Datca-Turkey
(Datça pronounced Datcha, is the name of the ~80 Km long peninsula National Reserve between Aegean and the Mediterranean seas and also the administrative town center of the peninsula)
We specialize in villas (free standing houses) in their own gardens, quiet residential areas but walking distance of town/village center and Mediterranean/Aegean shores.
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DATCA (DATÇA
pronounced "Datcha")www.Villarama.com, Destination: Datca or brochure # : 2437
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South West corner of Turkey (Asia Minor) Thanks to Expedia

Datça (ancient name Dorian) peninsula between Aegean and the Mediterranean seas - Datça town and some villages on the peninsula are indicated
The Datça peninsula (National Reserve as a whole) has a local population of about 10.000 with the Datça town having roughly one half (5000) in three settlements ("mahalle"s, Iskele, Old Datca & Resadiye) within a few Kms of each other. Iskele is by the sea and was the one with the least number of houses until the 1970s. Now it is the most important "mahalle".
The whole peninsula has spectacular topography with mountains as high as 1400 meters, pine, eucalyptus forests with literally millions of trees and of course many tens of thousands of olive, fig, orange, lemon, trees, vineyards, many small scale fruit and vegetable farms. The Friday & Saturday market in Datça (Iskele) where both villas are located, is a feast for eyes and palate, not to be missed.
The renowned ancient city of Knidos (Cnidus) is at the tip of Datça peninsula, this archaeological site is large and spectacular even though a small portion of the ruins have been uncovered. Its location between the Mediterranean and Aegean makes it even more interesting, it should not be missed. Knidos is famed, among others, for the statue of Venus/Aphrodite by Praxiteles (4th century BC), first known sun-dial (Mathematician Eudoxus of Cnidus ~ 350 BC) carved out of a solid marble block which can be seen today as it was set up ~2300 years ago. Knidos is about an hours drive from Datça town through beautiful forests, scenery or by a boat trip interrupted by swimming stops in pristine Med bays, especially during hot summer months. Knidos/Cnidus site has many other spectacular ancient ruins and is slowly being excavated and will soon rival Ephesus and Aphrodisias. Nearby Knidos and the beautiful Palamut Bükü beach is the Somer Farm (Yazi Köy) owned/operated by Mr. Ali Somer your host in Villa Somer, with an artisanal olive oil press built in a restored mill. Somer farm also produces carob melas (please see carobfarm.com) and is reinvigorating production of wines that were abundant in Datça peninsula until 1911 when filoxera destroyed all. Mr. Somer is also an ardent sailor having crossed the Atlantic ocean in a small sailboat in the summer of 2004 (Florida to Datça in two months May-June). December, January is the olive pressing season and you will be most welcome to visit the farm. At other times you may wish to consider visiting and choosing an olive tree which will be assigned to you or your family (minimum 5 years, 200 Euros for 5 years) and olive oil from your tree will be shipped to you in bottles/tins as desired, with a nice label produced with a photo of your tree and giving your name, company, institution or other information as desired, all at cost. A unique gift for any occasion. We can also arrange to have, beautiful olive wood spoons and other items from the pruning wood of your tree every year again at cost which you will find very reasonable. You may also purchase wonderful virgin olive oil from Somer Farm produced only from the trees within its vicinity.
Late February/March almond trees are the first to bloom and April/May is "baby almond" delicacy time ("çagla" in Turkish, pronounced chala) which is carefully collected by hand to thin the over burdened branches/clusters. It has to be eaten fresh, best direct from the tree and usually with a bit of salt and also is great with tequila. In August and September you can collect your own almonds and crack them to take along. Of course there is also figs (August), grenade apples (Sept/October), oranges/citrus fruits (most of the time, especially lemons), water & sweet melons/cantaloupes all summer, and many other local Med delicacies, all fresh direct from the orchards. DatcaVillas staff will assist with all such arrangements, all at cost, if you desire.
Both villa Somer and Yavuz are located in a quiet residential part of the town, just a few hundred meters from the town center, on a hill overlooking the magnificent Datça bay - mountains of Rhodes can be seen on a clear day, magnificent Bozburun peninsula (near Marmaris) and island of Simi (Sömbeki) is always in view. The villas are located close to each other and are free standing in their own private gardens. Everything is within walking distance; three beach areas (Kumluk, Hastane alti and Taslik), dozens of restaurants (mostly family or locally owned/operated and slow-food), cafes, all shopping needs including supermarkets, post office, banks and cash machines, occasional open air movies (at the amphitheatre in the yacht harbor), daily boat tours to Knidos/Cnidus, and other bays. Boat tours to nearby Greek islands (Simi, Rhodes) are also available on demand.
There are facilities for sailing, surfing, diving and arrangements can be made for wild boar spotting (usually at night) and possibly hunting with appropriate licences/permissions. Fresh fish is always available in the harbor (in the morning) and later on in the small fish market and few shops. Datca is famous for its restaurants which serve fresh fish at very reasonable cost (however, it is a good idea to ask for the price - usually per kilo - before ordering, as fish prices vary daily depending upon the catch and the demand). If you wish, our local staff will suggest good restaurants to you.
If you have children who would like to have unique temporary pets we can arrange to have young goats that have been weaned (~>2 months, can be away from their mother for a few days) in your garden (seasonal; spring and early summer). Traditionally dogs are mostly left free even though they are owned and similarly with cats of which there are many. Do not take them into the house but by feeding them in the garden most will become your temporary pets if you wish. In the nearby open fields it is highly likely that you will see tortoises which you can gently carry to your garden and feed and then leave around where you found them. From an observation viewpoint you will see many beautiful birds, including falcons, eagles, owls (villa Somer usually has a resident pair) , , in addition to the more common wild birds. If you venture into the hills, forests, especially at night you will be able see wild boars (usually in family groups; one big male, a couple females and many teenagers and babies). We can arrange for night time viewing with strong projector light equipped 4 x 4 vehicles, at cost, if you wish.
Datca has three small beaches right in the town (please see city plan and aerial view below) and many more in the close surrounding bays, all within short walking distance downhill from your villa. They are: Kumluk, Hastanealti and Taslik. The Kumluk Beach is just down the hill from both villas (~400 meters) and is suitable for children as it a gently sloping small sandy beach with a few small cafes and restaurants. Taslik beach is just two hundred meters further and has pebbles (=Taslik in Turkish). The unique feature of this beach is a natural hot water pool, in a totally natural setting by the Mediterranean, about 100 meter in diameter and 1.5 - 2 meters deep, water coming out at the back (from bottom of the mountains) is around 40 degrees and contains dissolved minerals claimed to cure many ailments. It was originally built ~ 200 years ago as pool to serve a mill which is now a café/disco.

