Scotland on Sunday - February 19, 2006

Perfect peace -
Get away from the tourist hordes and enjoy nature's best in the lap of luxury. The Oyster Residence offers characterful boutique accommodation in the tranquil surroundings of Turkey's Lycia.

TIM MAGUIRE

A WORLD away from the mass tourist traps of Marmaris and Bodrum, there is another, lesser-known Turkey, a place of clifftop infinity pools and chic little boutique hotels.

Tempted by visions of ballooning in Cappadocia or learning to cook in the Kaya valley, we opted to do nothing very much at all in Lycia, an ancient maritime kingdom that predates the Greeks and runs along the Turquoise Coast from Fethiye in the north to Antalya in the south.

Often described as the new Tuscany, Lycia is actually more like the old Provence. Dignified elderly gentlemen in collarless shirts sport luxuriant handlebar moustaches as they play backgammon outside dusty tea-houses. Every last scrap of arable land is planted with olive or fruit trees, and girls wearing headscarves herd goats through thyme-scented hills in scenes reminiscent of Jean de Florette.

Pine-covered mountains soar 6,000ft from the rocky coast, which bends and curves into hundreds of little bays. It is no surprise then that, until recently, all travel in Lycia was by boat. And despite the air-conditioned, leather-lined luxury limo that whisked us from the airport, we wished it still was. Turkish roads are poor at the best of times, but the clifftop switchback that took us to our hideaway destination would have given Colin McRae pause for thought. Night falls early in these parts, and it was pitch-black when we pulled over in the middle of a forest and jumped into a four-wheel-drive Jeep for the last lurching, pitching off-road section of the journey.

Fifteen minutes later, we stumbled out, down a jasmine-scented avenue lit by storm lanterns, towards a cobbled area where sturdy oak benches were set out under towering pine trees. Overhead, the Milky Way washed across a star-studded sky, while out to sea a perfect crescent moon rose in honour of the Turkish flag. All we could hear was the rhythmic crash of the surf and the insistent chattering of the cicadas.

A profound calm began to settle as we realised that for at least the next week the clamour of work and city life could no longer reach us.

When we finally awoke, late the next morning, we began to take stock of our surroundings. The Oyster Residence is a seven-bedroom eco-retreat perched on a rocky promontory and surrounded by a pine forest that comes all the way down to the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. Its pleasures are simple but beguiling - which is just as well, because once you're there it's a long, uphill struggle to go anywhere else.

Accommodation is in traditional cottages, built from limestone and gypsum to withstand the earthquakes that occasionally shake the region - and which 20 years ago destroyed Fethiye, the nearest large town. Ours was simply furnished with a bed, a wood-burning stove and a reed-lined ceiling; outside was a deck with a hammock, a table and two wooden armchairs.

Beyond that lay a garden filled with Ottoman-style divans and cushions scattered under shady trees, surrounded by the aubergines, courgettes and peppers that would form the basis of our meals for the rest of our stay.

Breakfast - from a buffet of sheep's cheese, local comb honey, homemade bread, yoghurt, tomatoes and olives - could be eaten in the shade of the pines on the promontory while watching tiny fishing boats putter slowly across the waves, or staring idly out to sea, where the silhouette of Rhodes shimmers on the horizon.

The Oyster takes no more than a dozen guests at any time, and while sociability is optional, the laid-back atmosphere is conducive to conviviality. It's a romantic destination, so our fellow guests included no fewer than four honeymoon couples.

There are various activities available on site, including sea-kayaking, snorkelling and trekking, but the emphasis is on chilling out. Mind you, this is not always easy in temperatures that hover around 30¼C even in autumn.

While the guests read, relax and occasionally splash in the pool, the six-strong staff tend to their every whim. Most mornings we would come across Aynur making pide (flatbread). Using a long, thin rolling-pin, she would expertly transform a tiny lump of dough into a metre-wide pancake, flipping it on to a cast-iron dome over an open fire made from pine cones and needles, where it baked in seconds.

During the summer months, because of the risk of forest fires, most of the cooking is done in the safety of the kitchen, an open-sided, herb-bedecked shack with a wood-fired oven, from which delicious swordfish steaks and slow-cooked lamb stews are turned out.

Although fish and meat do feature on menus, Turkey is one country where being a vegetarian doesn't stop you eating well, and most evenings the more interesting dishes were the vegetable ones - purslane with white beans, salad of wheat berries, smoked aubergines with tomatoes and pinenuts, and tiny, fiery pickled peppers. The wine was local and good, though surprisingly expensive - from around £15 for the cheapest bottle.

If you've got the energy, there is plenty to see and do here. Over the millennia many civilisations have left their mark on this part of the world, and Lycia is littered with rock-cut tombs and amphitheatres. The most recent people to leave were the Greeks, in a forced population swap during the 1920s, and their abandoned mountain stronghold of Kaya is the eerie setting for Louis de Bernières' most recent novel, Birds Without Wings.

Closer to home, if you get up early enough to climb the steep hill before the heat really kicks in, you can walk a section of the Lycian Way, a 300-mile footpath that winds its way through the mountains, bordered on all sides by wild oregano, thyme, holly oaks, carob and olive trees. Look hard and you may see an eagle soaring on the thermals above you, or find a black-banded porcupine quill lying on the path at your feet.

Around the yalayas (high pastoral hamlets) the tiny irregular fields are bordered by lines of beehives, and every tree bears some kind of fruit - in just 100 paces we passed mulberry, pomegranate, mandarin, apricot, lemon, fig and wild pear.

If all this sounds too worthy, take the complimentary gulet cruise and spend a day sunbathing on deck while slowly drifting around the islands drinking beer and occasionally diving into the sapphire sea. Every few hours, the boat anchors in yet another beautiful deserted bay, where the crew can get on with char-grilling the sea bass for your leisurely lunch. Formerly known as caiques, gulets are beautiful, broad-beamed, hand-built wooden sailing boats, but unfortunately these days the sails are strictly for show.

What do we miss now that we're home? Kayaking along the rocky coastline to see clouds of butterflies in the valley at Hisarönü. Snorkelling in blood-warm, crystal-clear water just inches away from schools of iridescent blue-green fish. Watching the sun extinguish itself in the sea every evening. Seeing fireflies dancing in the dark among the acacias.

We miss the tranquillity. But it will be waiting there for you, when you make your escape.

FACT FILE TURKEY
Turkey specialist Exclusive Escapes offers a seven night half-board stay at the Oyster Residence, in Faralya, from £500 per person (for two sharing in early May). The deal includes return flights (from Heathrow or Manchester) to Dalaman, sea-kayaking, guided trekking and a day's luxury gulet cruise.

Live Availability & Price throughout the season for Oyster Residence


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