, one must have a heart as wide as the Balat Plane”. Another “work” of the Meander River is the Bafa Lake, 30 km from Didim.

Once beeing a Gulf of the Aegean Sea, again by the earth that the river carried throughout the ages, it is now a lake. You can swim there or watching the many islands on it and the surrounding forests you can eat fresh fish. 15 km from Didim is the pretty holiday resort, Akbük. The green of the forests mix with the blue of the sea to create a picture from heaven. Its coast of approximately 11 km allows all sorts of water sports to be enjoyed. Not over yet! There is the ancient city of Priene, which was a bishopary in the Bizantium period; old Greek village of Doğanbey, with its interesting stone houses; a natural wonder, Karina; another natural wonder Kazıklı bay; Haydar’s bay, which makes a foreigner exclaim, “Where am I, in Acapulco?”; and many more, still untold of… The last but not the least, two more sites to discover: first, Pamukkale (meaning cotton castle) famous for its calcium terraces which really looks like made from cotton.

You will admit that nowhere else but in a scenery of snow you can see this much white all around. And the glamorous final! Ephesus, home of the temple built for the goddess Artemis which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. With its roads, anfitheatre, library, houses, baths, agoras and even its brothel, Ephesus welcomes you, as vivid as its ancient times. We tried to describe a “picture of Didim” for you. If you ask us, you must come and see it with your own eyes. Didim is waiting for you with its nature, people and history. Come to Didim! Let us make new friends; and you will have precious memories. Come to Didim! Let our sun warm you. Let us share our worldwide known fruits and healing vegetables with you. Watch our dances, listen to our music; they might sound strange to your ears but your hearts will recognize them.

Come to Didim!

We know that you will return home with the decision of coming back and again.

Because all those before you did so!

Assos – City Guide

Hotels for You — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:43:12 +0000

Assos is one of the few ancient sites with people still living and working in it. Aristotle, Plato’s most famous student and tutor of Alexander the Great, lived and taught here for three years. Outside the north gate of Assos you can find burial sites with many Sarcophagi and terracotta tombs. From the entrance to the city, you will see twenty meters high walls leading into the Gymnasium, Agora and finally the Theatre. There are also buildings and churches from the dark ages. Some guests rise early to climb to the Temple of Athena to enjoy the dawn to the sound of goats’ bells.

The fishing harbour which used to be a port for acorn shipment, has a cluster of restaurants and a small beach. Handicrafts, jewellery, carpets and antiques can be bought in the market square. Nearby, Kadırga has very clean and beautiful beach. Nature walks to pick herbs and mushrooms are popular, too. Other places of interest include: the ancient city of Troy, Apollo Smintheion, ancient city of Bergama, Zeus Altar, Cleopatra’s Bath, many waterfalls and gorges on Mount Ida. Visit the assos.org website for more information.