30s Magazine

From 19-23 September I traveled to Turkey and stayed in Villa Olivo. Villa Olivio is a restored olive oil mill, located on the peninsula Datça, in the mountains, and only 3 km from a beautiful beach in the Turkish village Mesudiye. The nearest city is Datça city, which is a 20 min drive. Don’t expect to meet many tourists, because you won’t. A holiday in Villa Olivio is a true authentic Turkish experience amongst locals and other Turkish tourists. (speaking English is not a problem) The journey to the villa from Dalaman airport, past Marmaris to Datça, takes about 3 hours but is a beautiful drive through the mountains with spectacular views. If you like you can stop at look out points to take photographs of turquoise blue coves, immense rock formations, and far stretching woods.

On arrival at the villa you instantly feel all stress fall of your shoulders. It is the most peaceful and tranquil place I have ever been to. The local representative Zafer is there to welcome you and answer any questions, he gives tips and frequently stops by to check in if everything is okay.

The veranda, garden and pool

The villa’s crown jewels are the veranda and pool area. Here’s where you will spend most of your time. Breakfast, lunch or dinner are a party when you can eat on this veranda with its breathtaking views on the Aegan sea. The comfortable lounge chairs and the hammock are perfect spots to relax and take in the peace and sounds of nature. The garden is a small sanctuary with olive trees, lime bushes, and herbs. A dip in the pool is the cherry on top of the cake. While splashing and splattering you can enjoy the view, it really feels like paradise. There is also a large stone oven for outside cooking, and a cozy stone bench to sit around the fire, grill marshmellows and share stories.

The panoramic view and morning sounds

Each morning I was woken by roosters, and the morning chanting from the local mosque. It was so soothing and peaceful, I wish I could wake up like that every morning. So I jumped out of bed at the crack of dawn, and opened the doors of the master bedroom to the veranda to enjoy the view. And each day, the view was different. Some days you didn’t see the mountains and Greek islands, other days the sun would cast a golden gleam on the rolling hills, and then there were the days a orange-pink coloured sky would herald a new day. The photo below was taken the day after a 24-hour thunderstorm that flooded parts of Turkey. You can still see the dark clouds drifting away.

Inside the villa

The kitchen has all modern amenities to make your stay as comfortable as possible. There is a dishwasher, electric tea kettle and coffee maker. pots and pans, a stove with an electric oven and a large fridge. The interior is rustic with industrial handmade wooden furniture, concrete, and robust lamps. The owners tried to maintain as many of the original details as possible.

The living

The living is a cozy corner with a very comfortable handmade couch and an old fireplace. There’s a flatscreen TV, but really, who would want to watch TV when you can sit outside on the veranda and watch the panoramic view? Naturally, there is also wireless internet, that reaches as far as the swimming pool. Nice details in the living are the blue boxes that serve as accent tables. These blue boxes are seen everywhere in the area, as they are used for bee-keeping. Honey is one of the major local products alongside olives and almonds.

The ancient olive oil press and grinder

In the corner, behind the couch and next to the kitchen counter you see the ancient olive oil press with two traditional olive oil cans. In the master bedroom there is the ancient olive grinder. How did it work? After harvesting the olives they would put the olives in the grinder. A donkey would walk around to crush the olives, including the seeds, because olive oil comes from the flesh and the seeds. The crushed substance was then put into burlap bags that serve as a sieve and are piled under the press to press out the oil. Watch this short video to see how the grinder moved by a donkey works. Watch this short video to learn more about the ancient olive press.

The rooms

The villa has room for 6 people with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets. All bedrooms have air conditioning. The master bedroom is a large space with direct access to the veranda. While lying in bed you can watch the sun come up, which I did every day. The queen size bed is extremely comfortable as are the pillows. The owners wanted the light from outside to stream in, so decided to just put in a headboard wall as a divider to the bathroom. On the other side of the divider wall is a small wash basin. A large walk-in shower is spruced up with beautiful tiles. If needed there is also a baby/toddler bed in the room.

Opposite the villa are the other 2 bedrooms with twin beds. The bedroom upstairs is a small loft. The bedroom downstairs also has its own shower, toilet and wash basin.