A CRADLEY couple have enjoyed a dream holiday in Turkey after winning a competition in the Malvern Gazette & Ledbury Reporter.

Andrea and David Smalley won a free week in the Bozburun Peninsula, supplied by Select World Travel of Church Street, Great Malvern.

The competition was run in the Gazette & Reporter's special Local Newspaper Week edition on May 7.

They stayed at Tungutkoy on Turkey's Aegean coast, away from the busier tourist areas, thanks to operators Tapestry.

In a diary she kept of the holiday, Mrs Smalley described her impressions as they visited the village on their first day.

"Cows, hens, goats and dogs all in evidence. Saw a lady hand-milking her cow, local man making leather sandals. Pervading aroma of woodsmoke, lots of olive trees, pomegranate, citrus and figs. Peanuts and aubergines and corn growing in gardens."

During their stay, they visited the Dalyan Delta area, where the famous Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn movie The African Queen was filmed.

Here they enjoyed the thermal springs and mud baths - "unusual slippery feeling and great fun" said Andrea - and travelled on a river boat to visit ancient Lycian tombs and a beach where loggerhead turtles bred.

They also visited ancient fortifications dating back thousands of years at Hyclas.

They enjoyed fine weather - albeit with a couple of storms - and also sampled good local food at their hotel and at nearby restaurants.

The local people were also friendly and helpful.

"It wasn't just the people at the hotel; everyone was so friendly," said David.

"It was a fantastic experience and we'd go back at the drop of a hat. We're very grateful to have won it."