Questions rushed through my mind as I was on route to the Mehmet Ali Ağa Mansion, a place that had been recommended to me. The road to Datça offered a breathtaking view, true enough, but the road itself was winding and sometimes even tortuous. I asked myself if this journey was worth the effort. What if I had traversed this road and then ended up not liking the accommodations? After all, I had never been a fan of old mansions and am usually taken aback by their creaking furniture, narrow rooms, and windows that never seem to do let in sufficient light. Finally reaching the Mehmet Ali Mansion in the Reşadiye neighbourhood of Datça, I entered the grounds of a mansion shaded by an ancient sycamore. Once in, I stood still in awe. It was as if I had suddenly found myself transported to paradise: Before my eyes was a virtual bouquet of multi-colored bougainvillea and lush flowers, stately trees, and chirping birds flying from one branch to the other. I am not exaggerating when I say that this was the largest, most beautiful garden I had ever set eyes upon. The mansion itself stood majestically right at the center of the garden. It had been so well restored that one could be forgiven the impression that it had just been plucked from its original past and transported to this century. The guest rooms all reflect this same kind of harmonious blending of past and the future. Each room is furnished with every amenity imaginable. Once ensconced in my room I realized that I was loathe to even leave the mansion and its grounds. I cooled off in the fountain, napped in the hammock-- my book in hand -- and feasted on absolutely delicious food. The mansion had immediately become my favorite holiday refuge.

The Kocaev is the most beautiful and most unique hotel I have ever visited. Its staff members were - one and all - extremely courteous. Every moment I spent there afforded me a new and enjoyable experience.

It was as if I was living in a fairy tale. The mansion, the garden, its enchanted atmosphere, its delicious food and then... The best surprise in my life... That night was the most unforgettable night of my life. The moment I was proposed to was the moment when I truly felt like a princess in a fairy tale. Sometimes I tease my husband asking him whether it was actually the enchantments of that magnificent mansion that led him to propose. On a more serious tone, I think that I am one of God’s most fortunate children... Being proposed to by my loved one in the midst of such beauty made that day even more unforgettable. And now, we shall once more go there this summer to celebrate the anniversary of our wedding….

The Mehmet Ali Ağa Mansion in Datça easily ranks as one of the most beautiful and best restored mansions of Turkey.

Each year we invite friends to join us on our yacht as we cruise in the turquoise waters of the Aegean. A couple of years ago, while were sailing from Hisarönü towards Datça, we decided to dine at the Elaki Restaurant located in the garden of the Mehmet Ali Ağa Mansion in the Reşadiye neighborhood, for it had been highly praised by some of our Datça-loving friends. The choice was a good one for we were ecstatically pleased by this restaurant, the praises of which had been sung to us so often. The delicious food, enjoyable music, and the unique atmosphere of the mansion itself offered up an apt excuse from leaving, so that night we topped off our enjoyment by staying at the mansion rather than returning to our yacht.

The year 2007 ranks as one of the almost twenty years of my life that I have spent in Canada. The return home to Turkey after a long absence gives rise to two opposite feelings. On the one hand there is the joy of having assuaged the years of longing for the innate beauties of this land, while on the other hand there is the disappointment arising from the fact that - in the years since leaving -- not only have many of Turkey’s beautiful aspects not been enhanced, but - quite the opposite - most have been damaged in one way or another. Fortunately, Kocaev is an exception to what we have witnessed elsewhere. By preserving its gifts of nature, and by adding respect for its history, a concern for aesthetics and quality service, this place has been transformed into a silent and peaceful wonderland, one whose quality has been crowned with recognition by none other than Relais & Chateaux. If only I could always - each and every day -- awaken in this history-rich site, a place that has been exquisitely restored with the assistance of specialists of the history of this region; if only I could spend all my days strolling through the almond orchard, or sit in a quiet and protected spot in its gardens cracking and munching on those almonds and exchanging knowing glances with its other guests as we all breathe in deeply to fully enjoy the elixir of the Mediterranean air.