• Sumi Hollingworth
Dec 2017 – Aug 2025

Meandering East

Our family of three travelled in our off-grid camper, slowly making our way East, literally and metaphorically. Currently static in Al Andalus. For now. Taking in the history and learning a bit about natural farming. Read more
  • Sultaniye and Köyceğiz

    August 14, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After we returned from England the bus wouldn't start and we spent the day in a hot airport car park waiting for mechanics, then the evening at the Sanayi in Ortaca while mechanics spent all evening fixing it. We finally got going and headed to a remote campsite Cemil'in Yeri Akdeniz Camping on a beautiful lake called Köyceğiz which led into the Dalyan delta. We drove through the busy, sunny town on market day, it had a nice feel about it, and skirted round the mountainous roads of the swampy lake until we arrived at the campsite, accidentally just before the rush of people arrived for the Bayram holiday. The lake was full of fish large and small, frogs and snakes. There were lots of kids and a canoe and H had days of fun jumping off the jetty and paddling in the canoe.Read more

  • Datça: Mesudiye

    August 15, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Our Datça trip didn't really work out as we hoped because we totally underestimated how long the Datça peninsula is, and we didn't leave enough time. unfortunately it was also Kurban Bayram and everyone was on holiday and most campsites were full. We were expecting a quiet, sleepy, hippy place but Datça town was just like any other modern Southern Turkish town with all the main shops. The landscape was rocky and arrid and went on for miles. Mesudiye was a lovely looking holiday village in a valley with lots of pansyions on the beach. The closest thing we found to hippy. But there was nowhere with space for us and we had to do an Austin Powers style 3 point turn at a deadend street that stressed us all out. We finally found space at Akçabük Kamping which has great potential: a huge pine shaded site with interesting rocky cove, big beach restaurant, no electricity and crap shower block. We stayed for one night, went for a dip, H ate another all of another kids peanuts on the beach and we drove all the way back.Read more

  • Akyaka

    August 16, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Really picturesque town situated on the banks of a beautiful clear, fast flowing river full of large and small fish, and at the foot of a huge mountain range. 6TL per person boat trips ran up and down the river, Turks bathed in the freezing waters, tourists littered the fish restaurants along the waterfront and kids played in the shallow water of the sea beach. We stayed in an air bnb at the very top of the hill and relaxed for a few days. The unusual thing about the town was the uniformity of the beautiful old Ottoman style buildings with wooden veranda with ornate carved wooden ceilings. This kind of building conservation and restoration we have not seen anywhere in Turkey really, so it was quite a pleasant surprise. The town was overrun with tourists with every other building being a pansyion or hotel, and we were told that there was such demand for holiday let's and such money to be made that many residents let out their home for the summer months and were living on the local municipal campsite.Read more

  • Bodrum and Boğazicı

    August 20, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ 0 °C

    H's cousin was visiting Dede in Boğaziçi between Bodrum and Milas. They have a villa in a lovely quiet community of mostly Turkish retiree holiday homes, with balconies with sea view, pretty gardens, hilly walks and a private seaside with jetty and calm waters where everyone swims and grandchildren play in the shallow waters. We spent some quiet days here with the family and also took the kids on a camping trip in the campervan where we we camped at Volo Camp, swam in the pool, had breakfast and dinner provided for only 70TL Pp. (Amazing! Like a proper old school Turkish Pansyion). We visited Gümüşlük and climbed the Island with Ruins of ancient Mindos; we spent a whole day on the water slides at Bodrum aqua park; and we went shopping at the mall in Ortakent.Read more

  • Bodrum and Boğazicı

    August 21, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    H's cousin was visiting Dede in Boğaziçi between Bodrum and Milas. They have a villa in a lovely quiet community of mostly Turkish retiree holiday homes, with balconies with sea view, pretty gardens, hilly walks and a private seaside with jetty and calm waters where everyone swims and grandchildren play in the shallow waters. We spent some quiet days here with the family and also took the kids on a camping trip in the campervan where we we camped at Volo Camp, swam in the pool, had breakfast and dinner provided for only 70TL Pp. (Amazing! Like a proper old school Turkish Pansyion). We visited Gümüşlük and climbed the Island with Ruins of ancient Mindos; we spent a whole day on the water slides at Bodrum aqua park; and we went shopping at the mall in Ortakent.Read more

  • Misi Koyu

    September 18, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Gümüştepe or Misi Village is a quiet traditional village on the outskirts of Bursa with lots of restored (and tumble down) Ottoman style houses and an arty feel. There was a photography trail while we were there. We stayed in a wonderful 200 year old cob house called Organic Ev which had once been a cafe and art centre. The house was simple but had a lovely cosy feel to it and beautiful walnut tree in the garden and the village was amazing. It was just like you imagine a traditional Turkish village to be: a small mosque in the centre of the village with lovely melodic azan, women making pickles in the street with cauldrons, communal log piles on every street corner, an old lady next door who walked her goats through the village and up the mountain every day, and tea garden on the river. It was almost too good: it could have been the Truman Show.Read more