Most of us know
Antalya with its sea, sun, long beaches and uniquely beautiful bays.. However, there are many undiscovered places in the interior of this beautiful Mediterranean city.. Antalya’s İbradı district, this is one of the newly discovered places that we have not heard of much.. Surrounded by steep mountains, centuries-old cedar trees stretching across the mountains, İbradı, a different face of Antalya. İbradı, a district in the east of Antalya, surrounded by the Taurus Mountains from one end to the other, not as popular as its seaside districts.. Ormana Active in Ormana village of İbradı is an initiative that pioneered change in this unknown geography and changed the fate of the village.
The story of Ormana Active is the story of Ormana’ actually the story of. So let’s talk a little bit about the village.. The history of Ormana village dates back to the Roman Empire.. The village of Ormana, the heir of the ancient city of Erimna, came under the rule of Alexander the Great, Iran, Cleopatra and Seljuks, respectively.. Ormana trained important statesmen, judges, district governors, artists, journalists during and after the Ottoman period. What makes Ormana different from being an ordinary village is the Buttoned Houses.. Ormana village is known for its buttoned houses, a unique architectural structure that is common in Akseki and İbradı districts.. These buttoned houses, whose history is 300 years old and of which cedar and andız tree, which we frequently encounter in the region, form the basic skeleton, are built using masonry without the use of mortar. This stone masonry is strengthened with pots and pans.. These vertically placed trees are called “Pistuvan” in the region and “button” among the locals.. These unique structures, called buttoned houses, have survived for centuries using only wood and stone, without the need for mortar or any other reinforcing support.
We are committed to the revival of this awe-inspiring architectural heritage in Ormana village and the region. Ormana Active is the one who pioneered and started the change in the whole region.. Ormana Active is the project of the Özgüven family from Ormana.. The Özgüven family is one of the deep-rooted families of the forest.. They settled in Istanbul many years ago and left Ormana.
But they never left Ormana.. The family, dealing with the iron and steel business in Istanbul, expanded the business over time and reached the power to export abroad.. Sometimes changing conditions push people to make new decisions and we set out without a short while. Here is how the Özgüven family took such a step. decided to do something for. Returning to the village, the Özgüven family bought the dilapidated mansions, which were unusable, and had them restored in accordance with the original.
The buttoned houses were opened for accommodation.. With Ormana Active, local and foreign tourists have started to come to this mountain village, which no one knows.. The mansions opened under the name Ormana Active thus became the beginning of the transformation in the village.
The village of Ormana, where local and foreign visitors come from all over the world and whose name is known by very few, is becoming one of the stops of tourism in Antalya.. European tourists wandering the streets of Ormana village, the village people who started to keep up with the change and have their homes restored, the activity in the village, the artistic events and festivals held in the village… It is almost an indicator of what people can do, who believe in change, are innovative and protect their land.
Ormana Active’s Button Houses
Ormana Active a unique accommodation example consisting of three mansions with button houses and a restaurant. Very different from the hotel concept we know. The architecture of the mansions is the most beautiful examples of the original Buttoned houses of the region.. They all have a story and experience.. Ormana Active mansions, which serve as a boutique hotel, today live under the name of their previous owners before Ormana Active.. This mansion, right in the center of the village, is the first eye of Ormana Active and the Seferoğlu family is the first owners of the mansion.. After restoration, the mansion is put into service and Ormana Active welcomes its first guests.
Seferoğlu mansion is a two-storey button house.. The entrance of the mansion opposite the village coffee house overlooks the courtyard where the tree house is used as the restaurant of Ormana Active today.. When you enter through the door of the mansion, you go upstairs with wooden stairs.. This two-storey button house has two rooms on the upper floor, a shared bathroom, and a covered wooden terrace overlooking the street and the inner courtyard.
The rooms are furnished in accordance with the traditional texture of the village.. Cedars made of cedar wood, cupboards, canvas curtains, embroidered wooden ceilings commonly seen in Ormana and its surroundings… And the scent of cedar you will feel as soon as you enter the mansion…
To Ormana, which we can see in the Black Sea highlands.. The restaurant, which has a very high ceiling, was built using stone and wood.. Inside, for cold days, there is a fireplace that warms the heart as soon as you see it, a stone oven where delicious pitas and pizzas are cooked, and a bar section made of solid wood.. And on the tables inside, there are hundreds of pages of books with plenty of pictures written by different authors describing the Ormana village.. These written sources prove how much the people of Ormana actually protect their village.
