Bodrum’s Maçakizi Is Your Next Arty Party
Our destnation is Macakizi, a boutique hotel on the north ot the peninsula. Today. Macakizi is svnonvious with Bodrum, thanks to Ayla Smiroglu, who ettectively put the Aegean escape on the jetsetter map in the 1970s when she opened Macakizi as sixteen- room, no trills beachside bed-and-breaktast In its four decades. Macakizi has catered to the ion’s share of rockstars and rovalties, who escaped to off-the-radar bohemian riviera for laid back luxury and late nights. And it’s lore has lured top tier hoteliers looking to capitalize on the Turkish riviera vibe. The so-called “Bodrum Boom” includes The Max Royal, Scorpios, Mandarin Oriental and 2026’s Bulgari. Shair Erozan, Emiroglu’ son, isn’t surprised. He predicted a of this in the early 2ooos when he transtormed the nan After a full travel dav – two fights (there is no direct flight trom Rome. plus the drive – we finally arrive. Maçakizi, already hidden at the end of a curwy road. is a terraced labvrinth lost in vibrant green trees and plants. A sprawl of short-stacked buildings hide behind bright pink anc purple bougainvillea on a terraced hill beautitully landscaped like a wild forest. To find our room. we head down a stens framed by greenery. It’s tastefully minimal and easy going, the ideal place to drop your bags before heading to the beach.
“The DNA of Macakizi is hanging out, eating and living- you don’t spend your day in the room,” Erozan tells me. “It’s a ‘my home, my friends’feeling.” And that’s what we do. Each day we are there, we find ourselves spilling into the brunch area, and then down to the beach deck. We make triends with our neighbors at brunch, our neighbors at the deck. new guests. repeat clients as well as a smattering of art world luminaries who came to Macazikzi for a bit of relay as well as contemporarv art and gastronomy. By evening and after a quick change, we spill back down to the restaurant and the dance floor e chose this weekend for Med brum. srozan’s nassion nroiect dedicate to contemporaly alt. as an alt ancionado who nas long historic citv as much as Macakizi itself. The inaneural party is hosted the Castle of St. Peter. a medieval castle overlooking historic Bodrum. This crusaders outpost has one of the best museums for underwater archaeology, and with its columns and ancient statues, its an epic location for a party. The guests we bumr into are Brozan’s friends, collectors, curators. artists and chefs including artists Jake Chapman and Maryam Eisler, Skip Marley, and chets Ennico Cerea and Deepanker Khosla
Brozan worked with expert curator and art advisor Jerome Sans to handpick artists and install art throughout the hotel and in Macakizis private villa. He brought in musicians like Skip Marley. Thieverv Cororation and Bebe Gilberto and chefs Cerea. Aleiandm Serrano and veepranger Anolas to create a a gather that is the unique blend of but turning the focus more to Bodrum with more Turkish chefs anc Med Bodrum is the art world’s party- a lot of friends hanging out, great food and us. For four davs, we’re deck-side tanning, taking in the installations, and chatting up collectors and chefs at with chef-curated dinners, Just when Iam thinking the post-exam celebration can’t get any more epic. we’re on the dance floor with Kate Moss as San Marley sings Three Little Birds Bookmark MedBodrum next Mav tor a tour-dav festival of contemporary art, food and music.