I started to get concerned when the holiday rep insisted on giving us a third telephone number.

When we told her that we were driving ourselves to our hotel, Beyaz Yunus Faralya, she sat us down, talked us slowly through what seemed simple instructions and then gave us the hotel’s number, her number, and the number of the hotel manager’s mobile phone.

With only one road into Faralya — a hamlet about 15 minutes beyond Ölü Deniz — how could we go wrong?

An hour later, trying out my rusty Turkish on a friendly taxi driver who we met after having driven into a field, her concern seemed more justified.

Holiday in the Turkish hills

While tourists broil on the coast, residents retreat to the cooler hills inland says Jeremy Seal

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It is increasingly hard to go off the beaten track in Turkey. Towns such as Ölü Deniz and Kalkan have turned into mega-resorts, with busy high streets lined with supermarkets and restaurants. So it’s a relief to find that just 15 minutes away the real Turkey remains.

As we zig-zagged up the side of a mountain, I felt as if I was slipping back in time; on the road into Faralya small pensions offered “rooms with hot water” and a couple of roadside cafés were hung with wooden signs offering lahmacun and pide (types of Turkish pizza).

Old chaps in cardigans and flat caps peered at us in bemusement. It was all rather rural and delightful . . . and then we found the, um, track to our hotel.

Five minutes of jolting, wheel-spinning, pulse-raising off-roading (and that’s in a Jeep) and we eventually arrived in, well, the middle of nowhere.

Buried deep beneath pine trees lie six small cottages, a rather beautiful kitchen garden and a variety of cushion-strewn hammocks and shady corners, where the nightlife consists of stoking the fire and scanning the sky for recognisable constellations.

For a couple of urban sorts such as my husband and me, it took a while to adjust. The first night we felt more than a little isolated; no TV, internet connection or even music.

The two other couples staying had almost finished supper by the time we strolled up to the scrubbed wooden tables, set beneath towering pines on a terrace overlooking the sea. Across the water the lights of Ölü twinkled breezily — a whole world away.

We slept ten hours straight that night and woke to blue skies and birdsong, and a breakfast at which we made our own coffee with water from a wood-fired kettle and toasted home-made bread on a grill made of bricks.

Faralya is big walking country; the Lycian Way cuts down to the village. But the Jeep allowed us to combine lazy days on a nearby beach before escaping to the tranquillity of Faralya when the sun started to set.

It became our favourite part of the day, the sky turning rose-pink as we settled on cushions with cold beers and the backgammon set, watching Serdar, our waiter-cum Turkish-teacher, pottering around in the garden picking lettuces and tomatoes and herbs to turn into our supper.

But what was best of all about Beyaz Yunuz was that it felt truly Turkish. In the morning, two women in headscarves and cardigans sat on one of the terraces making the unleavened bread that was served up with each meal; they rolled balls of dough out on to a hot round slab, flipping them expertly with a wooden spatula until each was cooked.

On our last night, seeing us struggling to get the fire to catch, Serdar walked over to one of the oil lamps. I thought he would light a match from the flame; instead he took the lamp from its hook and poured the oil over the smouldering logs.

We sat and stared as the gargantuan flames licked up to the night sky, and I felt reassured that the Turkey I have always known and loved is still very much in existence.

Getting there Annabelle Thorpe travelled with Exclusive Escapes (020-8605 3500, www.hiddenturkey.com), which offers a week at Beyaz Yunus Faralya from £650pp, including flights, transfers and half-board accommodation.

MORE RURAL ESCAPES

The Bay, Gunluklu

Between Fethiye and Gocek, this small adults-only hotel has 36 wooden chalets. There’s a secluded bay in the foreground and pine forest behind. For those who picture life beyond the sun lounger, windsurfing, cycling and canoeing can be arranged, as can massages in the small spa. There are several restaurants to choose from.

Details Cachet Travel (020-8847 8700, www.cachet-travel.co.uk ) has a week full board from £735pp in May , including flights from Gatwick.

Lighthouse, Yediburunlar

The most difficult choice at Yediburunlar, above, is whether to be virtuous and spend the day hiking the Lycian Way, which runs past the property, or to laze with a book, making the most of the wonderful views. The Lighthouse is hidden high in the mountains, 6km down a farm track, but has its own pool, a large library of books and a focus on home-cooked food, with six-course gourmet suppers served several times a week.

Details From £575pp for seven nights’ half-board, including flights through Exclusive Escapes (020-8605 3500, www.hiddenturkey.com ).

Ruya Hotel, Gürece

Twenty minutes’ drive from Bodrum, the Ruya is built on a hillside, with gorgeous views out to sea. There is plenty of walking from the Ruya and the surrounding landscape is scattered with ancient ruins. The hotel has a small pool and outdoor spa bath, and the four rooms are cool and comfortable, with wooden floors and cream decor.

Details B&B from £30pp (no children). Book directly with Ruya (00 90 252 348 3199, www.ruyapan.com).

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