Business Fit Magazine November 2019 Issue 2 | Page 12

Travel
Always looking to discover new ideas, Ilkay
Utaş shares with us the beauty, tranquillity and
nature of Islamlar village in the Mediterranean
Taurus mountains, where the traditions of
village life continue.
Islamlar village with its dramatic rolling scenery
offering every hour a subtle change of hue,
productive lands, from time to time swirling
cloud and sudden showers - welcome to high
plateau life on the Mediterranean Taurus
mountains.
Have you heard of Islamlar Village? Or Bodamya
if you prefer the old Greek name? Like most of
the responses I get I am sure you will say ‘No’.
Strange then that foreigners know Islamlar
better than we Turks for it is fast becoming
a hot spot for luxury villas. Moreover, eighty
percent of visitors are English and the rest
a rainbow of passports from five different
continents.
Sitting 600 metres above the sea, Pine, Cedar
and hundred-year-old Juniper forests surround
this mountain village, part of the Kaş district
in the thriving province of Antalya. Civilisation
has ticked by for five thousand years without
interruption. and the rest is used to make organic soap and
detergent to use at home. At the end of the
day you take your share, product of your hard
work, to your home.
During Lycian and Roman times, these
mountains supplied water to ancient coastal
towns such as Patara. In fact, the meaning
of the Greek name Bodamya is ‘rivers’; and
wherever you turn, you come across a Lycian
rock thumb or an historical water cistern. Villas with private pools, Jacuzzis and huge,
delightful gardens now number nearly 200 in
Islamlar. These Villas are mostly managed by
professional boutique holiday companies like
Simpson travel and Vintage travel. I stayed at
Villa Lidya which was featured with a full page
in Independent Newspaper Travel section in
March 2016.
It also offers a welcome escape from the
summer heat with its ice-cold rivers and
forests up on the Mediterranean plateau.
This is especially true during July, August and
September when the Antalya region swelters.
Indeed, after spending a whole day breathing
its clean air with no humidity, you might need
a shawl at night.
The story goes that after settlement by
Muslims, the village was named after Islam
Bey as “ISLAMLAR”, while the locals still call it
Bodamya. “And talking about history of this
Civilisation
has ticked
by for five
thousand
years without
interruption
land” says my host Osman Utaş, Owner of Villa
Mira, “Even the table you are drinking your
coffee on is a 650-year-old cedar. And reflect,
when this tree was planted, Istanbul was under
Byzantine rule”.
I hear his words but am unable to reply so
stunned am I by the view in front of me.
Imagine watching a whole city at your feet,
words fail! The horizon which connects the
sky and sea fades off into infinity; The Bay of
Kalkan, antique Patara city and craggy islands
lined up in front of you as if saluting.
Sea, Sand and Sun and a trend towards
holidays spent with nature all point to Islamlar
Village where expectations of a great holiday
are met; tastes, civilisation, trekking, socialising
with locals and staying in a private villa rather
than a hotel. In such a way, you suddenly find
yourself part of local life rather than just an
observer. The traditions of village life continue;
many things are bartered for rather than
bought. For example, September is harvest
time for pomegranate to make vinegar and
grapes to make molasses.
Right after this is the harvest time for olives
and again it is communal work to collect,
group and cure. Sesame and wheat are taken
to grind at antique 200-year-old stone Greek
Mills. The highest quality of virgin olive oil is
called “spoon” oil and is filtered from regular oil
12
Osman Utaş left Istanbul in 2002 after falling in
love in the Patara region 30 years ago. Being,
in his own words, a “mountain man” he picked
Islamlar village which is only ten minutes from
Patara beach. Villa Mira and Villa Lidya the
two rentals were all but built by Osman Utaş
himself. He says this region is on a “fault line”
and he would not live in or recommend anyone
live in a building he did not manage himself.
The four-bedroom villas (with a maximum
capacity for eight people) have two floors with
expensive finishes such as handmade Greek
tiles on the kitchen floor to add an authentic
atmosphere. The living and dining room have
calming colours on the walls, while the choice
in the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen are
in lively pinks and blues. The villas include
cupboards using 200-year-old antique doors
and may even house a play station.
In Villa Lidya whatever you touch is a reminder
you are close to nature. For example, pistachio
shampoos, olive oil soap, hair treatment
oil made from aromatic herbs and organic
toothpaste are among the first things you
notice. The same natural look is all over the
linen curtains, hundred percent cotton linens
and organic towels. Healing natural spring
water runs through your tap while many
visitors have to fly over hundreds of miles to
drink it. The infinity pool with breath taking
scenery is filled with this natural spring water
with a PH level 11 and only organic rock salt is
used to chlorinate it.
For one minute I feel like a kid in a candy store.
Shall I hurl myself into the pool? Stretch out on
a sunbed for a sunbathe? Or sink in the soft
pillows of the gazebo by the pool? But first is
my breakfast date with the Utaş family.
13