Once again, I have a very Turkish tale to tell about life along Turkey’s southern coast. But this time, I will not be taking my readers on a melancholic journey of a Turkey that once was. Because this one is a story about Turkey as it is today – or as it was last week anyway. And in Akyaka no less...

A week ago, I paid a visit to Akyaka for research and interviews and decided to stay in my favorite hotel, which resembles a castle overlooking the Kadın Azmağı river equipped with duck, geese and swans in the forefront and the Kite Beach the region is famed for looming off in the distance. While Akyaka is one of the most popular summer holiday destinations in Turkey – especially for those seeking the adrenaline of kite surfing in pristine conditions – in the winter months it is much more low-key with tourism consisting only of weekend visitors when and if the sun is shining.

Therefore, on that particular weekend I was only able to book up until Friday night as my hotel was shutting down for the season (and changing hands, in fact) while all the other hotels in town I knew of were quickly filling up.

However, there was a lovely Turk-lish couple staying next door and we had been chatting up until the morning of my departure. That’s when they confessed to me that they were the hotel’s new owners, but they had to go away for a little while and so they asked me if I wanted to stay and whether I would be scared being in the complex on my own, to which I said "Yes" and "No," respectively.

They then went on to ask if I would take the keys from the previous owners in their absence. I said sure and then suddenly they were off! Shortly after I was given the keys and a briefing of the ins and outs of the hotel, and in what was less than an hour, I had an entire fortress-like building completely to myself!

The owners never mentioned what I would be charged, but did say I could stay for as long as I like, even going so for as to suggest I could switch rooms as they renovate each one. At that point, mesmerized by the fact that I could continue to stay at my favorite hotel, I said yes to everything, completely forgetting to get the new owners’ number, although they did have mine.

As you can expect, it was an eventful week, with Akyaka’s famous winds blowing open the huge colored-glass paneled doors of the lobby terrace and me trying to prop up achingly heavy furniture to prevent it.

I picked up deliveries, answered the phone and at one point even fixed a plumbing problem. But don’t get me wrong, this hotel is stunning, with the original bare stone walls making for a striking atmosphere as well as three tiers of terraces, each featuring a balcony that could have served as a setting for Romeo and Juliet’s love. Just meters ahead lay the creek that defines the town and the dozens of ducks, swans and geese that greeted me whenever I went out on the balcony. Across lies a vista of reeds that lead to the Kite Beach, which along with Akyaka’s signature red sunset, is clearly visible from the hotel’s terrace.

The road the hotel lies on runs parallel to that creek, so whichever way you walk, whether into town or towards Gökova, there are towering sycamore trees leading the way. I felt like the queen of the castle and I even had the keys to prove it, which I carried around with me diligently in case their rightful owners ever happened to return. But they didn’t for at least a week.

And so, over the course of that week, I fell in love with Akyaka. While this hip and young hotspot may be a nightmare in the summer for a Turkish southern coastal local like me, during these winter days and I suspect into the spring, it might just be the perfect time to discover this region. And you see, that’s the thing. It turns out there is a trick to visiting such high demand places in a reasonable manner, a trick I just found out. Thus began my venture into the world of Turkey’s "Apart" culture.

Discover Turkey’s world of aparts

An apart is, as the name suggests, is a small apartment offered as accommodation in Turkey in all shapes and sizes. Generally, and especially in saturated touristic areas such as Akyaka, aparts are built as units of larger apartment or hotel-like complexes.

These accommodation options tend to be more basic and utilitarian versus luxurious, but the whole point of these types of stays is to be able to holiday affordably and to prepare food in the kitchens Turkey’s aparts come with. While during the high season, aparts can also be expensive, competing with hotel rooms in price, in the off-season these small flats can be rented at an extremely affordable rate for extended periods.

For someone like me who has spent over a decade living in Turkey’s southern coastal villages, and I imagine for urbanites, the notion of being able to rent an affordable small flat for a week or a month in a quaint holiday destination offers a relieving option for a short getaway. Towns such as Akyaka, Kaş and Marmaris, as well as many others, I suspect, have a whole other side to them in winter that is just as enjoyable as the high season, albeit in a different context.

If you want to take long walks in mild weather and make getting a cup of coffee your main social event due to it being the off season, then a little retreat at an apart may just be your cup of tea.

The nitty gritty of renting aparts in winter

Turkey’s aparts can be a bit elusive, especially when it comes to booking online. Unlike hotels and Air BnBs, most aparts don’t even have an online presence, so you may have to ask the locals to direct you to the best ones.

Aparts offer daily, weekly and monthly rates, with the latter being the most affordable option. To give an example, the daily rate of an apart in Akyaka at the moment starts at around 200 TL ($14.72), however if one were to rent monthly, the price starts at around 2,000 TL.

While the daily rate includes electricity, the monthly rate offered by aparts does not include electricity, which is of course an item to figure into your calculations. Each apart room has its own electricity meter, so if an apart is rented monthly the meter is read accordingly.

The practice of renting out aparts monthly with renters paying their own electricity is not a new thing. This is a system that has been in place in these types of aparts for years and it is done in order to offer longer term accommodation at a discounted price. With monthly arrangements, you will also be expected to pay up front.

Don’t be dissuaded if you have pets! I also travel with my dog and thus far, every apart I have visited has told me they would accept us.