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There are dozens of bags on the stall in front of us, the air is thick with spices and everywhere women are bustling past with carrier bags filled with fresh vegetables, pots and pans and slippers, while tourists coo over the amazingly cheap cashmere wraps and pretty ceramics.

We fix on a price and retire, slightly exhausted, to a ramshackle cafe at the side of the market to revive ourselves with gozleme, delicious Turkish pancakes stuffed with feta cheese and herbs, and sip Turkish tea from tulip-shaped glasses.

Around us sit local men in knitted caps and smart grey trousers playing backgammon and sipping tea, habits formed over decades and little changed by the recent influx of tourists.

Yalikavak is just one of a clutch of unspoilt village resorts that cling to the coastline of the Bodrum Peninsula.

That they have remained unspoilt is largely due to the lack of beaches, and the fact that many of the tourists who come here are holidaying city dwellers from Izmir and Istanbul.

Yalikavak and its neighbouring resorts of Torba and Gol-Turkbuku have slim strips of sand but there is little to rival the beautiful beaches of Oludeniz and Iztuzu.

Instead most visitors from the UK stay in Bodrum or Gumbet, around 20 minutes away by taxi but a world away in atmosphere and size.

The influx of Turkish tourists has seen a crop of stylish boutiques spring up in Yalikavak and the other villages.

Part of the joy of staying on the peninsula is the chance to explore the different villages. None are more than a 20 to 30-minute drive and there are regular “dolmuses” (minibuses) which provide an excellent service if you don’t want to hire a car.

Read more of Annabelle’s article in the Express