Yarbasan Stone Houses in Bodrum's Ortakent open for visitors and accommodation

The red tile roofs and grey stones reminds one person of Tuscany, another recalls rugged villages further inland set on granite hillsides amongst the trees and groves of their childhood. The reality of the Yarbasan Stone House Estate complex, in Ortakent village on the Bodrum Peninsula in southwest Turkey, is that it is a very modern and entirely new take on the disappearing vernacular architecture of Bodrum. It is the result of a passion that became a dream of a group of architects, to create a village of stone houses that would connect modern life to earlier times. By dint of gaining investors who believed and trusted in the team of architects, the project started five years ago. To make the connection to the past a true one, replicating the traditional architecture was not enough; they also wanted to find and use craftsmen who would use traditional methods on the traditional materials. They found stonemasons, carpenters and wooden carvers, mosaic layers, tile makers and ironsmith and regional sources of stone and wood. The painstaking research into the different architectural styles and methods of house-building took the traditional house plans of Bodrum as a foundation and created an estate of 29 unique homes that are traditional but at the same time functionally modern inside. They all vary from each other, as in the texture of a true village, though of course all are of the same age here. The manufactured items, the tiles, ceramics and woodcarvings, were done on-site in workshops built for the purpose, to support and continue the arts and crafts and the people who still practice them. The success of the project can now be measured in a walk around the village and in the vistas that continually open up when walking through the streets. Starting near the bottom of the hill, just past the security guard at the car park, are the first houses, named the Sıra Houses. These are the smaller terrace houses that abut each other and the winding Staircase Street, which connects them to the upper courtyard. They are one- and two-bedroom houses that have terraces and balconies with a view of the sea and orchards from every side, while the inside space is used well for living and relaxing. At the bottom of the staircase are workshop spaces that now continue as spaces for courses in pottery, painting and other decorative arts that master craftspeople may visit and teach in. From the upper courtyard, also reached by car by a winding road, the streets split off through the village linking all the larger houses with private gardens and swimming pools behind stone walls. Private but not forbidding, the gateways beckon, as do the steps that climb to the old-fashioned wooden doors. The entrance road comes up the hill then runs under the impressive walls of the Grand Sakız House under part of the Tunnel House and over to the north side of the hill where some of the Musandıra and Sakız houses look over the green valley of Ortakent’s clementine orchards and green fields. The house names are not used merely for winsome appeal, but are named true to their type of house plan and design, based on the four original types recognized and recorded throughout the Bodrum area. They are the Musandıra, Sakız, Levanten and Kule houses and their variations. The beauty of this designed village is that it is accessible for visitors. Through an initiative of Aslıhan Mutlu, now the owner of the heart of the place – the village restaurant area – some of the remaining unsold houses and owned houses are being offered as boutique hotel units for stays of two days or longer. There is a selection of different-sized houses and configurations, anything from a one-bedroom terrace, through two, three, four and up to a six-bedroom house to fit any size party. Built as complete houses, they all have a full kitchen, bathrooms and all have swimming pools and gardens except the three smaller terrace courtyard houses. At any time of the year, visitors can come and stay and enjoy a quiet retreat while at the same time having one of the best peninsula restaurants a stroll away, in addition to being able to join pottery or painting workshops in the village. As Yarbasan village is at the center of the peninsula, it is close to all the attractions of the Ortakent beach, 6 kilometers from Bodrum, and about 10 kilometers to Turgutreis or Yalıkavak. Weekly prices range from 575 euros in the winter season to 1,000 euros in August, for a one-bedroom villa with pool with breakfast as an extra served in the houses or at the restaurant. The prices include daily housekeeping, concierge, security and tax, and all are heated. Details and price lists for each house are available. Developed cooking by learning from traditional cooks Aslıhan Mutlu came to cooking by the traditional method of learning at her mother’s and grandmother’s feet. The women of the Mutlu family hail from the Greek-Bulgarian area of Thrace and in their cooking concentrate on using vegetables, the best olive oil, cream and butter – but no spices. “I knew nothing of using spices,” Mutlu said. A pivotal day came in the early 90’s when, as a busy tour agency owner-operator in Istanbul, Mutlu was asked to organize a conference on the theme of Turkish cuisine, alongside the famous recipe book writer Nevin Halıcı. Mutlu was struck by the experience of the foreign writers. “They were speaking so knowledgeably about Turkish cooking – of things I knew nothing about,” she recalled. She started developing her cooking, sometimes learning from other dedicated and traditional cooks. But the stressful life of tourism, with “three phones in two ears and two calls on hold” went on until she sold her hotel. Then someone made an offer for her agency. “I said – take it, take it all!” she said. Now Mutlu operates Erenler Sofrası, inside the Yarbasan complex. She smiles when asked how she maintains so many connections with people. “That is what I have been doing all my working life,” she says, taking a sip of an impeccable merlot from Tekirdağ. Bookings: Erenler Sofrası Yarbasan Evleri, Ortakent, Bodrum