Leaving Ourselves Behind

After leaving the thinning crowds in the seaside towns of Kas and Feithye, we had the feeling that beach season was winding down in Turkiye and our arrival in Alacati confirmed that.

We chose this tiny town (pop. just over 10,000) in part because it had been described as being “like a Greek seaside village“, and in part because the photos captivated us. Car-free cobblestone streets. White-washed buildings with blue shutters. Cats curled up on cafe seats.

Alacati is all that and more. We had a bit of a challenge finding our hotel, the four-room Alaca Boutique Hotel, tucked on a narrow street. Our room is the second-floor window.

Google Maps was in a tizzy; telling us first to turn right, then left, then re-routing; unaware that so many streets end up being blocked to traffic. Finally we parked on a main street and mapped out our hotel on foot. Our host gave us parking instructions, “go straight down the street, turn left and park by the mosque. It’s free. “ Once parked and settled in our very stylish room, we set out to explore the town.

Alacati is easy to get lost in and that is the whole point. There is not a whole lot to do here but stroll, admire the beauty, eat, drink and shop.
Some impressions of the town:

Notice the crocheted coverings on the tree trunk and branches. We saw this on at least two or three other trees – so beautiful and unusual.

Entrance to an elegant hotel.

With the exception of a couple of old gents and two schoolboys, do you notice anything missing in these photos?

There were so few tourists and even so few locals that we felt a bit lonely at times. Apparently in high season, these streets are packed, with line-ups for restaurants. I can only imagine how the restaurant and shop-owners feel now as they stare down at their empty tables. I imagine we have missed the real energy of this place by two or three weeks.

There were small pockets where people could be found and we gravitated to them. After dinner each night, we would head to this little alleyway of bars just up from our hotel. Small tables set up with lanterns and fires lit to ward off the night chill: we’d stop for a beer and soak in the atmosphere.

As is the case in much of Turkiye, there is no shortage of street cats and dogs. They wander around, belonging to no-one and everyone. Many of the dogs are tagged and neutered and appear to be quite mellow. Interestingly, many of the Turkish dogs are huge, and I wonder why that is – a genetic pool of mastiff/retriever/mountain dog mixes that have found themselves without homes and at the mercy of kindhearted Turks who leave out food and water.

The sign reads that the food is for our street dogs and cats.

I could fill a blog posting with cute cat photos – here are just a couple.

We have a steady parade of cats that stroll in and out of our hotel. This one watches us eat breakfast each morning, and just had a prolonged cuddle with me. I finally had to shoo her away so I could write. It does make me feel sad for them. They’re fed and cared for, but do not have family to love them.

We’re saving our shopping for Istanbul, but we could at least admire the tremendous style evident here in many of the shops. I’d love to find a way to haul home one of those glass jars.

If you are the type of person who gets tattoos on holiday and evidently if you are extraordinary to boot, then this is the shop for you.

If I was the type of woman to give this look a go, I’d be all set. Maybe something to aspire to – I do love the outfit.

A defining feature of Alacati is the presence of wind; one begins to understand “wind” as a weather descriptor that is different than if you come from a place that only has occasional windy days.

The presence of windmills in this area began in the 18th century; over 20 massive stone windmills at one time were in operation to grind wheat into flour using just wind power. Currently there are seven in Alacati and we saw four of them.

They’re quite beautiful, even if they are adorned with banners of Ertogan.

Our other windy experience was an attempt to have a beach day at nearby Illica Beach. During the height of the summer, this must be a wonderful experience; filled with sunbeds and bathers enjoying the thermal waters that bubble into the waves.

The para-sailors and wind-surfers have it made here – a three-kilometre stretch of beach to simply glide back and forth.

Alas, nothing says the party is over more than an end-of-season beach. Just a few people on the beach, small children buffeted by the wind, the door to one of the change rooms banging open and a few dirty sunbeds piled up on one end of the beach.

We walked the length of the beach and back and thought to stop at the cafe for a cold drink, but when we arrived, there was a sign that said “Self-Serve”. The cooler was stocked with a couple of dozen soft drinks and a teenager, (presumably in charge of the stand), was sound asleep at the desk.

We had better luck visiting the Cesme Castle. Cesme, a small resort town about 15 minutes from Alacati and much more popular due to it seaside location, was busier than Alacati and in our opinion, far less charming.

The standout was the castle , which was built in 1508 as a precaution against attacks from the Venetians. It is in remarkable condition and houses a museum filled with artifacts.

Guarding the castle is a bronze statue of Admiral Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasa, who was not only one of the greatest admirals of the Ottoman Empire, but he had the distinction of having a lion he brought as a cub from Africa and raised as a pet.

We climbed around the castle for an hour, enjoying the views of the harbour and the city below.

Even with such an end-of-season vibe in Alacati, we still really loved the beauty and ease of this little town – just would have been nice to have a bit more company.

Tomorrow we drive six hours to Canakkale (pronounced Cha-na-ka-lee), which I had been referring to as Can-a-kal-ay to our uncomprehending host.

The big story here is the ancient city of Troy and the peninsula of Gallipoli, where the battle was fought from 1915-1916 between Britain and France and the Ottoman Empire.