| Ilyastepe Cottages: Garden of Paradise The cottages are in a large garden that is unforgettably beautiful. This is immediately behind the Inn, so that it overlooks a hidden valley behind Sirince's hill. The view is reminiscent of some fantastic Tuscan landscape in the background of a Leonardo da Vinci painting.  We built the cottages in a fit of inspired frenzy in 2005-2006; some "experts" will now swear they are more than a hundred years old. We used only natural stuff - stone, earth and ancient timber. We kept doorways low so people would enter their house with humbleness. We installed wood-burning water heaters, which are fun to light and give out a wonderful glowing heat. We tried to achieve total comfort - physical as well as spiritual - without using any modern gadgetry. Six cottages cluster near a common kitchen and breakfast terrace. One can drive to them in an emergency, but we encourage guests to walk the 200-metre path from the parking area so that there is never a motor rumble to spoil the peace. (Two resident peacocks supply all the noise you need.)
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Produce
A part of the 2-hectare property is planted with lavender. We toyed with the idea of extracting lavender oil, but gave up after a few expensive attempts. We have some 80 elderly fig trees, plenty of olives, some walnuts, three huge chestnuts, a few rows of cherries, some mulberries and apricots, peaches, medlars, jujubes, cornels and other fruits whose English names are too obscure to remember, apples, quinces, pears, tangerines, almonds of several varieties, pistachios, raspberries and blackberries, and a vineyard of about 1000 stocks. There's always something to pick on the branches except maybe in February and March. You are welcome to roam the grounds and eat your fill of whatever happens to be ripening just then. Prophet
Ilyastepe means Mount Elijah. It is the name of the hill, which probably derives from the ruined Greek chapel on top dedicated to the Prophet Elijah. |
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