City plan: The three beaches are indicated by T (TASLIK), K (KUMLUK) and H (HASTANEALTI). 13 is the Yacht harbor, 1: Tourist information, 2: PTT, 10 : MIGROS Supermarket & Municipality & intercity bus terminus. The other numbers refer to various hotels and travel agencies.

The pool feeds a small waterfall of about 1 meter high pouring 4-5 tons of water per minute into the Med (regularly used by the locals for water massage, please try it - you will love it). Winter months in Datca are never cold (typically 15-20 during day, 5-10 at night), the sea temperature is around 14-15 degrees in January the coldest month. The warm water pouring in produces a wonderful warm layer for swimming even in these coldest periods. Of course you can always swim in the pool itself at 30+ degrees.
The third beach, Hastane alti (= "below the Hospital " in Turkish) towards the other side of the bay which can be approached either by a nice pedestrians only path along the coast or directly through the main road past Migros supermarket and down the hill. You will be able to get an idea of the geography from both villas just by looking down at the town: Directly in front will be Kumluk Beach, to the left will be Hastanealti and to the right (after the small peninsula at the Yacht harbor) Taslik.
Along the peninsula there are wonderful pristine beaches, some with small family owned restaurants & cafes and some only accessible by boat and forest roads/paths. Kargi, Hayitbuku, Mesudiye, Palamutbükü, Karaincir/Perili Kösk are some that should not be missed. On the northern (Aegean) side of the peninsula is the Gökova bay (ancient name Mare Ceramicus) with an incredible turquoise color. Once or twice a year (spring and fall) the locals arrange a ~10 Km hike "Akdeniz to Ege" (Med to Aegean) where many people participate in a festive hike from Datça town to Karaköy/Körmen on the Northern side of the peninsula. You can also do this on your own or with a few friends. You will also find that you can make many daily boat arrangements or go by car to above bays. Twice daily ferryboat from Karaköy/Körmen takes you to Bodrum (Halicarnassus). During the summer months they are quite regular but the times should be confirmed the day before. There are hourly busses to Marmaris, AKTUR, Mugla and other localities on the peninsula. Busses to Mugla, Dalyan are also frequent. Longer trips with a one night stay over to Ephesus, Pamukkale/Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Fethiye, Belek, Kas, Kalkan, Antalya can also be arranged for you by local travel agencies. There are many taxis and they will come to your villa within a few minutes when called. They are always metered and very low cost when compared to European/ US rates.

