Thirty-three villages in the Beypazari region of Turkey are part of a huge tourism initiative by the Turkish government.
The aim is to promote the region for its natural beauty and the targeted market is anyone who does not want a beach holiday. Examples include culture seekers, photography enthusiasts and people who love walking and trekking.
One of the villages on the map is Dudas. Before I went to Beypazari, I had never heard of it. After I returned from Beypazari, I googled it and it seems hardly anyone else has heard of it either.
Apart from my own articles, the best resource I found was an old government website listing a few details. Therefore, if the tourism initiative is going to succeed, promotion for Dudas village needs to start.
Bringing Rural Tourism to Dudas Village
The tourism facilities in Dudas village are basic and those who like being pampered 24/7 need to look elsewhere. Restoration has begun on an old village house and when ready, it will be a five-room hotel.
No other tourism facilities exist in the village. It has just traditional wooden houses, dusty roads, wide-open fields, and locals who still practice age-old traditions.
I can see the appeal in that though and it fills in the gap. The Mediterranean and Aegean coasts are favorite destinations for beach loving tourists so Beypazari is focusing on the countryside, culture, photography, and nature lovers.
The Locals of Dudas Village
While walking around the village, I had one burning question to ask.
Do the locals of Dudas want tourists invading their peace and quiet?
The answer is yes. Despite the short falls of tourism, it is a good incentive for any region to participate in.
Money comes in from outside sources and in turn provides jobs and funds for improving infrastructure.
The village locals I met were friendly and did not shut the door in my face. They know about the project and look forward to seeing the results it will bring.
Nevertheless, who is promoting this region?
I found a few travel agents marketing two-day tours of Beypazari but they were targeting Turkish customers and only the main town center appeared on the agenda. Dudas village and the surrounding 32 villages were not on any schedule.
There is potential here with foreign tourists. People can stop in Beypazari when on the typical tours of Istanbul to Cappadocia.
Thirty-three villages, the Inozu valley and the town centre of Beypazari will keep people occupied for at least a week. The close location to the capital also means that people can include Beypazari while on a city break in Ankara.
Many Turkish travel agents have told me that their business is tough. Of course it is. They are all marketing the same product; tours of Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus.
If you are a Turkish travel agent targeting the foreign market, you have an opportunity here for a unique and original product.
Call it a culture tour. Call it a trekking tour. Employ a professional photographer and run photography tours. Run wildlife and bird watching tours.
Get your thinking cap and think outside the box. Dudas village and the Beypazari region is welcoming tourism to the region. Take advantage of that.
Readers Question : Do you prefer countryside holidays or are you a beach lover?
our sort of place Natalie. I call the narrow thinking of the travel agents the ‘Gözleme Syndrome’ – you know year one and someone opens a gözleme place with a few wooden tables and chairs and the rest of th village watches – as soon asthey see the first car stop they all begin building gözleme places and no body makes enough to make a living. Same with petrol stations – once one opens they are like a rash – all over the same area!
Alan recently wrote about..Defeat and Victory – a poem by Bill Purkayastha
I think i have seen the Gozleme Syndrome in more places than one Alan, especially in the tourist resorts. The best incident I can think for that is the estate agents
Natalie recently wrote about..The Mesopotamian Ruins of Dara Near the Syrian Border
Great story! I think it is a really interesting move, and I’d love to visit the villages myself. I love the country, but I prefer to take my vacations at the beach.
Randy Kalp recently wrote about..TripRider Review: Meet the Cadillac of Travel Apps (+ Free Promo Codes!)
I think I like to do both Randy. Beach in the height of summer and the countryside when it is a bit more cooler
Natalie recently wrote about..18 Black & White Photos of Trabzon
Natalie you wrote “Many Turkish travel agents have told me that their business is tough. Of course it is. They are all marketing the same product; tours of Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus.” which is EXACTLY on the mark. Travel agents do not seem to think about marketing and influencing the market. I used to contribute to Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor and you see the same questions repeatedly. The sites tourists know about are “Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus.”
I recently watched a Turkish film called Entelköy Efeköy Karsi
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFmswW2tUt4 with English subtitles)
The film shows a wonderful example of a clash of cultures within Turkish culture. It is a story about a group of “intellectual” city dwellers who move to a small village, buy some land and set up ecological tourism and agriculture. The villagers have long discarded the “old ways” of farming and use pesticides, and artificial fertilizer and struggle to make a living. Very current topic in Turkey…
Thanks for that Johnny – just seen it is nearly two hours long so will watch it this evening. The opening scenes looked good. Kind-of a comical view on the situation with a serious message behind it.
