Zeliş Farmhouse

I t is the personality of the host that makes this a special place. Zeliş is a former athlete who held several Turkish records in the mid-distance runs. She is a woman of infectious energy who has taken on farm life with zest. She makes, of course, unusual jams and pickles unheard-of herbs. She makes all sorts of cheese, bakes her bread and presses her own olive oil. She also designs her labels and writes her own website, builds the oven and rears a vast menagerie of animals. Above all, she is a cook of great talent: her dinners are feasts of unforgettable variety and generosity
   The location is not less impressive. The farmhouse is situated on a mountain overlooking Lake Sapanca. The view extends nearly 40 miles from the Gulf of Izmit to the city of Adapazarı. The 300-acre property is bounded by valley and forest, and crossed by a wild mountain stream. The house itself, by contrast, is a rather haphazard one that began as a weekend home and only later stumbled into being a guesthouse for a family with many guests.