Ormana Button Houses Tour

After breakfast, we set out for the Eynif Plain, which is about half an hour away.

The Eynif Plain is a natural wonder covering 90,000 acres. This region has hosted historic roads and caravanserais at the same time. One of our visiting points, Tol Han, is located here. After Tol Han, we move on to the second part of the plain, which belongs to the animals and is more untouched, to photograph the wild horses. Numbering around 800 in total, the horses form small family groups and large herds, sharing the plain with villagers' cattle and sheep. We continue through the Eynif Plain up to the Soğukpınar area. After resting for a while at the spring, we head to Cevizli Village.

Cevizli holds the distinction of being the first village with a development plan drawn up at Atatürk's instruction. We stroll among the regular horizontal and vertical streets lined with button houses. Finally, we visit Değirmenlik Village, one of the sources that feed Manavgat, watch the sunset there, and return to our hotel.

After dinner at our hotel, we may join in local dances energized by traditional music; the locals are very keen to participate and there are high expectations from the guests. If not, we can sit around the fire we'll light in the courtyard of the mansion and listen to Zeki Abi's stories.

After breakfast, we leave the hotel with our suitcases and head to Altınbeşik Cave, which is a 15-minute drive away.

It is one of the largest underground water caves in the world. The cave has three levels, but only the first 200-meter lake section near the entrance is open to the public. This area, which has a lofty ceiling and can be toured with a rafting boat, features stalactites, stalagmites, and a natural bridge. The water is so clear that we can count the stones on the bottom, and we tour the cave while listening to our guide’s narration.

After the cave, we move on to Ürünlü Village. Ürünlü is a smaller village compared to Ormana, and most of the buildings here are traditional button houses, as if time has stood still. After a stop at the village coffeehouse, where we sip our tea, we continue to Sarıhacılar Village, which resembles an open-air museum.

Sarıhacılar Village is located on caravan migration routes that were used during Roman, Seljuk, and Ottoman times. The sections of the caravan roads intersecting with the village remain untouched; the abundance of button houses and the 400-year-old historical mosque with its interior decorations and wood carvings are well worth seeing.

Finally, we visit the Akseki Ethnography Museum, which used to be a 170-year-old mansion before it was transformed into a museum that showcases the traditional lifestyle and culture of Akseki. This marks the end of our program, and we begin our journey back to Antalya Airport, which takes approximately two hours. We arrive at Antalya Airport around 19:00. We return to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines flight TK2429, which departs at 21:35, and bid farewell until we meet again on another BUKLATUR trip.