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 an Overseas Property Exhibition held in London. 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. The salesman, introduced himself and began to tell us about the houses, later divulging that these magnificent properties were in a small fishing village in Dalyan,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. The salesman was keen to show us some video footage of the area before dismissing Turkey altogether, we reluctantly agreed. We slowly began to get hooked, the video footage of the area was breathtaking, and the sales team 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 staff welcomed us so warmly it felt as if we had known them for years. We were shown around Dalyan, and the various plots that were 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 the sales 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 2004 and in February 2005 we made the permanent move. Our house ‘Turtle Ridge’ was completed at the end of May 2005, and is magnificent. Our hands were held through what could have been a 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, we have made many wonderful friends, our lives are fulfilled, Dalyan is a magical place that embraces everyone who visits.
Gemma & Delia Keeley
