About Us

Location

"Or would you turn to Lebedus for ease
In mere disgust at weary roads and seas?
You know what Lebedus is like; so bare,
With Gabii or Fidenae 'twould compare;
Yet there, methinks, I would accept my lot,
My friends forgetting, by my friends forgot,
Stand on the cliff at distance, and survey
The stormy sea-god's wild Titanic play."

from: Horace "The Satires, Epistles, and Art of Poetry of Horace", Book I, Epistle XI. To Bullatius (translated by John Conington)

Our house is located in Ürkmez/Seferihisar, a small town near Izmir on the Aegean Sea, where people make their living from growing tangerines and oranges. It is an hour away by car from Izmir and famous for its natural beauty without mass tourism, its mild climate and beautiful beaches which regularly get awarded with the blue flag for excellent water quality.

Furthermore remarkable is the proximity to the Izmir International Airport Adnan Menderes, which is only 30 driving minutes away from Ürkmez. The historical ruins of Ephesus (30 km), Pergamon (100 km), Metropolis (40 km) and Teos (30 km) are not very far either.

In the 7th century BC the antique greek town Lebedus was founded where Ürkmez is today. Like Ephesus, Miletus, Samos and Teos also Lebedus was part of the so called Ionian League comprising twelve ionian cities at the Aegean coast in Asia Minor. The city was famous for its hot springs, which established Lebedus' reputation as a popular health resort, for its temple dedicated to the greek god Apollo Clarus and for its annual Dionysos celebration. Lebedus reached its peak by trading and because of the agricultural fertility of its territory, continued to exist during the Roman imperial era, still minted its own coins until the end of the 2nd century AD and was a bishop's see in late antiquity.