AllWays Traveller Features
The Best Turkish Breakfast is Out of Town
Yalikavak
Yalikavak is the first town on Turkey's Bodrum Peninsula that tugged at my heart-strings tempting me to return again and again. It reminds me of the "little engine that could". The small sleepy exterior hides a powerful engine that continues to drive expansion and change.
This historical sponge-diving town has long supported the local arts and crafts scene and the small and compact downtown area that hugs the harbor boasts art galleries, craft stalls, and an art walk. There are plenty of other small tourist shops and restaurants to choose from. But this area of town stands in direct contrast to the recently renovated, and expanded, Marina.
"If you come to the top of this hill, you will see Bodrum. Don't think that you will leave the same person as when you arrived. To all those who came before you, it happened that way: they lost their hearts in Bodrum."
by Cevat Sakir,
Merkez Mah. Çökertme Cad. Yalıkavak, Bodrum, Turkey
Telephone:
Central. +90 252 311 0600
Email:
Yalikavak Palmarina
Yalikavak Marina has a sprawling open-air shopping mall with a broad selection of gourmet restaurants, bars and cafes, along with plenty of, higher priced, shopping opportunities. It's also home to the Palmarina Beach Hotel and Palmarina Boutique Hotel, a Spa & Fitness Center and a variety of ongoing public events, like concerts and stage shows.
Gökçebel
There are a broad range of excellent places to eat in Yalikavak. Whether you're looking for a gourmet dinner or quick local snack that you can grab-and-go. But if you venture just out of earshot of the Marina you'll reach to neighboring suburb of Gökçebel. Within two kilometers you're transported inland by two decades and land knee-deep in village culture.
Here you can leave the frantic pace of our modern world behind and recharge your batteries. Gökçebel entices you to slow down, and what better way to decompress than lingering over a traditional Turkish Breakfast - a welcome antithesis to grab-and-go.
Both of Gökçebel's two restaurants and only open until mid-afternoon when the last customer pushes themselves away from the table and rolls out into the sunshine, unable to eat devour one more morsel or drain their glass of Turkish tea.
Dirmil Koy Kahvaltisi
Travel along the Inonu Cd. and turn right up Ogretman Yusuf Cd. Travel past the school (on the right) and after the corner you will see a sign for Dirmil Koy Kahvaltisi.
Telephone:
+ 90 544 418 25 49
These include three variations of vegetarian Gözleme and Börek that are all made with hand-rolled sheets of yufka dough (phyllo) which is lightly brushed with butter and eggs, the prepared, shaped, and stuffed differently. These dishes have Anatolian origins and can be stuffed with any mixture of cheese, vegetables, or meat.
Here in Turkey, any leaf or flower that is stuffed is referred to as dolma, and you're served two variations with the Dirmil breakfast. The first is the traditional stuffed vine leaves popular in the Mediterranean, and the other is a stuffed zucchini flower. Both were vegetarian and had varying mixtures of rice, vegetables, and spices.
And finally, as if that feast wasn't enough, this restaurant also serves a side dish of Menemem included in the 30TL price. This traditional Turkish breakfast dish is a mix of soft scrambled eggs cooked with onions, peppers, paprika and oregano. Another mouthwatering target for your bread.
Breakfast is washed down by a seemingly bottomless pot of tea, but the best thing about breakfast here at Dirmil Koy Kahvaltisi is that there's no rush to leave.
I lingered over my meal for a couple of hours but I could have easily relaxed in the shade of the twisted vine canopy until my food settled. Instead, I pushed myself away from the table and rolled out into the sunshine, vowing to return.
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ISSN 2634-7032
London, United Kingdom
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