On Sunday, we took you on a journey from the maze of hotels in Ölü Deniz, and up along the remote, mountain road that leads to Faralya (Uzunyurt) and eventually to Kabak. We stopped a few times en route to take in the amazing scenery and to try to capture it on camera. Some of the photos are in that post.
We were heading towards the Olive Garden Camp, Restaurant & Bar. We'd heard so much about it and it was to be our first visit. Well, we can safely say, it won't be our last visit. We were here for hours!
Bungalows at the Olive Garden
Kabak is a remote mountain village that happens to sit on the side of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, and so far (fingers crossed this continues), looks after its overnight visitors in various 'camps'. It's chilled, relaxed and the higher camps, such as the Olive Garden, benefit from the slightly cooler air. 
Interior of the bungalows
Fatih, the owner, showed us inside one of his bungalows. For 150 TL per night, you get a double bed, mosquito net, bathroom, fan...and breakfast and evening meal with an amazing view. The chefs here are good at what they do - but that's another post. We've got too many photos to be going on with for now.
Chill out areas with a view of Kabak
The Olive Garden is a business that is being built up slowly and sympathetically. 'Responsible tourism' is the phrase that comes to mind. The wooden bungalows blend in with their surroundings as do the shaded köşks and the not-so-shaded sunbathing areas. We didn't bother with any sunbathing, though. We were here for the food and the views - and we wanted to see if Kabak had changed at all since our last visit.
Plunge pool with a view
But before the food, we enjoyed a few drinks and a swim in the pool. The plunge pool is a new addition for this year and the water is refreshingly cool on such a hot day. For now, we can only imagine how welcome it would be after a day's trekking.
Bungalow, garden and mountains
There's already a patch of garden by the pool, growing what appears to be corn, but for next year, the plan is to extend the garden so they can grow more of their own fruit and vegetables for the kitchen (they already grow a lot of their own produce). It's a long way to the market from here! 
View of Kabak Bay from the Olive Garden
We chose to admire the view of Kabak Bay from the terraces of the Olive Garden - beaches always look better from above. There's a path from here for those who want to hike down, but we were in no mood for hiking back up in the heat. We saw the state of the guests arriving back from their 'stroll.' Not today, thank you. But we are in Lycian Way territory here. We've hiked the first stretch as far as Butterfly Valley in the past but would love to return to this area to tackle some of the trails around Kabak and beyond. The Olive Garden and other camps in Kabak make a perfect base for hikers.
Olive Garden Restaurant
After a day of complete relaxation, it was time to decide what we were going to eat before we left this haven for the metropolis of Fethiye. (That's what Fethiye now felt like after a few hours up here in the mountains.) We were keen to leave before sunset as the road back to Ölü Deniz doesn't seem so inviting at night time. We sat on the edge of the terrace, overlooking the sea and Kabak bay, below, and wishing we were staying overnight. Could the food surpass the views? We'll tell you next time about the food we ate at Olive Garden Restaurant in Kabak...Fancy Staying Overnight At Olive Garden Camp?
13 comments:
This has been on our to do list for ever Julia. Now it's a MUST do. It looks fantastic and so worth a visit.
I'll look forward to the food review now:)
Anne x
@ Craftyanny: Same here. Glad we finally decided to go up to Kabak again - it's beautiful - and the Olive Garden was definitely worth the wait. The food was great! :)
what a beautiful place! can't wait to hear about the food!
What an absolutely gorgeous retreat. The setting alone is wondrous, and I would love to hear more about the food. I'm so glad they're adding bigger gardens soon. :-)
@ Jaz: Well, the food at the Olive Garden was just yummy. :)
@ Rambling Tart: Beautiful isn't it? The food was fabulous and although they already grow a lot of their own fruit and vegetables, we were happy to hear about the extra garden areas too. We think it's for a veggie patch.
. . this is a must for when the weather favours walking and wildlife spotting again. Really nice, and for me, useful post.
@ Alan: Glad you liked it. Yeah, I think if we head back to Kabak and here, it'll be for a bit of trekking in the autumn. Maybe late September / early October. We did see an eagle while we were up there. :)
Thanks for taking me back on holiday, especially on this grey day here in the uk. The Olive Garden is stunning, the food good and a million miles away from Olu Deniz and Hisaronu. To anyone thinking about going, just do it.its easy on the dolmus from OD.
@ MBS01: You're welcome. Sorry it's still grey in the UK. Easy on the dolmuş? Can imagine the journey getting a bit hairy. ;) We'll probably be taking the dolmuş next time we go there. The car was a treat.
Looks like an amazing place to eat!
@ Brock: Well, we can think of a few worse places to eat than the Olive Garden. :)
I have to say when I first saw this post pop up I was like, Olive Garden, really? in Turkey? Referring to the tacky Italian restaurant chain that's all over the U.S. LOL.
However, THIS Olive Garden looks really lovely and I can see why you could spend several hours here relaxing in the sun and countryside. :-)
@ Joy: Ha ha, I didn't even know there was a chain called Olive Garden. Yes, the one at Kabak is certainly a bit different to restaurants of the chain variety. :)
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