Ildır is a small Aegean town that has hosted many movies and TV series.. Ildır’s calm and peaceful environment, magnificent sunsets, Gerence Bay is really worth seeing.. I had never been to Ildır before and could not have imagined that it could be so serene and beautiful.. I didn’t know that I would meet so many beautiful people before I went there.. I was one person when I first went, but then we got more and more.
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My Second Ali Abi Story
I had a plan to spend the Ramadan Feast in a quiet corner away from the crowds.. Since I have been on the road for a long time, we missed so much with my friends that they got up and came to me.. We are planning to camp in Gerence Bay for a few days vacation. There is a dirt road going down to Gerence Bay from inside the site behind Günkent Site.. Two cars are driving back and forth.
I see a hut at the end of the road.. I get out of the car and greet the man who loves his dog and say, “Wherever we pitch our tent, we won’t disturb you?” The man says; “Come, set it up in front of the house” When I say “No more, what else?” the man says, “Come stay at my house.. I will go to Izmir to see my daughters and grandchildren for two days”. I say “okay” but we just met a minute ago. Even I wondered how it could happen so fast.
Then it flows even faster.. He gives me a tour of his house. It tells about some things like 12 volt electrical appliances, solar energy, which I know from life on the boat.. He shows the tomatoes and peppers he picked from the branch and says “eat”. He opens the cabinets and shows the drinks he made himself and says “drink”. I say “we take care of the dog”. In the following days, when she couldn’t remember the dog’s name, Rose constantly called the big dog “Minnoş” and killed us with laughter.. The dog’s name is Bozki. All this happens in 5 minutes until Metehan parks the car and arrives.. When Metehan says “where should we set up the tents”, I hold out the key and say “our house”. we will stay here. “How so” she says. “That’s it,” I say.
- Ildır Gerence Bay is suitable for caravan camps that do not seek facilities. The road at the entrance is bad. It should be well looked after.. Not every vehicle can pass
Brothers of Gerence Bay
Alone in this bay There are a few men who live by themselves. This big hearted man who opened his house to us, brother Ali, brother Bülent who built a bus in the back of his house, Fevzi who lives on the island and Yusuf who lives in the next bay.. Why they chose such a life, what happened is a mystery.. Ali brother is very happy, he is a man who smiles when he smiles. It didn’t seem like something had happened to me and I was in seclusion here.. All of their houses are on wheels because the municipality does not allow fixed houses.. It is settled in such a way that it is not possible to go anywhere in these huts.
Ali brother tells us to go to the next bay.. more beautiful sea. When we follow the sea from the point where Ali brother’s hut is located, we reach the bay with a 10-minute walk.. My friends have been driving all night and they’re tired. Rose can’t swim. As the first person to learn to swim in three minutes, we can write his name in gold letters in history.
About Ali comes out at noon.. “You didn’t come to lunch,” she says.. We are so longing for such people in city life.. we are surprised. After a little chat with us, he says goodbye. We stay at sea until the evening. So beautiful. When we came to our cabin in the evening, Ali brother was already gone.. We take the key from where it shows and settle in the house. He cleaned it and left it for us.
Erythrai Ancient City
We planned to do the evening sunset at Erythrai Ancient City, which is above the village of Ildır.. Gerence Bay 3.5 km from Ildır village. We climb up by following the signs in the village.. Erythrai Ancient City no charge. no door. We leave the car outside and pass through the artichoke fields and reach the ancient theater first.
It has been so neglected that weeds have spread all over it.. Climbing the half-ruined stairs we try to reach the hills. Nobody cares about this place.. She looks like she’s been left to her fate. It hurts inside. Ildırı Village is home to Erythrai Ancient City.. Erythrai is the oldest settlement of the Karaburun Peninsula. One of the most important of the 12 Ionian cities established in history. Erythros, son of Rhadamanthes of Crete, the first founder of the city of Erythrai. It is thought that the name of the city derives from Erythros, which means “red” in Greek, and Erythrai is used in the sense of Red City due to its red soil.. Erythrai was dominated by the Kingdom of Athens, Ions, Lydians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Pergamon Kingdom, Rome, Byzantium and Ottomans, respectively.. Regardless of the period, it does not lose its commercial importance in the Aegean Sea.
We witness a magnificent sunset when we climb to the top of the hill.. The sea, the islands in it, the setting sun… Countless photo frames come out. We watch Ildır from the other side of the hill. They planted a huge flag right on the hill.. It creates such a beautiful landscape.
