Kalkan property rental, Villa for rent in Kalkan, About Kalkan

Because of its great charm, Kalkan has a growing number of perennial visitors who say the town is the only holiday destination they would choose to visit repeatedly. There is simply no other town quite like Kalkan along Turkey's coast

Kalkan curls snuggly around an ancient harbour sheltered at the foot of the towering Taurus Mountains. The town overlooks a beautiful bay in which islands seem to magically float upon the shimmering sea. Narrow streets twist down to the harbour through the historic town and are lined with listed whitewashed villas with shuttered windows situated alongside small local specialty shops and restaurants. Overhead hang original ornately carved Ottoman timber balconies garlanded with brilliantly coloured bougainvillea cascading to the streets below. It is a very special place.

Not only is Kalkan beautiful, but unlike other Turkish coastal resort towns Kalkan's main economy is tourism and therefore its citizens put much pride and effort into the town's historic preservation. Because of this, Kalkan has retained the texture of its history with its distinctive Greek architecture (it was once a Greek and Turkish fishing village). Very strict building codes keep the town small and architecturally blended with the historic heart of the town known as "Old Kalkan".

Besides the famous "Kalkan Style" historic architecture, the many excellent restaurants of Kalkan contribute to the special atmosphere within Kalkan. Good dining has always been the way of life in Kalkan and continues today. In fact, Kalkan is said to have the highest number of restaurants and bars per inhabitant or square meter on the Turkish coast. Additionally, Kalkan is especially renowned in Turkey for its numerous roof terrace restaurants and bars which offer a wonderful view of the town, sea and stars.

You can also sit at one of the many fine harbour-side restaurants and watch the fishermen leave early in the morning as you eat breakfast, or see them return with the day's catch in the evening.

Kalkan is a small town (of only a few thousand) and this creates a wonderful intimate feeling. But don't let its size mislead you - there is plenty to do in and around Kalkan. During the day the town is surprisingly empty as most guests choose to swim or explore the multitude of beautiful ancient Lycian and natural sites of the area. However, everything changes in the evening when Kalkan bursts alive for a long, festive night.

The people of Kalkan happily welcome you, and you may at first be surprised by the universal friendliness within the town. Warm Turkish hospitality and friendliness is the basis of life here and the people of Kalkan sincerely enjoy getting to know their guests. So don't hesitate to accept one of the many tulip-shaped glasses of çay (tea) you will be offered while you amble along Kalkan's winding streets. You won't be hassled while you are a guest of Kalkan - the town is hassle-free and is proud to be so. You will find a mixed population here, consisting mainly of locals, some Istanbul Turks who own businesses, as well as a small number ofwell-educated foreigners who have settled in the town.

"Kalkan was so spectacular we wanted to make some new holiday friends immediately so we could to invite them back and show off the pool, the vast balcony curving round the entire front of the villa and the view across the huge shimmering bay of Kalkan. It was perfectly located - high enough up the hill not to hear the odd motorboat as it whizzed across the bay leaving a criss-cross of white lines but close enough to spot a turtle swimming in the crystal-clear water one morning.

Kalkan is like the Italian Riviera minus the poseurs - instead of sandy beaches, there are beach clubs strung along the bay with sun beds perched atop stone platforms that jut out over the sea. A few miles outside town is Patara beach, a spectacular 18km stretch of golden sand consistently voted one of the best beaches in the world. I lasted about an hour and a half, lying there on the scorching sand, until dizzy with the heat and half-blinded by suntan lotion, I conceded defeat. The beach club at Villa Mahal in Kalkan, a sleek, modern hotel handily located just below our villa, was infinitely more comfortable: a sand-free zone where cheerful waiters ply you with cold drinks. Better still was our private pad. Slipping into the pool after frying at Patara was one of the most delicious moments of the entire holiday.

