Turkey - Where East Meets West

We decided to take our family holiday in Turkey this year, and after much debate settled on Turgutreis. This area of Turkey has a very barren and rocky landscape, but in amongst the hillsides and along the coasts are these amazing little bays and colourful towns.

With its extensive beaches, marina and marketplace, Turgutreis is the largest bay on the Bodrum peninsula and is about a one and a half-hour transfer (shorter by taxi) from Bodrum airport. Its streets are lined with olive trees and blood-red geraniums, and its buildings adorned with beautiful bougainvillea. Market day is Saturday and well worth a visit, but don’t be confused, as there are two; a local food market which is a fabulous sight to see; and then the tourist market where you can haggle till your heart's content and pick up some amazing bargains.

We stayed at the Golden Beach Hotel, which is just outside the main town itself, about 10 minutes' drive in a Dolmus. It's a small property but set in beautiful gardens and has a fabulous pool and its own private beach across the road. It was all inclusive, with buffet style meals for breakfast and lunch and al fresco cooking for the evening meal. The hotel had its own entertainment manager, Piero, who was fantastic with the kids and provided lots for the them to do during the day in the form of competitions and quizzes around the pool area. In the evening there was always dancing and a show on the roof top of one of the restaurants. The best of these was the Turkish night which had displays of both traditional and belly dancing.

Now I'm not one for lounging by the pool every day so I planned a few days out to see some of the sites the area had to offer. One day, the kids and I took a catamaran to Kos in Greece, which took about 20 minutes. Here, we explored the town that is famous as the birthplace of Hippocrates - there are plenty of sites and monuments to remind you of this. We visited some of the historic Greek ruins before taking a train ride around the town. Then we sat for a while and chatted to a local artist whilst he drew images of the kids and told of his love for the island. After a walk around the marina, we settled in one of the beach tavernas to wet our whistle and allow the kids time to paddle in the sea – the beach sadly was very crowded here and I was quite glad to get back to the private and quiet beach of our hotel later in the evening.

On another occasion, my daughter and I visited Bodrum, stopping on the hillside between the bays of Bodrum and Gumbet, for a short camel ride, and again at the Lindos gates, the historical entrance to the town of Bodrum. Here we learned a lot fascinating information about the area's past. Continuing on we passed the famous amphitheatre, where shows are still performed throughout the year, before arriving into the town of Bodrum itself for lunch. This a great place for shopping, the main area being near the marina and the castle – well worth a visit if you have the time.

Another must is the Dedeman Aqua Park. It is set on the hillside just outside Bodrum and has loads of colourful slides and rides, all set in beautiful grounds. There is plenty to keep the kids (BIG or little) entertained for the whole day, with plenty of facilities for eating and drinking onsite, I found the restaurants to be reasonably priced considering its captive market!

Finally came the day to leave, the staff were great and looked after our luggage as we had a late flight. So we spent the last day making the most of the glorious sunshine and lazing by the pool. I was only sorry this holiday was so short and would love to go back to the area again one day.