After making the momentous decision (mum & I) that we no longer wanted to live in the U.K. for various reasons, we wanted to find our dream home abroad. But where? Mum was at retirement age, she also had a few health problems, so we needed to ensure that wherever we were going the health care would be good. We started our journey in Spain, but to no avail, we then looked much further a field and jetted off to Martinique in the Caribbean, that was not to be either. We came back to England feeling very despondent; our dream seemed to be fading into the distance. On a cold wet wintry weekend in October we went to the Overseas Property Exhibition held at Sandown Park. One stall stuck out in particular, it had large blown up photographs of stunning houses, (we actually joked and said, “we’ll have two of these!”) expecting them to be millions. To our side came a man who introduced himself as Charlie Bentley, and he began to tell us about the houses, then he later divulged that these magnificent properties were in Turkey. We had never been to Turkey, and it had never appealed to us, we imagined it to be flat, dirty, unsafe, bustling and noisy. Charlie invited us to have a drink and look at some video footage, he also introduced us to his brother Colin, and Ramazan Oruc one of the Turkish partners. We slowly began to get hooked, just by talking to the three men, they talked about Dalyan, with such passion and enthusiasm, it went far beyond just being a salesman’s patter. We watched the video and were astounded by the sheer beauty of the area, and the magnificence of the properties they had built. We looked at each other, mouth a ghast! and said we want to do it!  We gave a deposit there and then – not that they asked us to. Four days later we flew off to see Dalyan, our first ever trip into Turkey. The partners arranged for us to stay at Beyaz Villas. The next day we headed off into the village to meet the Oruc brothers – Cumali, Ramazan & Ahmet- the Turkish partners. They welcomed us so warmly it felt as if we had known them for years. Cumali took us for a drive around Dalyan, and showed us the plots available. After thirty minutes or so we had found the perfect spot. We were then taken to the architect, and we told him what we were looking for, (a large house, 6 bedrooms, and 6 bathrooms, split into two apartments, so we can let out one and live in the other). He told us to come back at 6pm the following evening and the plans would be ready. True to his word they were, and they were wonderful. We went back to Cumali’s office signed the necessary paperwork, agreed on the terms and conditions then went to the bank and opened our accounts. “Everything is going so well, something has got to go wrong”, my ever positive mother said to me. The rest of that week we did some sightseeing and went on a few tours. We absolutely fell in love with the place; the people are wonderful, kind and friendly. The scenery is magnificent, far better than any place I have ever been to before. The beach is spectacular, the turtles and other wildlife are incredible, there are a plethora of restaurants for you to choose, the food is organically grown and is incredibly tasty, the weather is wonderful, the healthcare is very good, you feel completely safe and most importantly for us…. It felt like a place that we could call our home. . Well that was October and in February we made the permanent move. Our house ‘Turtle Ridge’ is almost complete and looking wonderful, and should be ready by the end of May for the summer letting season. We have never been happier or healthier. We will never be able to thank Charlie enough for introducing us to Turkey, and we will never be able to thank the wonderful Oruc brothers enough, for holding our hands through the potentially stressful process of not only having your own home built, but relocating to another country, where the language and culture is so very different from our own. I can honestly say we have not encountered any problems, the building work is first rate. They provide a full package, offering assistance in any field, i.e. residency permits, insurance, transportation, home maintenance etc. Whenever you need them, whatever you need them for they are always there for you.

Gemma & Delia Keeley – March 2005