Kadikalesi and Gumusluk

On the third day of our Bodrum road trip, we set off to drive from Turgutreis to Yalikavak. The route we took was via the coastal roads and this way we could stop off at any place that caught our attention. While Gumusluk was already on our itinerary, we had only heard of Kadikalesi the night before when chatting to a couple in a restaurant. (Turkey is like that, you find yourself chatting to everyone and anyone that wants to converse.)

It was not hard to find Kadikalesi or Gumusluk and within minutes of being in the area, you could tell that the man-made, money-making machine of Tourism in Turkey had completely passed them by. I have since checked some of the major tour operator’s websites and these two places are hardly mentioned.

If you are a holiday maker that wants your English breakfast and to be entertained on karaoke machines at night time, these places are definitely not for you. Stick to the center of Bodrum or Gumbet where you will probably find tourists are treated better than the locals. However if you are looking to discover a coastal resort of Turkey that does not have two faces, then head to these two resorts.

If you are wondering what I mean by two faces, it refers to a saying of mine. In many touristic coastal resorts of Turkey, there are two faces. The first is the tourist face. Life is idyllic and you wonder why everyone is not living there because it really does sound like paradise. Politics, religion and money are never discussed and no one has even heard of Prozac, let alone considered taking it.

Then there is the true way of life which you get to discover when spending a lot of time in a place. You learn that it is just like every other town or city on earth and locals have their worries while councils fret about being voted out at the next election. Neighbors argue with each other and children swear their parents are old fashioned and just don’t understand them at all.

While in Gumusluk and Kadikalesi, you will see instantly that these resorts are not part of a façade that makes Turkey out to be a one way ticket to paradise. At this time of year you will not win a game of spot the local, in fact we attracted more attention from cats and dogs, posing for a photograph than we did from any human being.  However I have heard in summer time it does attract a few Turks.

The point is however, Kadikalesi and Gumusluk are the perfect prescription for anyone needing to recharge their batteries, gain inspiration or simply wishing to take a step back from life to assess their role and place in the big wide world. The two resorts have been forgotten by the “churn you in” and “churn you out” conveyor belts of the tourist companies and in my opinion that is not so much of a bad thing.

How To get There.

The two resorts are between Turgutreis and Yalikavak and you can get a small bus from either resort which will take you there within twenty minutes. If driving by car, just follow the coastal roads and signs will appear. You may struggle to find a choice of accommodation however both resorts can be explored in a day, and accommodation is plenty in the neighboring resorts of  Turgutreis orYalikavak.