What can I do to protect something I love?
I left Datca in a rush wanting to stay there for longer. We were here for the whole month of June- the end of the offseason. I would like to warn you though – the best time to come here is the offseason- whatever it may be. We arrived before anyone else arrived and we are leaving before tourists make it here. That is the perfect time to be at a summer spot. Unless you are into crowds and action. When we got here, it was us, the retirees who live here all year around and the locals. Now for the past week, we see more of the summer house owners showing up with their large families. There were less of the little kids running around also. Aim for June or September….even May or October.
.JPG) |
| The sunset from Kynidos. The drive is a bit rough so when trying to make it on time for sunset you should think about the rough roads. 8 km=at least 20-30 minute drive |
Some quick things to love about Datca:
1- Due to the fact that it is fairly hard to get to (about 10 hours by car from Istanbul –nearest airports are Dalaman (about 3 hours) or Bodrum (4 hours) or by ferry from Bodrum which is only available in the summers- it is fairly untouched. Particularly the villages and the bays by villages are quiet. There is no pop music accompanying people’s swimming.
2- There is amazing local produce at Datca and the locals only cook with that produce. So none of the vegetable oil cooking but more of foods made with home-made olive oils. What is native to here are various kinds of honey( amazing is the one with oregano- bees who fed on the oregano plants- not bee flavored by oregano), olive oil and amazing almonds.
3- The Datca Bazaar- If you rent a place here for a while you go to the Bazaar- Every Saturday- with all the local goods- you will spend your time eating seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits. You can buy honey to dip your bread into for the mornings.
4- The water is amazing. Go for the more secluded beaches- you can find many on the way to Knidos or come to Mesudiye where we stayed for a month. A village with two bays. Either go left for Hayitbuku( smaller and calmer water) or Ovabuku (more waves but much quieter)
5- It is really quiet- this area attracts (mostly) tourists who are in their own world. If you write, think for a living this is where you come.
6- Think abou taking a day trip to Symi, Greece. It is only 1.5 hours to get there although might be tricky to arrange a boat - go to the yacht boat and looking for rentals for the day. It is a shared ride for a day trip around 70 euros per person.
6- Think abou taking a day trip to Symi, Greece. It is only 1.5 hours to get there although might be tricky to arrange a boat - go to the yacht boat and looking for rentals for the day. It is a shared ride for a day trip around 70 euros per person.
What to Eat @ Datca
We ate all the time. For a month we ate out minus the fruit consumption at home. This is not because I gave up on cooking. This is due to the fact that our rented bungalows kitchen was too small and the food at Datca is too good and reasonably priced.
These are places that are ok—you can go once but no need to go if you are here for a short period of time.
The Kucuk Ev at Datca town and Captain’s Place both have solid mezes but they are slightly priced for the tourists. Nothing original but you will get the basics here- grilled octopus is good at Kucuk Ev and Captain’s Place signature borek is good. You eat overlooking the yacht port so that is a plus.
Elaki in the Mehmet Ali Pasa Mansion right outside of Datca is scenic. It is also pricey for the same type of food you would get elsewhere. It is a favorite with the middle-older tourists as it has that fresh historic boutique hotel feel. The shrimp stew was good though. We went once and that was enough. (why Tripadvisor is bad is Elaki is rated as exceptional- for a bon vivant Turk Elaki is far from that- just a nice atmosphere that justifies high prices for ok food) Yakamengen, in the Yaka Village is exceptional though. You feel like you are in a little cafe in Mexico. Home-made drinks and food it is hip and cool spot. Try the daily mezes and the homemade lemonade.
.JPG) |
| Food at Kucuk Ev is ok. Not great. Not bad. But these octapus were good. |
Instead- you eat and keep wanting to eat at Kulinaryum. From the outside it will look like an Italian spot- don’t be fooled. It is not a tourist trap international food place. Rather, also located by the yacht port, is a restaurant/owner/chef who cooks with passion. It is one of those meals you could get wherever you were in the world- you would have a bite and say wow- what did I just eat? Some dishes are fusion of Turkish Italian cuisine. The Circasian ravioli is to die for. Home-made ravioali stuffed with potatoes topped with yoghurt and spicy butter peppers on top of that. You eat each and humm- make sounds without realizing. The bites are velvety, slightly spicy. The Italian ravioli with the feta sauce is as good. The prawn stuffed zucchini flowers explode with flavor. You deep your bites into your cream sauce. Main courses are also great- you go for the spaghetti- al dente with shrimp- this is good food. You leave full. You leave surprised. You go back. I will be spending the next months for my trip next summer for Datca and Kulinaryum.
