(CNN) — A brass band fills the air with lively Turkish music as it marches down a cobblestone street. Tourists and locals alike clap and dance, packing the main square.
The musicians are dressed in turquoise uniforms with gold epaulettes — colors that match the azure-blue of the Aegean waters of Alaçatı, located on the Cesme peninsula in western Turkey (or Türkiye).
With its rustic stone houses with vibrantly painted wooden doors, winding streets filled with upscale restaurants, modern art galleries and boutique stores, Alaçatı has all the hallmarks of a typical Mediterranean town, albeit with an effortless Turkish charm.
Turkish holidaymakers have been flocking to this picturesque destination, situated about an hour’s drive southwest from Izmir, since a revival took place in the early 2000s. But international visitors are just playing catch up.
Everywhere you turn, people are sipping on Turkish tea in the town’s open-air cafes, taking in the fresh air and sunshine.
Colorful town
Alacati’s cobbled alleyways are filled with brightly colored houses.
Murat TopayAdobe Stock
And it’s not just holidaymakers who’ve been won over — windsurfers have also become a fixture here due to the strong, year-round winds of the nearby bay, making Alaçatı the self-proclaimed windsurfing capital of Turkey.
“The air that you breathe here is precious,” says Perihan Akbulut, who runs the Kurabiye Hotel, which is a few minutes walk from the stunning Kurabiye Stone House.
“There is always a breeze that makes you feel better — even if it is so hot during summer months.”
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Kurabiye Hotel could easily be confused with a boutique Aegean guest house thanks to its whitewashed walls and blue doors.
Akbulut moved here from Istanbul in 2009 and opened the hotel, which has a courtyard adorned with a lemon garden at its center, the following year.
She and her husband now live between the two destinations — enjoying big city life during the winter and retreating to the pretty town for the summer season.
“It is so easy — or let’s say simple — to organize your life, here in Alaçatı,” she adds.
“But that’s exactly why it appeals to me; it’s a place where you don’t have to think too much about what to do and where to go.”
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