Balkanatolia Blog

The best little hotels from Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania

Tudyali Hotel, Gaziantep

Gönderen Balkanatolia Friday, November 20, 2009 yorum (2)

 
Gaziantep with its convenient flight connections and its combination of a modern western town and a highly oriental Bazaar quarter, is the gate to Southeastern Turkey  and the ideal starting point for a South-East tour.

Tudyalı Hotel, consisting of two historical Antep houses from 1850 and 1900 is situated at the almost highest point of the Old Town, just two steps from the former majestic St.Mary's Church (now Kurtuluş Mosque). Everything is well-restored here and has a touch of luxury. Rooms and suites are decorated in a perfectly traditionnal style but at the same time fit all needs of a modern traveler.
Enjoy your breakfast in the atmospheric courtyard or a glass of red wine in the romantic cave bar.

Don't miss to visit famous Gaziantep Museum - there, you will find one of the world's best and biggest mosaic collections from Ancient Zeugma on Euphrates River.

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Bozkurt Hotel, Kemaliye (Egin)

Gönderen Balkanatolia Saturday, October 31, 2009 yorum (0)



   Imagine a breathtaking wild gorge in steep rocky mountains, a deep green river, colourful gardens, forests, cosy stone and wooden houses, waterfalls, fresh mountain air and warmhearted locals... This is Kemaliye, one of Balkanatolia's most exciting places in terms of natural beauty and architecture. The landscape here is a fascinating mixture of Alps and Orient, a true paradise in deep Eastern Anatolia.

After a two hours curvy drive close to Euphrates River and the impressive Keban Dam, historical Kemaliye (former Eğin) will welcome you with her unique old houses and mansions and a rather developped infrastructure, a handful small hotels, pensions and restaurants, a former Armenian church and some nice small mosques.

BOZKURT HOTEL, consisting of two buildings, is our favourite. Rooms here are perfectly clean, modern but also traditional, and most of them have a splendid view on the Euphrates canyon and the steep rocky mountains.

Sezai Bey, one of the owner brothers, is a true Eastern Anatolian - friendly, warmhearted and really caring for his guests. He will be happy to show you this historical place and if you are lucky, he will take you to the old "Lökhane" (mixture of sweet things without artifical sweet! Impossible to describe the taste, really.) or down to the canyon, where locals have constructed the famous impressing "Taş Yolu" with their own hands, a scenic 30 km stone road with plenty of tunnels and "windows" for paragliders.

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Veleka Guesthouse, Sinemorets

Gönderen Balkanatolia Saturday, September 26, 2009 yorum (0)


Sinemorets, one of the last Bulgarian Black-Sea coast villages before the Turkish border, during communist times was a forbidden area and until a few years ago used to be a hidden secret among nature addicted individual visitors. Since then some small touristic development has taken place, but still Sinemorets - with its unspoilt village life and incredibly beautiful natural beaches - is by far the best remote place on the whole coast.

Situated between famous Butamjata beach and endless virgin subtropical forests, Sinemorets attracts not only beach tourists but also nature and culture lovers: Nearby Strandzha Mountains are one of least known regions in Europe and more than worth a visit. You can find there genuine villages with traditional houses and extremely friendly locals.

Cute Veleka Hotel is waiting for with its superb views on the Black Sea and astonishing sunrises.

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Quiet Corner Hotel, Apriltsi

Gönderen Balkanatolia Tuesday, September 22, 2009 yorum (0)


Apriltsi, a small town, settled at the foot of the Middle Balkan mountain, just 30 minutes drive from world famous Trojan Monastery is young at age, small at inhabitants, but with rich history and incredible with its nature and landmarks. The most charming thing in Apriltsi is the combination of nature and mountain.


Family Hotel Quiet Corner welcomes you in a natural scenery for your pleasant and complete all year round recreation and offers you coziness and comfort. All rooms and appartments have their own terrace with one of the best views in whole Bulgaria. There is also a cute outdoor-pool for the warm days of summer, which are not disturbingly hot because of the healthy, oxygene-rich mountain climate.

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Inceyali Pension, Mazikoy, Bodrum

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One of the very few undiscovered escape points close to Bodrum is Mazıköy. Offering a unique beach and sunset view, this place will give you the chance of experiencing the one of your best holidays ever. As Balkanatolia, we have visited this place and we have been truly impressed by the nature of the region.


Inceyali Pension is a family-run hotel. The owners are warm-hearted, friendly and ready to help you in any case. We believe you will enjoy your bungalow and want to have a naporchard. Or you can sit right next to reception point and read your book while watching the sea from time to time when your eyes get tired. The breeze under the shadow of the accessing every single part of your body will make you relax and see how worth it is to be in this place.


There is no noise, nothing disturbing. You can swim in the pension's lovely beach or go and discover nearby beaches. You understand Halicarnassos better when you see here, as he said "They say, you should see Italy before death but I think you should see here to keep on living!"


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Kalemi Hotel, Gjirokaster

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Welcome to the "City of Stone", an exciting town in South Albania, situated among the wild rocky mountains of ancient Epirus. Gjirokaster is remarkable for its great natural beauty, as well as his harmonious intercultural mix of Albanian, Byzantine and Ottoman heritage and tradition, which is obvious on the many historical buildings and sites. Many houses in Gjirokastër have a distinctive local style that has earned the city the nickname "City of Stone", because most of the old houses have roofs covered with stones.

Kalemi Hotel with its superb view on the whole town and high mountains has cute rooms decorated in the local traditional style which is similar to nearby Greek Epirus. You should combine a stay at Kalemi Hotel with a trip to Greek Zagori Villages which have also wonderful traditional accommodations.


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Breakfast in Tatvan

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Let’s say you have arrived in Tatvan in the morning when you visit around Lake Van. You will need to have a good breakfast. What to do then? Here is what I offer. Buy some cheese and olive in a localmarket. Don’t forget to tastebefore buying. If you ask for it, the owner of market will gladly offer you a piece of cheese and olive. If you buy them in a package (prepared in factory), then there is no chance for tasting. After fixing this issue, you can buy honey, butter, jam from a pastry shop (pastane) in town. This won’t cost much at all. In the pastry shops in Tatvan, you can find ready-to-eat boiled eggs. If you like, you can buy one or two eggs depending on how much hungry you are! them


Finally, find a ‘fırın’ to buy bread. Please ask for the freshest ones. I would recommend one bread and two çörek. Don’t forget to buy a newspaper in the meantime! You will need it after!


Your next stop is the coast of Lake Van in Tatvan. You will see very nice cafés there. You can sit out under the trees and start to prepare your breakfast table. That is the time you need newspaper. Well, the newspaper idea may not be hygienic or so on but it is once in a lifetime. So feel free as much as you can! (If you have better options, great!) Lay your newspaper on table and put your stuff on it. If you want to experience a real Turkish breakfast, you must drink tea for sure. It would be pity otherwise. You can order tea by glass or semaver (from which you can serve your own teas and drink as much as 15 glasses, ideal for families, groups or tea-addicted people!).


Afiyet olsun!! Bon appetite!

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