The place where I was staying, Huzur Vadisi, translates as peaceful valley, and lying in my comfortable yurt tent, its heavenly eye open to the stars, it was not difficult to understand how it got its name.
Only an hour away from Dalaman airport, instead of heading for tourist destinations like Olu Deniz or Marmaris, your taxi heads north towards the yachting village of Gocek, then inland up a dirt road past the pine-covered hills and the pink oleander bushes.
Tanfer and Jane Taka, together with Jane's brother Ian Worrall, opened Huzur Vadisi eight years ago, with the idea of providing alternative courses - from yoga to belly dancing to tai chi. The centre incorporates a stone-clad swimming pool, atoilet/shower block situated in the olive groves, a two-tiered relaxing kosk - a Turkish treehouse with bar used for siestas - plus eight yurts. They may have originally been for nomadic tribes, but here they have beds, mosquito nets and wooden floors.
I opted for a one-week world dancing course that offered tuition in salsa, Armenian and Romanian gypsy, plus belly dancing. Classes were held for a couple of hours in the morning and evening, thereby offering a degree of flexibility for those who fancied taking the odd excursion. Six of us danced under a vine roof amid fig trees and honeysuckle while latin, arabic or gypsy music played. My steps were far from graceful, but our teacher Claire Jenkins, who'd come over from Wales, was very patient.
Food at Huzur Vadisi is another delight. Lovingly prepared by Tanfer's sister Sevgi (her name means "love" in Turkish), the bread is freshly baked, the olives are from their own trees, the yoghurt is made from their goats' milk, the feta cheese is from the local market and all the dishes are vegetarian and extremely tasty.
When we were not honing our skills on the dance floor, there was plenty of time to relax in the cool waters of the swimming pool, walk up the nearby hills, passing tortoises along the way, swing in a hammock while reading a book, or study the local bird life, flora and insects. I saw grasshoppers of all shapes, sizes and colours, a praying mantis, a black scorpion hiding in a wall, various enormous spiders and a giant stag beetle - it does help to have an empathy for entomology.
The choice of day-trips included a boat ride to the 12 islands around Gocek, and a river excursion, but we chose to visit Tanfer's aunt Nurya, who lives in the summer pastures that lie about an hour-and-a-half's drive away. We made our way up the mountains to an area rich in cherry trees and vegetables, where the air is fresh and the meadows are full of flowers even in the searing heat of the summer months. Nurya turned out to be a jolly fiftysomething who let us wander around her land before we sat down to a lunch of fresh trout.
In the afternoon, we visited the ancient Lycian town of Cadiandia and its amphitheatre and Roman baths, before taking tea in a nearby village. Tanfer regularly provided the necessary cultural/historical details.
Another highlight was an evening trip to the local town of Fethiye, which turned out to be full of flirtatious Turkish men who attempted to sell us the local version of Viagra, made from plum and nut paste. We got a bit flirtatious ourselves after a shopping adventure that included a visit to a belly dancing shop, where we bought coin belts and swirly skirts.
That night, after a seafood supper, we made our way to a local nightspot called the Banana Club. It was here that we created something of a stir when, in the middle of a Turkish dance song, we whipped out our coin belts and shimmied the night away.
On our last night, we performed a couple of dances we'd learnt during the course in front of an assortment of Tanfer's family and friends, before persuading our hosts to take to the dancefloor and teach us a few of their own moves. Tanfer's father was the star, eliciting fits of giggles by donning my orange feather boa and moving his body in a manner that could be conservatively described as wild.
Finally, when we had all collapsed with exhaustion, Tanfer's brother regaled us with gentle love songs, accompanied by his lute-like sass. There could not have been a more fitting way to end our all too brief encounter in the peaceful valley.
Way to go
Getting there: Air 2000 (0870 7572757, Air 2000) flies Stansted-Dalaman for £279pp return inc taxes.
Activities: Huzur Vadisi, 12 Trinity Road, Aberystwyth, SY23 1LU, Wales (01970 626821, Huzur Vadasi) offers one-week dance courses from £345pp full-board. Flights extra. Excursions cost, on average, £25 each.
Further information: Turkish Tourist Board, 170-173 Piccadilly London W1V 9DD (information line 020-7629 7771, brochure line 09001 88 77 55, Turkish Tourist Board). Country code: 0090. Flight time: 4hrs. Time difference: + 2hrs. £1 = 2.4 million lira.
