The Seferihisar Lavender Festival is delighted to grace us for the seventh time on July 10, 2022! The delicately scented festival will enchant you, promising foremost a relaxing experience, combining the restful life of the coastal town and the freshness of lavender.
Seferihisar: History, Sea, Nature
There are many historical and natural beauties that you can discover in Seferihisar before the start of festival. The ancient city of Teos, located very close to the city, is home to the largest known Dionysian temple from the Ionian period. Turkey’s first “cittaslow”, Seferihisar offers much more than a classic sea holiday thanks to its hotels ranging from simple stone houses to boutique hotels. Here you can visit Sığacık Castle in the immediate vicinity of the port, and stroll through the cobblestoned and flowery streets of the Sığacık quarter which, reminiscent of a movie set, can double as a natural photography studio. Make sure you’ve left time enough to shop at the Sığacık Producers’ Market, where natural and organic products are available. Olive oil, olives, tangerines, and traditional regional speciality known as armola cheese are local delicacies that you can toss in your market bag.
You can soothe your soul during the Lavender Festival by having fun as a family! Take the spouse and children to visit Seferihisar’s Blue Flag Award-winning Akarca Bahadır District, Akarca Gemisuyu District, Doğanbey Sakız Ağacı District, Doğanbey Havacılar Housing Development, Doğanbey Ömür Town, Ürkmez Health Centre, Seferihisar Büyük Akkum, Bengiler Neighbourhood and Teos Marina beaches.
What to eat in Seferihisar?
In Orhanlı Village, 24 kilometres away from Sığacık, the hand-crafted “School of Nature” is a spot worth exploring as a family. It was created alongside the restoration of Orhanlı Primary School, which is located in a small olive grove. Among the educational courses where information about the relationship between traditional agriculture and nature is given freely, there are courses on offer such as woodcarving, as well as lessons on birds, earth, and water. You can discover the School of Nature, where Türkiye’s first nature library is located, before the festival starts.
The unique view of the Aegean complements the unique cuisine of Seferihisar. You should definitely make time to sit at the fish table in Seferihisar, which offers a feast to the palate from seafood to appetisers. A savoury dinner awaits you under the vines in Sığacık Kaleiçi with smoked mackerel, calamari, “atom” (spicy peppered yogurt) meze, a selection of stews and haddock with basil on the menu. In the restaurant serving next to a 10-decare artichoke field with a farm-to-table concept, you can sample all kinds of artichoke dishes, from artichoke ice cream to soup, as well as 15 different artichoke dishes.
Lavender Festival Begins
The olfactory adventure, which began as a festival with the celebration of the first lavender harvest in Turgut Village in 2016, is becoming a veritable centre of attention with each passing year. The lavender in the village is harvested by inhabitants, working alongside the festival participants. Lavender, which has always been known for its positive, calming and relaxing effect on human health, continues to restore us with its unique smell. If you want to buy your yearly lavender supply directly from the manufacturer, you can buy many products made with this plant from the established market. The products sold locally are lavender tea, lavender oil, a bundle of fresh or dry lavender, lavender soap, lavender-scented souvenirs, lavender soap and more…
What happens during the Festival?
Celebrated with great enthusiasm and crowd, the festival offers many different varieties of entertainment, suitable for all age groups. Among the amusements proposed by the festival, you will be treated to multiple workshops, various concerts, folk dance performances, and marching band performances that you can attend as a family.
At the festival, whose full schedule is soon to be announced, you can get detailed information about the lavender plant and the lavender harvest as well as cultural events such as concerts; and you are also welcome to participate in lavender harvest. Entertainment continues throughout the day at the festival, where separate child-friendly workshops are planned. In the workshops attended by the adults, you can make oil or soap from the harvested lavender.
Turgut Village is a fascinating, place because it is the village where the first lavender was planted in the region. Within the scope of the Seferihisar Lavender Festival, which is included in the festival category “Agriculture and Flowers”, depictions of lavender were drawn on the walls of the Turgut Village houses. You can take pictures with the colourful drawings on these walls and immortalise your moments. While you capture the most beautiful shade of purple, the colour of nobility, elegance, luxury and self-confidence for centuries, in lavender fields, do not forget to take lots of photos and to weave a lavender crown for yourself or your loved ones.
How Do I Get to The Festival?
The festival is held in Turgut Village, approximately 10 km from Seferihisar. You can easily reach it by following the Bademler and Ulamış road with your private vehicle. You can also take public transport directly to the village by using the buses arriving at Turgut Village from the district centre or via buses 730 and 732. Seferihisar hotels, which you are looking for both to discover Seferihisar and its surroundings and to experience the enthusiasm of the festival, await you at Odamax.
