Selin Yıldız

📍 Alacatı, Turkey

🗣 Turkish, English

I grew up in Alacatı when it was still a quiet Aegean village of stone houses and bougainvillea. Now it is Turkey's top windsurfing destination and one of the best in the world — the Meltem wind that blows offshore every afternoon from June to October is perfectly consistent, flat water inside the bay, waves outside. I have been windsurfing since I was 14 and teaching since I was 22. I teach beginners on the flat water inside the bay and take intermediate riders through the technical skills that most group lessons skip. I also do dawn SUP sessions on the bay before the wind arrives — the water is glass at 6:30am and the village is still asleep. Alacatı's food scene is also genuinely extraordinary and I take people to the places locals eat after the beach.