Natalie recently wrote about..The Friendly Locals of Beypazari
Initiatives are all well and good but like you said, they need to be backed up with promotion. Saw they had a stand at the travel fair in Izmir so hopefully they managed to hook up with some agencies. Looks like a lovely place so hope the initiative pays off for them.
Julia
Turkey’s For Life recently wrote about..Tranquility Is…Winter Sun In Ölü Deniz
I hope it went well for them TFL – Did you speak to Ozgul? She is now working in Ankara in another job
Natalie recently wrote about..People Watching In Sanliurfa (Urfa) and The Regional Dress Codes
I’m very interested in Turkey’s beaches. We’ve flown Turkish Airlines a few times passing through and there always seems to be articles in the in-flight magazines about Antalya.
Jennifer recently wrote about..Goðafoss: Waterfall of the Gods
There are another beaches in Turkey to keep anyone occupied for at least two years Jennifer. Beach tourism is definitely alive and kicking in Turkey
Natalie recently wrote about..Sanliurfa (Urfa) : The City of Abraham
Great find Natalie! I love the idea of this project and I can absolutely see it working quite well in rural Turkey. Our best times while visiting the country was interacting with locals in the countryside. (Anyone missing out on that interaction unfortunately misses the wonderful warm-hearted nature of the Turkish people)
Anthony @ Culture-ist Mag recently wrote about..Has America’s Anti-GMO Movement Come Too Late?
Your last statement is very true Anthony. You can receive the hospitality of Turks in the beach resort but it is often the younger generation whereas I find the older generation very intriguing.
Natalie recently wrote about..The Mesopotamian Ruins of Dara Near the Syrian Border
i would love to go there who is running the tour i would like to contact them i wouldnt mind touring with other turkish people in fact i would welcome it but i would need an english speaking person
At the moment, there is only Turkish tours Di but you could go to Beypazari and hire a guide from the tourism board there
Natalie recently wrote about..Dudas Village : Introducing Rural Tourism
very inetersting article , we are working on a rural tourism project in malta to promote rural villages will be please to meet you if you happen to be in malta….
Nice website Conrad – thanks for the invite as well. Not sure I will be visiting Malta anytime soon though
Quite a neat idea. I hope it continues to grow.
Maybe I missed it in your text, but what kind of transportation is there among the villages and the center? I like the idea, but I think without any sort of public transport network I would have a hard time rationalizing it. I don’t want to have to rent a car. It wouldn’t have to be a full bus system, but some sort of Tuk-Tuk network or shared vans could provide a group of jobs for locals.
Be curious to what the facilities will be like. I don’t even need paved roads, but I like running water and clean places to be.
Our time in Turkey was failry brief and even avoiding the beach places, we still felt we didn’t have much time. This shows how much more there is to see.
Andrew recently wrote about..Mundane but beautiful
Hi Andy, there will be the normal transportation. The little dolmus buses. They have clean water as well. Some of the roads in the countryside are a bit bumpy but generally are very good. Looks very good overall.
Natalie recently wrote about..Hidirlik Hill View Point : A Panoramic View of Beypazari
Well said, people never think outside the box. If you market a destination, people will come, but if we don’t know about it, how can we know to go there. I would definitely visit this region, thanks for letting me know about it. Beautiful shots of the people too!
Glad you liked the article Deb. The more people that like ideas like this, the more travel agents might change their marketing techniques
Natalie recently wrote about..Gaziantep Castle : Remembering the Veterans
Fantastic initiative!
From my one-year experience living in Turkey with a Turkish family as a foreign exchange student, some of my most memorable experiences were the connections I made with people when visiting my baba’s birthplace village- Atabey near Isparta. It is through these types of interactions in humble circumstances that we understand how similar we are as humans, despite the many differences we commonly think make us different. I hope this new koy tourism helps build more of these understandings and share Turkey’s amazing, genuine hospitality.
Hope so CMD – only time will tell. Interesting to see where they are in five years time
Natalie recently wrote about..The Mesopotamian Ruins of Dara Near the Syrian Border
Fantastic, this is precisely the kind of place I would like to visit in Turkey.
I usually keep clear of beach resorts, they are too touristy, and a kind of tourism that I rarely like, I always prefer either countryside or cities.
I loved Istanbul, I hope I’ll be going back to Turkey this year.
Angela recently wrote about..Cooking Thai style at Da’s organic farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Hope you do make it back Angela so I can look forward to reading your stories