Seferoğlu mansion and the common courtyard where the restaurant’s doors open are both incredibly enjoyable for those who want to sit down and have a bite or rest.. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Ormana’s art garden with the centuries-old olive tree that shaded the garden, wooden sculptures made by Turkey’s most valuable artists, and oil paintings lined up along the courtyard.. Ormana Active also hosts art workshops in this garden from time to time.
The other mansion that joined Ormana Active after Seferoğlu Mansion, Doğan Mansion. Doğan Bey mansion, 200 meters from Seferoğlu mansion, is a two-storey button house.. As soon as they enter through its inlaid door, an authentic hall accompanied by the smell of cedar and wide awaits the guests.
Five rooms on both floors of the mansion.. The most beautiful examples of woodworking in the decoration of the rooms, the bakeries that seem to be interspersed on the walls, and the ethnic patterned carpets take people back to the past.. The most characteristic point of button houses. The falconry rooms made using cedar or Andız are the biggest and most beautiful rooms of the mansion.. While I was visiting the buttoned-down houses in Ormana, the most striking thing was the chives, which attracted attention with their aesthetic texture.
The last mansion to join Ormana Active is Aktepe Evi.. Aktepe house is one of the new buttoned houses of Ormana Active.. Aktepe Evi is a two-storey button house.. Aktepe Evi is the newest button house restored and brought to tourism in Ormana.. The Aktepe house, which has ten rooms in total, has a terrace on the top floor that overlooks the lush Ormana mountains.. There are a few more restored button houses on the street where Aktepe House is located.. If you are a photography lover, do not skip this street.
Ormana Active Restaurant
It is impossible not to mention Ormana Active and not to mention breakfast.. Our country is a paradise for breakfast.. Especially those who go abroad will give me the right. Our breakfasts are quite good in terms of both variety and taste.. I have tried delicious breakfasts in many boutique hotels before, but Ormana Active‘s breakfast outshines many places with its variety, quality and taste.. First of all, everything on the breakfast table is organic and Ormana product.
There is no place on the table for any product bought from the market.. Fragrant tomatoes, cucumbers, jams made with fruits grown in the region, grape molasses cracking the palate… I counted 20 varieties for breakfast, all of them Ormana products.. Cheeses made from the milk of cows that drink water from the clean springs of İbradı, spread over the untouched mountains, and snow-white butter I think are enough to explain how special and delicious Ormana’s breakfast is.
Ormana Active’s restaurant is also for lunch and dinner. offers great flavors. Pitas made in a stone oven, casseroles, Ormana baklava are among my favourites.. If you come to Ormana, make sure to have breakfast or stop by for lunch or dinner at Ormana Active’s restaurant.. Altınbeşik cave with Turkey’s largest underground lake, Eynif plain, and the ancient city of Erimna are just a few of the things you can see around.
Alternative tourism focus in Antalya with Ormana Active Ormana village is also known for its grape festival held in October every year.. The interest in the festival, which is quite lively and colorful, is increasing day by day.. Ormana Active organizes different tours to promote Ormana and its surroundings.. To visit the forest and its surroundings, you need to rent a car or join Ormana Active’s tours.
Advanced from the Özgüven family, Aydın Özgüven and his son Tolga Özgüven started this business with great effort and created Ormana Active. brought to this day. Ormana Active has set an example both for the owners of the unusable buttoned houses in the village and for the entire Akseki and İbradı neighborhood.. Ormana, which is now frequented by big tour buses, is one of the favorite locations of alternative tourism in Antalya.
The elder of the Özgüven family, Aydın Bey passed away this year, but behind him is an inspiring and leading change. project left. Today, his son Tolga Özgüven continues to carry this flag with the same enthusiasm and spirit.. Today, Tolga Özgüven is working hard to tell about Ormana and the buttoned houses and to promote these lands.
If you happen to be in Ormana, stop by Ormana Active and tell Ormana’s story from her. listen. In fact, the article written at the entrance of Ormana’s village summarizes all that I have written; Ormana is the village of those who do not forget where they were born.
Where is Ormana Active
How to get to Ormana Active
Ormana Active is located in Ormana village of İbradı district of Antalya. İbradı is located 166 km east of Antalya and 26 km west of Akseki district.. The closest airport to İbradı is Antalya Airport. It is possible to find direct flights from many cities to Antalya Airport, which is 157 km from İbradı.. There is no direct car from the airport to İbradı, but you can go to the Intercity Bus Terminal by metro and get on the İbradı buses from there.. It takes about 3 hours from Antalya Bus Station to İbradı.
Ormana Active
Address: Ormana district Mehmet Gürsoy street Şehit Ziya street No:3 İbradı ANTALYA
Telephone: (+90) 242 692 30 30
E-mail: [email protected]