A windmill at Yalıkavak, on Bodrum Peninsula's north coast (Wiki Commons)

The Bodrum Peninsula

Taking its name from its principal resort in the Gulf of Gökova, Bodrum peninsula extends 42km into the Aegean, with the Datça peninsula and Greek island of Kos to the south and the Gulf of Mendalya to the north. The Gulf of Gökova is where the famous Blue Voyages began, and boats today can still reach ancient sites that remain difficult to access from the land. More than 32 islands spill from the rugged coast where marinas extend year by year, but the peninsula maintains an insular charm, and elegant, unspoilt areas remain.

What you will see

Between the new developments and the pine forests, old dry-stone walls delineate fields that once produced wheat destined for hilltop windmills and still enclose olive and tangerine groves. Away from the crowds of Bodrum, there are attractive fishing villages and resorts. Sandy beaches on the south coast from Gümbet to Akyarlar are popular in summer, but on the west and north coasts fishing villages such as Gümüşlük are less developed, while upmarket Turgutreis and Yalıkavak have some beautiful new houses, including the Turkish retreat of Rıfat Özbek, featured on the cover of Berrin Torolsan’s At Home in Turkey. The book includes the Ertegün house in Bodrum, by the award-winning architect Turgut Cansever, whose daughter and son-in-law created Amanruya resort on the peninsula’s north coast.