Public Beach next to Dodo Beachclub, Yalikavak

Memories of Childhood

I grew up near the North Norfolk coast, so to me, a day at the beach meant – inky-black water that was both choppy and chilly. And because this area of England sticks out into the North Sea – it captures the brunt of the cold Icelandic winds.

If you weren’t lucky enough to own a wind-break – any tan you might acquire was sand-blasted off, and your entire picnic lunch came with sand-seasoning. I still shudder at the amount of Cucumber and Dairylea cheese spread sandwichs I had to crunch my way through.

But I’ll tell you what — I loved it, and no amount of sand-blasting could erode the pleasure of a day at our local beach of Wells-next-the-Sea.

Twin beach found for Wells-next-the-Sea

During my recent trip to Yalikavak, I found the ideal beach to be Twinnedwith Wells-next-the-Sea. A beach, simply marked as Halk Plajı (translation: Public Beach), which is on the piece of land that sticks out of the mainland near Yalikavak.

Travel west, away from the town on Cumhuriyet Cad., and drive past the boat-yard. Just before you take a left hand bend to reach the Mosque – take a right instead.

As you coast along this northern part of the peninsular, you’ll see a bloated finger of land sticking out – this is the Halk Plajı.

When you reach the fork in the road — keep to the left (the right hand fork will take you to the Dodo Beach Club).

The western side of the point faces the blustery Aegean – and I think it would be a great place to watch the sun go down.

Whilst the eastern side of the point faces towards the mainland, and is nestled in a secluded elbow of land.

Halk Plajı wouldn’t win any beauty contests – but if you want to get away from the throngs that inhabit the tourist beaches, head here for a bit of local flavour. Parking is readily available, as there’s a large size scrub of land used as a car park.

Why not grab some fresh produce from Yalikavak’s weekly market, and then go for a picnic off the beaten track at this Halk Plajı.

Don’t forget to take something to drink – and maybe a wind break.

P.S. Does anyone know if this beach is known by any other name besides just, Public Beach? If so, please could you leave a comment below.

Read my other posts about Yalikavak

Anchored down in Yalikavak

Saturday:

Once we arrived in Yalikavak, we meandered around the central part of town. Go to an online map of Yalikavak, find the Mosque, go across Gur Caddesi -- there's a triangle of streets, fanning towards to harbor. It's a bit confusing at first, nothing compared to Bodrum of course, but easy to lose a place you've just seen!

Down one of the pedestrian streets, we plotted up outside the Anchor Bar to watch the Ryder Cup. I left Red there to soak up the golf action, and I wandered around to take some photo's.

There was a great little art alley with fabulous local artwork.

We've really fallen in love with Yalikavak. I could imagine whiling away a few summer evenings here. Opposite the Anchor Bar was a fab little restaurant -- I really want to eat there one day - can't remember the name - but really want to go back there to eat. Small place - probably only about 8 tables inside, with a few tables outside, just loved it.

We hopped on the Dolmus to Bodrum at 6.30, which went via the Ortakent route. So today, we've really done a loop of the peninsula -- Bodrum, Turgutreis, Gumusluk, Yalikavak and Bodrum. It's really easy to get around. Sure the buses can get a bit crowded -- but they're only short journeys, and you get more of a holiday feel, when you're jammed into local transport with the yokels.

Back to the hotel to change, and then back out to our fave new restaurant at the far - non touristy end of Bar Street -- Berk Balik. Got to make sure you don't fill up on bread though. I just assumed it'd be pita or some kind of flat bread in Turkish restaurants - but most of the places serve doughy french stick - what gives?!

I was dubbed "she big boss" by the waiter - because I paid the bill. Thought Red would be annoyed, but he found it highly amusing. Keep forgetting that actions that are taken for granted in the US or UK, and a bit of a novelty in Turkey.

At night there was a massive thunderstorm -- sheets of rain, and the electricity went out. What else could we do - but prop up the bar and have a few Efes's! It's a really odd bar scene in the hotel -- there's folks that hang out there every night - and even eat there. It seems as if they've come on holiday to the hotel, and hang by the pool all day, and eat in the hotel... I know it takes all sorts - but really -- 15 steps outside of the hotel is a different world - don't they want to explore?

Buying a House in Turkey 11

After the morning at Yalikavak wandering around the market - we hopped back on the moped and drove along the top of the Bodrum Peninsula to the private beach for our complex. It was down at the bottom of the hill - ok for a vehicle, but too much to walk. There's a couple of cafes down at the beach, so if you're there for the day, you don't need to go far for something to eat or drink.

Then off through Gumusluk and back down to Bodrum to get back to the property office to sign some papers, and faxed them to the daughter of the owner. As soon as she has the Power of Attorney signed, she'll be able to accept our offer. The POA is going to take a few days - so we have nothing to do, but wait.

At night we went out in Bodrum to an Italian restaurant -- go bitten by mozzies! It felt odd to be eating Italian in Turkey. In any other country - it's fine, but in Turkey -- I was to eat Turkish!

Buying a House in Turkey Part 10

Decided to have a scoot about on a moped, to check out the area where the house is. So we headed off from Bodrum - and went counter clockwize to Yalikavak.

Went past the windmills just as the guy was unfurling the sails - great to watch.

