During our French affair we changed our mind about converting the old barn into gites and decided to look for an investment a bit further afield.
As we were currently living inland in France we decided that we would do our best to find something with a sea view, preferably in the Mediterranean. We had a good look around at what money could buy and we chose to look in Turkey. We went off to Olu Deniz and stayed at a very nice hotel. We were going to travel around the Turquoise Coast and see what we could find.
After a couple of days we found Kalkan, our work was done! This was 11 years ago, Kalkan was so unspoilt it was perfect. Kalkan is the most beautiful place, an old Ottoman fishing village with narrow streets and gorgeous buildings all leading down to a marina and the beach.
Plenty of restaurants from the exclusive to cafe bars serving delicious and traditional Turkish fayre. Food was excellent value for money but alcohol is about the same price as the UK. We didn’t hunt for long before we found the perfet villa, the views were incredible …
We were on quite a tight budget when we started out and the villa clearly needed some work doing. Over the years we did it up and it was beautiful. We loved it.
We were impressed with Turkey, the people are really friendly and very genuine. The food is amazing. Life is fabulous and the best months for us were April – June and September.
We loved it so much we decided that we would go and live there. There seemed to be many expat Brits doing the same thing. However, you need to have something to do. As winter draws in, the weather becomes very cool and windy you can no longer sit in the sun all day. We noticed that quite a few of the expats had formed clubs and spent time in bars but that was not really someting we wanted to get involved in. The Mediterranean winds were so bad in February that we could barely go out of the house some days, it wasn’t the paradise that it is in the Spring. John made a great comment “It is not where you live it is what you do that matters”. So true, we decided that full time life in Turkey was not for us.
I still stand by the fact that Kalkan is one of the best holiday destinations I have ever been to and the history and beauty of the Turquoise coast is unrivalled.
We kept our villa for 7 years, during which time we rented it out to holidaymakers. We were fully booked and I have to say again it was a great investment. We sold it in 2011 and reinvested in a house in the UK.
If I had the money would I buy in Turkey again? Yes I would, definitely. I miss it lots and Kalkan will always hold special memories for me.
If you are thinking of buying in Kalkan, speak to Bridget and Sakir at Black Lion estate agents – they are great! http://2blacklions.com/
