Help us around our garden and experience traditional Turkish village life in Ula, Turkey

Details

• 

  Description

  We are Julie and Vedat, a couple in our early 60s. We live in a small village in beautiful Mugla province, south-west Turkey, only 7 km from the turquiose sea at Akyaka. Our house is set in a 4500 m2 organic garden where we have many trees - fruit, olives, walnuts, and we share our place with a dog and two cats. Vedat is a professional outdoor guide and we both enjoy outdoor activites such as hiking, cycling and kayaking. Autumn here is beautiful with pleasantly warm weather well into November and if you are a couple or two friends (or a single, independent-minded person) who enjoy animals and spending time outdoors we would love to host you.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  General Maintenance
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are located in an amazing corner of the country, with a beautiful coast and pine-forested mountains - there is loads to see and do especially if you enjoy outdoor activities. We have bicylces available for you to explore on your own, and we would love to show you around, taking you hiking or cycling.
  
  Although Mugla is a touristic region, our village is still pretty rural, so its a good chance for you to experience traditional Turkish village life. In the village there are two small shops for basic groceries, two traditional cafes, and a traditional-style 'kofte' restaurant. Once a week there is an excellent street market in the next village, Gökova (2 km), where we do most of our food shopping. There are also two small supermarkets in Gökova.
  
  We would be happy to teach you a little Turkish and practice with you.

• 

  Help

  We would welcome help with the garden, where there are always jobs to be done, especially in spring when everything grows very quickly, and autumn when there is a lot of clearing up to be done. Garden jobs would be mainly maintenance such as grass-cutting, weeding, tree-pruning, watering. If you are handy at DIY, there are often various external maintenance jobs to be done such as painting and repairs. If you are comfortable with dogs, help with dog-walking from time to time would be great.

• 

  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Turkish: Fluent

• 

  Accommodation

  We offer a small self-contained flat, with its own kitchen, bathroom and washing machine. Depending on the number of hours you prefer to volunteer, you can arrange your own food, or we can provide meals for you.
  There is no wifi in the flat, but it's available in the main house - you can access it from the terrace outside, or in the living room. There is a good mobile signal in the whole property.

• 

  What else ...

  Swimming - There is a sandy beach at Akyaka, and many small coves for swimming along the coast road that runs west from Akyaka.
  Hiking - There are many forest walks directly on our doorstep, and the long-distance Carian Trail passes not far away.
  Cycling - there are plenty of quiet village roads around us that are perfect for exploring the surrounding countryside by bike.
  There is a popular kitesurfing spot at Akyaka, and the town itself is very pretty and lively with plenty of bars and restaurants. The larger resort of Marmaris is about 30 minutes away by bus, as is the provincial capital city of Mugla, where there are museums and many historic houses.
  There is a popular kitesurfing spot at Akyaka, and the town itself is very pretty and lively with plenty of bars and restaurants. The larger resort of Marmaris is about 30 minutes away by bus, as is the provincial capital city of Mugla, where there are museums and many historic houses. There is a bus stop on the main road just 10 minutes walk from our house.
  Many other interesting places a little further away are easily reachable by public bus, such as Dalyan, Koycegiz, Fethiye and Bodrum, and for those interested in history, the whole province is scattered with impressive ancient ruins
  There is a bus stop on the main road just 10 minutes walk from our house - from here you can get to Marmaris, Mugla, Fethiye, with connections further afield. The airport shuttle bus (Dalaman airport - 1 hour away) also passes here.
  Many other interesting places a little further away are easily reachable by public bus, such as Dalyan, Koycegiz, Fethiye and Bodrum, and for those interested in history, the whole province is scattered with impressive ancient ruins

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

• 

  Hours expected

  3-5 hours a day, 5 days a week