Everything began in 2014, starting around the painful word "Restoration," as I ran my hands on the century-old stone walls.
Between 2014 and the end of 2017, the first restoration was completed, and our first project, Mitera 1905, took its first steps towards becoming a brand.
I had become both an entrepreneur and someone who knew about stone, iron, ceramics, craftsman, and apprentices. I had received my first diploma in these related fields.
I don't remember how I managed to forget all that exhaustion already by the year of 2018. Because then, Zoi Urla, which you are exploring on this very page, was with us in need of resurrection, that time in the Turkish Neighborhood of central Urla.
Sleeves would be rolled up again, and a new story written in the heart would set off. My eldest daughter, Ayşıl, had a dream, an intuition... It was the time right before the Covid pandemic... The transformation had begun. What could be more important than health?
That was the task at hand.
I was going to write a story, but it had to be written under the ancient light of mythology. I read and read, until I was short of breath, I read it once again. The healing power of water, the therapeutic force of music, the contribution of good food to health, all had to be hidden within the walls of this stone house. Peace, health, and goodness should be contagious behind that door. Light should always seep through that door, with lemons and olives in its garden, the scent of spring in its rooms, and smiles in the dreams of our guests.
That's how everything began.
This beautiful Urla house had presented us with our dream Lemon Tree. Everything would be designed according to its roots, and we would have eyes only for it throughout the lengthy restoration process.
Our companions @distudiomimarlık was not only protecting our lemon tree like a baby but also reviving this historic building, with absolute respect for its past.
We painted our building yellow, the color of life and the source of light, the Sun.
Our journey to preserve and revive these stone houses, which constitute Urla's historical identity and cultural heritage without alteration, reached its pinnacle in 2023 with our second establishment, ZOI.
MİTERA 1905 in the Greek Neighborhood
ZOI Urla in the Turkish Neighborhood
We invite you, our beloved guests, to take a long, deep breath and experience a different journey embodied within these two real stories we have written with our dreams and extensive research.
We invite you to experience these once abandoned old streets, the magnificent harmony of old and new, the transformation and health.