Ali’s brother is a carpenter.. He made such a beautiful kitchen.. The cabin is tiny and functional like Ikea houses.. At six in the morning there is such a rain mixed with hail that the thundering sky makes the ground tremble.. Flashes of lightning scare us. If Ali brother had not given us his cabin, we would have been miserable in this rain.. We sat in this little cottage for a few days and watched the magnificent sunsets.. We have prepared wonderful tables. We swam to the island. We got a bay of our own. We always laughed but always. we are very happy here. The important thing was not the buildings we lived in, but the big hearts we lived in.
Seal Bay
We spend the next two days touring the surroundings.. Nearby are Çeşme and Alaçatı. On the other hand, Mordoğan, Karaburun. They say Sealfish sheep today on Mordogan side. It’s where bear fish spawn.. There are caves. They put a beach on the road leading there.. You can’t go without paying 40 lira.. There is also a small public beach behind it.. From there, we enter the water and swim through the nose and go to the caves.
The weather was beautiful from the beginning, but suddenly the weather turns black and cold.. In a short time, a rain like a flood begins. Jumping into the water from the top of those deep blue Seal caves is a dream come true. Worse still, Rose has just learned to swim and there is no way back from land.. Metehan in one hand and I in the other, we go ashore by swimming.. When we reach our belongings, it is flooding everywhere and it is very cold.. People took shelter in cafes, the people in the cafe are not letting anyone go.. He is trying to collect accounts.
When we got rid of such a chaos and hit the road, we were amazed to see that there was not a drop of rain on the road.. I plan to go back another day to go back to Seal Cove to photograph and write. Ali brother came on our last day. I say, “Ali, where should we set up the tents?”. He says, “What tent, just sit down”. When he says “Then where shall we set up your tent”, a laugh breaks out.
People of Ildır Village
Last evening with fish we are setting up a table. Ali brother does not let us put our hands in our pockets as he opened his house to us.. He’s angry. We laugh and have fun until we have tears in our eyes. We laughed and had so much fun in these three days.. I’m sending my friends away the next day. When I stay for another day and leave Ildır, I stop in the village of Ildır for breakfast in the morning.
There is a pastry shop in the tiny square where the minibuses take off.. I walk in and look at the brioche buns. The man at the pastry shop says “Where are you from“. Her face crumples when she finds out that I am from Istanbul.. He also moved here from Istanbul.. When he says “I’m in love with Istanbul“, he can’t believe it and says, “I can’t always find people to talk to here.. Please sit down. For the first time, someone said I love Istanbul.”
At that time, someone who missed the minibus enters.. “Do you know” I ask. Upon the yes answer I got, I said, “If you wait, I can take you to Alaçatı.. I’m going that way already” I say. Even though we can’t sit down and talk to my brother Börekçi because of his intensity, he doesn’t get paid for anything he brings me.. He gives me necklaces on top of it.. With a tiny bunch of flowers he collected in his last hand, he prays and wishes me so beautifully that I get goosebumps and tears in my eyes.. After getting in the car, I see a glass of water in his hand.. When he sees me looking, he says “I’ll spill it behind your back”. Never in my life have I shed water behind me. I’ve never felt so much love. I don’t remember the name of the pastry shop, nor the name of the man.. I wrote down my contact information on a piece of paper and left it.. Maybe if he calls me one day, we can talk again.
Ildır Village
We are visiting the village first with my passenger I picked up from Ildır.. The latest Fatmagul’s Crime Ne series was shot here. He mentions that the school in Ildır has nice places to camp there.. Takes me to the hills. taking my photos. We watch the sea from the hills. there is an island. Its name is Zeki Müren Island.. Zeki Müren wanted to buy that island at the time, but the state did not sell it.. Its name has remained the same.
We are chatting with my travel friend Şeref, whom I took from Ildır along the way.. Şeref, originally from Erzurum, came to İzmir for a friend’s wedding years ago and liked it very much.. He was a physics teacher. He was appointed to Alaçatı. The giants gave him lodging in Ildır.. He brought his mother and father too.. Now his father is in his hometown.
I don’t know how many times he said, “I have a mother at home, we would like to host you”.. While I was leaving my passenger in Alaçatı and continuing on my way, I think in these few days how many good people I met with giant hearts, sharing what they have with others, and smiling when they laugh.. Good people live in Ildır.. The sea and the weather are beautiful. Their houses and village are magnificent. I know that I will not be able to stop before I come to Ildır again.