Gokkaya
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Gokkaya

A beautiful and mysterious landscape full of tradition
Village Home Stay - A real experience

The small village of Gokkaya is located in the area of Manisa, the grape growing region of Turkey. The area is approx. 120 kilometers east of Izmir and your home stay can be included in a visit to Gallipoli or further afield to Ephesus and the Mediterranean. The village produces mainly table grapes as well as fruits such as figs, pears, peaches and plums. There are many olive plantations also. Dependent on the time of your visit you will take part in village activities as they occur. Our home stays are unique and give guests the opportunity to meet Turkish people and see a real operational village. Staying in our village give our guests the opportunity to see true life and interact with real families. Turkish culture is very family orientated and you will meet mothers, grandmothers, children and learn about their day to day lives.

What to See

During your stay we visit the grape fields by tractor, and take the chance to pick grapes or whichever fruit is in season. We stop for cay and chat to the locals or visit our hosts homes to meet their families. Whatever is going on in the village you will participate in be it a wedding celebration or sometimes a surprise that has arisen purely by chance. Located near our village is the beautiful ruins of Sardis, one time capital of the Lydian Kingdom. The first coins, an alloy of gold and silver, were minted here by King Alyattes. Sardis contains an ancient synagogue, and also one of the 7 Churches of Asia Minor. It is rarely visited and a side trip to this wonderful ancient site is included during your stay. In the distance you will see tumuli of the tombs of the ancient Lydian Kings on the horizon. If you are coming or going to the village via Ephesus we include a visit to the old stone town of Bilgi, located near Odemis. We visit the unique Seljuk Aydinoglu Mosque and Cakiraga Mansion an Ottoman Mansion from the 17th Century, and the lovely cemetery of Imam Bivgli a renowned scholar from the 13th Century.

What to Buy

During your visit we include a trip to the local market where you can buy local food such as fruit and vegetables, handicrafts and other various odds and ends. There is nothing like the buzz of a local market and each village has its market day with local specialties. Local honey is delicious with varieties of flower, chestnut and pine. During your visit to Bilgi there are beautiful handicrafts on sale. As part of our village tour you are given a pair of Shalwar pants and a headscarf, so you truly become a village women for a day or two.

What to Eat

While you are on our home stay you have the chance to cook with our hostess Serhar Demir and her family. All the ingredients in the food are prepared by Serhar from scratch such as tomato paste, yoghurt, jams, butter and the vine leaves, which come from the local vines.   Her bread is baked at home on a wood fire and everything is made with love and pride.   Weather permitting we have dinner in a local grape field and cook the specialty of the area, Tenekede Tavuk, which is chicken cooked on a skewer covered by a pot in the open – delicious!

Turkey Travel Guide Tours

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