.JPG) |
| Yakamengen makes you feel like you are in a little hidden world. They make their own mezes. Relaxing and charming! Good for an afternoon drink, lunch or dinner. |
For lunch or after you visited the Datca Bazaar- you go to Zekeriya Sofrasi- a typical Turkish home-cooking spot. You see the food. There are 5-10 dishes a day. There are vegetable stews (the borani with swisschard and chickpeas with little dough pieces is amazing), the zucchini patties are to die for so is the icli kofte--- a meatball covered with bulgur and fried. You see something you like you order it. The grilled meatballs are also good. You will not have room after all this food but you order desert. A local favorite Damat Tatlisi (groom’s desert) is flaky dough filled with almond and topped with syrup. You almost wish you are that groom who inspired that desert. (there is also a local bride’s desert)
.JPG) |
| The important question to ask at Zekeriya Sofrasi is how many lunch plates can you order. There is a big selection the more small plates the better. However also remember in the summer Datca is hot although eating too much and sweating due to that was a problem we happily dealt with. |
For lunch go to Ege Kafeterya at Hayitbuku. The sea in the front is great. It can be noisy if it is a week where families with small children are there. They have basics. Ask what they have as they don’t have menu. Freshly made gozleme (stuffed with a variety of possibilities from cheese, herbs, eggplant to potato) and toast (pressed bread with cheese) are their specialty. They also make new foods everyday. They use produce from their garden. They have nearly everyday some sort of dolma. Start with that, have a gozleme and then swim to compensate for the dough. (I kept telling myself- it is just a little round dough ball – rolled thin very thin…)
.JPG) |
| We were wondering the whole time how can we swim all day and not loose weight? The answer is the gozleme above consumed daily. Worth the little extra belly. Although for a healthier summer life get one maybe every 3 days. |
Almost used as a daily cafeteria by us and also the best meze/ Turkish food spot in the whole area is Poyraz- located in Ovabuku/Mesudiye village right by the water- you hear waves. A test of a good restaurant is consistency and I ate here almost every other day. Every time we visited here the food was fresh. Another good surprise is the chef Ercan makes new things everyday. So even if you go back you will be surprised by the ingredients and the dishes. What he does amazingly is to utilize local ingredients. So the ezme (chopped pepper tomato salad which tends to be spicy) is topped with crushed almonds (what a great idea) , capers are native here—but it is not the capers but their greens the chef pickled. It is an amazingly sour meze. So is the deconstructed fava--- a cold dish of fava beans and dill. The stuffed calamaris are good as well. You sit and eat and sit some more and eat some more. You order a bottle of raki and you go through with it. If you go early you can swim in front of the restaurant. This is life at its best. No music, no loud noise, surrounded by trees a mouthful of deliciousness. After you are almost too full, you order desert. Everthing, even the baklava is made here. The baklava is also stuffed with almonds. If you like milk deserts order this time bride’s desert- a thick pudding topped with peaches and almonds, or the keskul (also a pudding) topped with crushed almonds.
Where to Stay at Datca
There are many options. We stayed at a bungalow at Ovabuku about 13 km from Datca. Gultekin Pansiyon has cute wooden houses. They are very kind and helpful. A stunning set up is Gabaklar - again in the same area. Long palm trees and an isolated setup recommended to all but those who are scared of bees who are very attracted to the pretty flowers and trees that surrond the area. For the luxurious stay go for Mehmet Ali Pasa Konagi- right outside of town. There are many more places but these are the ones I know about.
What to Think About at Datca
.JPG) |
| This was the view from our beach. Always quiet the best time to go there is early Fall or early Summer. |
When am I going to be back?
Will the tourists invade the untouched parts of Datca?
When British tourists love and cherish life at Datca- why are less people in Turkey prone to living like this?
Selamlar Ekin,
Thanks for the the nice comments about us :) We are glad that you enjoyed your visit to our place. You can reach us at www.yakamengen.com .