“My Urla” was the first call from our guests in Mitera 1905, also known as my first baby. It was the call of those who wanted to explore and understand Urla through my eyes.
After all the busy years that followed, today, as our second baby, Zoi, opens its doors, fate has allowed me to write these lines.
In "My Urla," you won't find famous fine dining restaurants or well-known art galleries or familiar patisseries, I'm sorry...
I will share with you a heartfelt Urla diary in the place designated for me.
Come to Urla during the Artichoke Season...
For instance, in early April, when the sun caresses the sea in Demircili Village and illuminates the fields in the early morning hours. Go to ‘Direk Market’ in the village and buy your fresh Artichokes with Ümmet, the owner. I'm sure you'll savor the milky bottom parts under a few leaves until you get back to your car, melting them between your lips. Now, return to either Mitera or Zoi for breakfast. The tea is ready, and its steam is rising.
After breakfast, you'll find yourself in the old Arasta Bazaar, a historical part of the town, just a few pleasant steps away from both of our hotels. Let your hand gently touch the windows of linen drapers adorned with floral fabrics and poplins, and feel the soul of the town speaking to you. Doesn't it beautifully convey the spirit of the village?
Wouldn't it be lovely to take a break now with a frothy Turkish coffee in Malgaca?
In early spring, April is cool around here, in the narrow streets. Imagine these alleys, these tiny stone houses—what secrets do they hide behind those windows with torn lace curtains? The town is changing, undergoing transformation, but the local people inside are resisting, carefully tending to their geraniums in tin cans and washing their front yards in the evening.
How about tasting Serap Hanım's walnut-filled Kalburabasma from Konal Bakery?
Now, your room in our hotel is cool, and you can rest a little.
You must have dozens of questions in mind about the sunset. I know.
The Wine Route, Fish Restaurants in the Marina, Fine Dining Restaurants, Museums, Art Street, 3rd Generation Coffee Houses... Yes, they all exist in this evolving, changing geography.
But together, we must slow down...
Together, we must protect the long given...
If you wish, let's enter the kitchen together. While I tell you what I know delightfully, take some notes in the notepad in your room, take a sip from your wine, and let time flow gently on the stone walls.
Let's read about Urla, which has hosted so many writers and thinkers, together in the kitchen overlooking the orange tree with its yellow lace curtains.
Or let's prepare a ‘Picnic Basket’ and spread the yellow and white checkered cloth we bought from the linen draper in Arasta. Let's add a jar of Artichoke Pate, aged cheese, and a Francola from Cumhuriyet Bakery.
Spend the day at Çitlembik Cafe overlooking Demirci Bay or at Güvendik Hill in Çeşmealtı... no, no, if you prefer, immerse yourself in our courtyard where the stones have just been cooled, and the blue jasmine has been soaked in the evening water.
Or come in November.
Let's fill your old crystal vase with daffodils. Light the fireplace. Let the Apple Tart just out of the oven fill your room with the scent of cinnamon as it climbs the stairs towards you. Let's spread snow white linens on your bed. And I'll add a book at the foot of your bed...
I hope your spirits won't feel cold and "My Urla" will warmly embrace your hearts...
Mehtap Süner Susuzlu