Lest I left you thinking that all there is to do in Kayaköy is mourn sorrowfully at the ruins, let me introduce to you today a lovely little restaurant and wine cellar that provides the perfect setting for a bit of contemplation after visiting the abandoned town.
You can sit outside on the porch and watch the tour buses and dolmuşes go by (not my cup of tea) or you can sit in a covered area on the first floor (second floor for the Americans) and look out over some of the old homes.
It wasn't long, though, before Jeff and I ventured into the restaurant's wine cellar, which holds more than 400 different types of Turkish wine, some made from locally grown grapes, some not.
Though there were wines made from grapes grown in Diyarbakır and Ankara, we always like to choose a wine that's as close to where we are as possible and so we settled on a glass (which, ahem, turned into two) of Sermessos Syrah, made from Fethiye-grown grapes and processed in Denizli (nearly all Turkish wine is processed in Denizli).
The wine was truly lovely. I don't normally go for syrahs, but this one was particularly light and fruity, the result, our waiter informed us, of the fact that the wine is only fermented once, meaning that you can still taste the grape.
As you can see, we quite enjoyed it!
Practical Info: Levissi Garden (tel: 0533 247 59 34, 0252 618 01 08) is located immediately next to the entrance to Kayaköy, right where the dolmuş drops you off. When we were there, a glass of wine ran about 8 TL and a bottle about 45 TL. We also ordered two mezes, which were 9 TL each.
Next: A recipe for strawberry shortcake (and then more Fethiye!) Previously: Louis de Bernières in Kayaköy. Also: A photo journey video through Kayaköy.