The following paragraph is From Azeleavacation.com

The overland journey from Bodrum to Yalikavak provides the visitor with some of the most spectacular scenery on the peninsular. Slowly climbing through fertile valleys, the road stops at the mountain range running down the peninsular center, providing unbroken vistas of the north and south coasts before descending to the seaside village of Yalikavak.

Once over the hills, you will see the magnificent view of Yalikavak, nature has carved the coast like a lace. You will slowly descend between the orchards full of tangerine trees and reach Pasha Bay, Tilkicik Bay and Agacbasi Bay.

For many years, Yalikavak has been one of the most important fishing centers on the Turkish Aegean, home to fleets of fishermen and sponge divers. Today the majority of the local men still work the sea. Yalikavak combines the ambiance of a working fishing town and the recent influence of tourism: cafes, bars and restaurants.

Thursday is Market day in Yalikavak. A great selection of foods to eat, and fresh produce to buy, as well as a fabric section. So much nicer than Bodrum market.

Buying a House in Turkey Part 6

Finally a day off from house hunting. We decided to go an discover a little bit more about the area we were considering moving to.... Gumusluk. We went to the Bodrum Otogar and jumped onto the Dolmus. We went speeding along the straights, and racing up the hills. Bibbing at the tourists "Hey do you want a ride?"

Some of the roads were pretty rural. It was a fun way to travel. Donkeys on the side of the road, cactus and olive groves. Arrived at Gumusluk bus station, and it was a short walk to the beach. We hung out at the beach for the day -- a couple of feet away from a restaurant, and they looked after us all day, bringing us food and drink whenever we wanted it. It was only a small beach. The bay is pretty enclosed, with a great view of Rabbit Island. There were a mix of different fishing boats, and trees with gourds in the bay.. As the sun went down, we walked along the bay and took some shots at sunset.

We hopped on a dolmus to Yalikavak, and spent a couple of hours in a local bar, before hopping back to Bodrum... it took about 45 minutes to get back.

Buying a House in Turkey Part 4

My main criteria for a house was a view: and this house delivered. Of course, in order to get the view, we had to drive up a steep hill, and then climb a bunch of steps -- but I fell in love. We really liked he style of these houses, and inside, they were split level - Roof Deck, down half a flight, bedroom, down, living room, kitchen, balcony, bathroom, down, front door and dividing door, bedroom, down, living room, kitchen, balcony, bathroom, down, basement bedroom.
Straight away we could see the possibilities. 2 Apartments, and plenty of opportunity for revamping. It definitely needed some love, but the basics were there. It seemed like the house went on forever, and I just loved the marble floors throughout.

Tried not to get too excited... if my heart was in charge, I'd have stopped my search now. But logic won out as this was only our 4th house we'd viewed. Plus there was a house in Yalikavak that I really wanted to see, that I'd built lots of plans around.

We drove up the coast to to Yalikavak - about 7km, and stopped off for lunch in a local restaurant in the middle of town.

Now Bodrum was great, and it is a great place to be situated for a vacation. But Yalikavak. This was the type of town I'd imagined having as my local town. The old town part, had restaurants along the beach side, and local houses and shops on the opposite side of the street. Not massively touristy, more local oriented. The as you drive further into Yalikavak, past a new Marina, you reach the main part of town. Again, lot's of restaurants, and a bunch of side streets, full of restaurants and shops. It looked like a great balance between local and tourist living. Both Red and I fell in love with Yalikavak.

Lunch was appetizing. Evren was great company. He'd been a tour guide in a former life, so his English and local knowledge were great. It was the type of cafe, that you could have spent 3 hours meandering through lunch. No rush, just easing into the Aegean lifestyle. I think my jet lag finally subsided, and I started to feel like I was finally on holiday.

I also had my first taste of Elma çayı - apple tea. Really it's hot apple juice made from dried apples, ground into a powder, and then added to hot water. A refreshing drink for a hot summer day.

After a quick scout about the harbour, we drove off to our next house viewing in Gundogan. Nice enough house, albeit a little on the small side. But only a short walk to the beach, and a mature olive tree in the garden. There wasn't a lot in the local area, and we weren't fully sold on the location.... next stop.... our Yalikavak property, that I'd spent hours pouring over on the web.

It was a hillside complex, and the house we viewed was at the bottom of the hill, with unobstructed views of the ocean. A multi-tiered house. With a separate granny-flat on the ground floor. I loved the view from this house. By far the best we'd see. There wasn't really a local beach... more of a jetty.

The only problem with having a house at the bottom of the hill, is the water drainage from the top of the hill. The kitchen in the granny flat had warped kitchen cabinets from the damp. This was the house I'd been having dreams about - it was an emotional bond with the view. The area wasn't as developed as the other houses we'd seen earlier in the day, and it seemed a little out of the way. Really nothing around except a few complexes. This one did have a nice pool though - but Red didn't want to deal with the damp, so we called it a day and headed back to Bodrum.

That night we walked along Bar Street again and found a fabulous local fish restaurant - Berk Balik. The waiters didn't speak much English, and most of the Clientele was Cigarette Smoking, Raki Drinking Turks. No menu's here -- just pop to the kitchen - choose your mezze, choose your fish and sit and wait. This is one of my favourite restaurants we've visited in all the trips we've had to Turkey.