Leaving the villa at all was a wrench, but after three nights of cooking sea bass and bream on our own barbecue, it was time to venture out. Kalkan is touristy but the winding bougainvillea-filled streets and traditional Ottoman-style houses have enough villagey charm to compensate. At night, it's prettier still - candle-lit roof-terrace restaurants look out across the glowing white dome of the mosque and the tiny harbour full of gulets. The one modern bar was packed with teenagers whose parents were lounging on cushions in tea houses trying to recapture their youth by smoking hookahs, or snapping up fake Mulberry bags in shops that stay open til midnight.

Kalkan itself may be a little oasis of sophistication but you don't have to go far to find traditional Turkey. We drove up into the hills to Islamlar for breakfast - tomatoes and olives, bread and honey and a sizzling pan of eggs and cheese - at Mamut's place, a shady restaurant built above a trout stream. From there - after a spectacularly bad 33-point turn in front of half the village - we headed further inland across a valley floor covered in orchards, in search of the fabled "green lake" in the mountains."

We stayed in the splendid Villa Alev, a few minutes’ walk from the old village. Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, freshwater pool. Spa, tiled floors, pillared balconies, air-conditioning, otherwise nothing special. To sit at the poolside looking out over Kalkan’s horseshoe harbour, you could imagine yourself on the Côte d’Azur without the pretentiousness. Drive along the mountain-backed road to Kas, and you might be touring the Amalfi coast.

My wife Virginia and I first went to Kalkan ten summers ago, before we had our two daughters. Returning in June, we found the town full of couples as we were then, and families as we are now. There is one loud-ish bar these days, but still no nightclub.

There has been a lot of development around Kalkan and well-built villas and holiday apartments dot the hillsides. Rising land and property prices have made some locals rich. But the developments are less welcome to some Brits, who remember Kalkan as they think it once was or bought a house there before “everybody else” did. Their complaint against the new buildings is less Not-In-My-Back-Yard, more Not-In-Front-Of-My-Sea-View.

We, on the other hand, were struck by the improvements that tourist-driven development has brought. The roads are better (and with a new tunnel being cut through the mountains the transfer from Dalaman airport should be further improved), and there are fewer power cuts. The old centre of the town around the harbour is strictly protected from new development to maintain its character. But here too there have been changes for the better in the facilities — and the food.

In Kalkan, where there is a roof there is a restaurant. You could eat out twice a day and not get halfway through your “must try” list. Competition has made the town a gastronomic treat. Look for places advertising “home cooking” menus. Many prices here are not cheap by Turkish standards, although the most we paid for three top-class courses, wine and trimmings for four was 170 new Turkish lira — under £60 — at the Korsan Fish Terrace, with a view that could cost you that much a head in Cornwall.

If you want something “less touristy” between meals, you don’t have to go far. Nearby villages such as Islamlar, where every house seems to have solar panels, a satellite TV aerial, a grapevine and a goat, welcome visitors with tea and trout restaurants. Farther afield, don’t miss wading through the freezing water and drinking from rock streams at Saklikent gorge, or clambering (along with the local tortoises) over the ruins at Xanthos (at least, those that are not back home in the British Museum).

Those who seek the “authentic” Turkish experience can stay in one of the old pensions near the stunning Patara beach. Those content to be tourists, meanwhile, can head back to the smart villas and hotels of Kalkan, perhaps stopping for a Turkish bath before dinner. Men in search of a little more edge should try the barbers in Kalkan. Everybody ought to be shaved with a cut-throat razor at lightning speed and have the hairs burnt off their ears with spirit at least once, preferably while trying to conduct an argument about football with a barber who doesn’t speak English.

Holidays are supposed to be about escaping the stresses of everyday life, and Kalkan is a place to forget everything. When we arrived I jumped in the pool with my mobile phone (which also serves as watch and calendar) in my pocket. So I woke up the next morning neither knowing nor caring what time or day of the week it was — my idea of a holiday mood.

Our daughters usually say they like our holiday venues, but would still rather live in London. This time they said they wouldn’t want to live in the Villa Alev, as it is “too perfect, and you could get spoilt”. That is a risk worth taking, at least for a fortnight