South of Izmir and inland on the shores of magnificent Lake Bafa sits this unspoiled gem of rural Turkey, where villagers herd their cows along the only street, and where village houses grow so organically out of the ancient ruins...

Like wine, the simplest and best way to appreciate olive oil is to taste it. Pressing olive oil and creating table olives in this enjoyable harvesting and processing experience is a great way to celebrate the olive harvest and discover how...

Enduring a succession of conquerors and dynasties from the Hittites, Carians, Greeks and Romans, to Byzantine emperors, Crusader soldiers and Ottoman pashas, it is no wonder that this region of Turkey is a cultural treasure trove deeply...

Contemporary lifestyles contribute the perfect feeding ground for chronic stress and depression. Getting out into nature and reconnecting with yourself, other people, your environment and what is important to you through physical activity – aka hiking up a...

Our car slows as asphalt turns to gravel. Around the next bend we brake behind a dozen dairy cows, heavy with milk, being cajoled home by a village woman from the back of a donkey, shalvar pants ballooning out in the wind. Our daughter exclaims something in gurgling...

Begin at the beginning. We start from the northernmost trailhead of the Carian Trail in the small village of Karpuzlu with the commanding agora of ancient Alinda on the hilltop above. The week is spent exploring different highland villages in a region that has for...

Bodrum and Akyaka are, for differing reasons, well-known summer resorts of the region. Akyaka is still a working fishing village, and has in the past several decades become an idyllic retreat for families, still appealing mostly to Turkish...

The Carian Trail is the most recent achievement in long-distance walking trails in Turkey. Its 800 kilometers of waymarked trail sections follow the Turkish Riviera along both the Aegean and Mediterranean seas and head inland into the...

The Lycian Way is one of Turkey’s first long-distance footpaths, and winds 540 km along the mountainous southwestern coast of Turkey between Fetihye and Antalya across what is called the Tekke Peninsula. It offers magnificent views of the Mediterranean, provides...

Bafa Lake and the extraordinarily craggy Latmos Mountain range rising steeply from its northern shore are unforgettable examples of the deepest rural Turkey surviving within an hour’s drive of mass tourism destinations Bodrum and...