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Rabu, 13 Juni 2012

�esme, Turkey: Wish I Were Here

This week, in Istanbul, "Her g�n nemli, sicak." (Every day is hot, humid.)

As soon as I step outside after showering, I'm sweating.

At the end of the day, my flip-flop feet are blackened from the dusty city streets so I take another shower at night.

How I long to be at a beach or swimming pool! All our friends are talking about their summer vacations here in Turkey. We don't have any beach trips planned - yet!

Soon, a good friend is going to spend a relaxing weekend in the �esmeand Ala�atiarea, which reminded me of our fun weekend there last summer. I never really posted any photos from that trip, so I thought I'd share some now.

We loved staying at the  Ala�ati Zeytin Konak Otel. This small boutique hotel is the perfect place to use as a base to explore the �esme Peninsula.
Ala�ati Zeytin Konak Otel's swimming pool at night.
I could stay at this hotel in  Ala�ati  just for it's bountiful Turkish breakfast spread and for the local "puffy" bread.
Although the hotel has two swimming pools, we spent more time on the beach. The only problem is that many of the area's beaches are set up as beach clubs so you pay 20 to 30 tl per person to lay out on the beach.

However, my favorite beach we returned to again is Ilica Beach & Cafe, located near Sheraton Hotel's private beach in �esme. Two chairs with an umbrella cost only 24 tl! We had packed our own Turkish towels, raided a nearby bakkal and brought our own beers to the beach.
This beach does get crowded, but the chairs are cheap and the Aegean Sea is crystal clear and warm. The four of us took turns swimming so someone was always watching our belongings.
Note: bury your beer in the cold sand. It gets hot quickly and warm Efes is not good!

And when you get hungry, I highly recommend grabbing a kumru, a local sandwich stuffed with Turkish sausage, melted cheese and tomatoes, served hot from one of the beach vendors. I love cheese!
Enjoying a Turkish kumru sandwich at the Ilica Beach & Cafe.
One sandwich is like 2,000 calories, but washed down with a cold beer on the beach, it's exactly what you need! (In fact, I'd like to find this sandwich here after a night out on Istiklal Cad.)

Hopefully, we'll get out of the sweltering city in a few weeks. 

Where is your favorite beach in Turkey?

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