Villa Somer
Villa Somer is a new construction with 3 spacious bedrooms, two bathrooms, beautiful living room, dining area, fully equipped kitchen, penthouse/roof den, large basement with garage. The villa has More than 300 m2 on four levels, marble and natural stone floors all around, lovely porch/terrace with natural palm leaves as shades for BBQs etc. There is lovely garden of ~200 m2 with bougainvillea and other flowers. There is large ground floor garage which may be made available if discussed apriori. Ample parking space is available in front of the villa. The villa has a spectacular panoramic view of the Datca/Bozburun bays, island of Simi and even mountains of Rhodes island on clear days of which there are many. A beautiful stone wall surrounded small entrance garden will greet you upon arrival. Stone construction is one of the specialty of the area, there are many rock/stone quarries on the peninsula and marble nearby in Mugla, Aydin provinces.
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Another typical villa
Other locally owned villas, houses, all in walking distance of town center and with private gardens, are/may be available. Please contact us for more details.
This villa is an older construction but recently renovated with four bedrooms. First floor has a lovely living room, kitchen, bathroom and balcony (as shown in the inset). Second floor has four bedrooms (three with double beds one small room with one bed) and a bathroom. Third floor is a large room with spectacular views, similar to villa Somer, of the Datca/Bozburun bays, island of Simi and mountains of Rhodes. It is in a garden of about 1000 m2 with many trees including four olive tress one of which is more than 120 years old, fig, mulberry, citrus, grenade apple, and other Mediterranean trees. From March to end of May/June the garden is also full of wild flowers including indigenous orchids. You will be saturated with the sensations of the flaming colors of the many bougainvilleas that are in bloom most of the year in the garden. The garden has ample room for parking if needed and parking in the vicinity is also always possible.
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Villas can accommodate 6 persons easily, however, the owners prefer to have a single family or two small families. The prices given are for up to 4 persons and 5th and 6th persons are charged at 15 % each of the given amounts. Special pricing may be possible if the additional guests are small children. Also for stays of more three weeks or more special rates may be possible, particularly outside the high season periods, please inquire. Villas have telephone and hot water. Bed linen. Towel change and cleaning service is provided once every week. Mid week clean up with linen can be arranged at cost. Datca and the coastal area has excellent mobile phone coverage and if you do not come with a mobile phone, we can provide a Turkish GSM service provider registered mobile cellular phone for you at cost, which you can use to call anywhere (local calls within Turkey are very cheap and International calls somewhat cheaper than if you use your European registered phones - please inquire. Many books, magazines (in English) and some board games are provided in both villas. For long term rentals (> 8 weeks) we can arrange to install a satellite TV reception system).
Weekly rental costs are from 340 Euros minimum (low season) up (for a maximum of 4 persons) with a 200 Euros deposit to secure a reservation. All major credit cards can be used for secure payments through PayPal.com. Please see links at the end and www.Villarama.com Datca or Brochure No; 2437 and/or send an email to Datca@Medvillas.com. Arrangements can be made to pick you up at Dalaman, Bodrum, Izmir airports if desired (all at cost), again please see links at the end and subsequent links. We also have special arrangement where a local Datca driver brings a rental car to you to Dalaman (or Bodrum/Milas) airport and drives you back to your villa and leaves the car with you for the duration of your stay. At the end of you stay, drives you to Dalaman (or Bodrum/Milas) and brings the car back. Because it is done locally you do not pay the expensive pick-up and drop-off charges that large rental companies charge for these services - please inquire.
Bicycle, motorcycle/scooter, boat, surf board, , rental can be arranged. If you are interested in carpet, rug, kilim weaving, visits to local sites can be arranged. Similarly for silk production and weaving. In Reşadiye (~ 4 Kms) there is the Güller Dagi (Rosenberg) Olive Oil production facility Olive Farm ("Zeytin Mengeni" , please see www.olivefarm.com for details) which probably produces one of the best olive oils in the world. Olive farm is located among thousands of olive trees and their showroom offers varied olive related and related products. If you inquire you might even be able to taste their exquisite olive oil with bread/pide from their own oven right next door to the Mengen. Reşadiye has also the recently renovated Museum Hotel Kocaev (Mehmet Ali Ağa Konağı, a 200 year old jewel of a residence now serving as a Boutique Hotel & Restaurant. You can easily combine a visit to Olive farm with lunch or dinner at Kocaev, by walking from one to the other (~800 meters) please inquire locally at either.
You will also be able to visit the "Somer" olive farm which produces delicate olive oils with totally traditional artisanal methods near Yazi Köy and the spectacular Knidos/Cnidus site. You will also be able to taste the local Knidos wine. Within Datca/Iskele itself you will not normally need a car as everything is within walking distance. Taxis are plentiful and will take you to nearby bays, historical sights, villages etc. But if you wish to do longer trips, car/jeep rental, jeep safaris with driver and of course boat trips (day trips or with overnight accommodation) can be easily arranged.

Datca bay (Hastanealti Beach side) From Datca Tatil Köyü complex

Datca bays (Mediterranean/South - side) - Need we say more ?
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Remember you can always come to this site through Datca.com or through Google, simply enter datcavillas or MedVillas (oneword) and click on Im feeling lucky
You are welcome to use extracts of text or photos/graphics. We would appreciate credit to Datca.com or Medvillas.com or DatcaVillas
Internet search engines wonderful new services : Image search
Go to Google.com (click Google), click on "images", then click on "advanced image search" on the right. Now enter Datca in the "related to any of the words" space and search, , you will get >3000 photos (Jan 2005). Enjoy this wonderful free service that Google recently inaugurated. Yahoo.com has also similar functionality. You may wish try Marmaris, Bodrum, Knidos or Cnidus, Ephesus or Efes, Aphrodisias, Pamukkale, in the same way. You will get thousands of images and some will be very interesting. During your stay in Datca you will be able visit these places if you so wish, and we will be pleased to assist you with the arrangements.