Some places stay with you, not because they are famous, but because of how life feels when you are there.
For both of us, that place is Kaş.
Jordan first arrived in Türkiye as a child. While his parents were working in Istanbul, they purchased a home on the southern coast. Even after the family moved back to the United States, the villa remained part of their lives. Every summer the Savad family returned since the house's construction started in 1998. Over time Kaş became more than a vacation destination. It became a place of familiarity, a harbor town where mornings begin slowly, where the mountains meet the sea, and where the same café, shop owners and fishermen greet you each year.
Jordan carried that spirit of exploration from his parents and childhood experiences into his adult life. He studied ocean engineering, crossed the Atlantic twice by sea, guided diving trips in Kaş, worked aboard expedition vessels in Alaska, climbed glacier-covered mountains and hosted guests panning excursions over two recent summers in Kaş. Yet no matter how far he traveled, the Lycian Coast remained a constant reference point, a place that shaped how he thinks about travel and the world.
Ece’s connection to Kaş began in a similar way. She grew up between Istanbul and the southern coast, where her family also discovered the quiet beauty of Kaş. Her curiosity led her to study biology, eventually completing a master’s degree while living in Berlin. But science was only part of her story. Ece has always been someone who naturally gathers people together, creating warmth and conversation wherever she goes. Today she lives in Kaş most of the year.
When Jordan and Ece began talking about building something together, the conversations were never about tourism. They were about hospitality and about what it means to truly welcome someone into a place, and about sharing a coastline we both grew up returning to. We love Kaş and want to share it with like-minded individuals looking to explore this beautiful place with us.
Likya Scholars grew from those conversations: a villa-based hosted experience centered around small groups, shared meals, time on the water, and the slower pace that allows a place to actually reach you.
The question was never "how do we build a travel company." It was "how do we share this place the way it deserves to be shared."
Every captain, baker, and guide we work with has been part of this coast for decades. We didn't hire a team. We built relationships over years. Hatice's kitchen, Denizhan's stories, the captain who knows every cove. They're not vendors. They're collaborators here to show you the Likya Way.
Early on, we realized that not every hour had to be an activity. Guests enjoyed Kaş when you move at the same speed that kaş does. We learned over years that the evenings with nothing planned, like ones spent reading by the pool or wandering the streets or harbor maybe swimming at a local cove to cool off from the day, those are the ones people remembered most.
We don't curate guest lists. But we do start every booking with a conversation. That one step, a real phone call before any deposit, changes everything about who shows up and how the two weeks unfold.
This villa is home
and we invite you here
this summer to experience
living like a local in Kaş.
Jordan is an ocean engineer and expedition traveler whose life has revolved around water and exploration. He has crossed the Atlantic twice, worked aboard ships in Alaska, guided diving trips along the Turkish coast, and spent much of his adult life moving between mountains and sea. Kaş has remained a constant throughout the years. Through Likya Scholars, Jordan shares the place that first sparked his curiosity about the world.
Ece studied biology and completed her master’s degree in Berlin before returning to the coast she grew up visiting. Today she lives in Kaş most of the year. She now has been working in tourism and learning more about the history and region. She is naturally warm and thoughtful, she has a gift for bringing people together. For guests, Ece often becomes the bridge into daily life in town introducing the people, places, and small moments that make Kaş feel like home.
Halil manages the day-to-day rhythm: car transfers, boat schedules, logistics and more. This is the guy who will one day run for mayor but now he's the person who remembers your coffee order by day two.
Hatice has cooked in the Kaş region for over thirty years. She sets the rhythm of the house: Turkish breakfast at sunrise, dinner on the terrace after dark. Guests often say her meals are the most memorable part of the trip.
Sherri ensures the voice you encounter online matches the warmth you'll experience in person. Editorial storytelling and brand strategy.
A Kaş local captain who turns ancient ruins, and Turkish history into living narratives. His storytelling and warmth make every guest feel like they belong here.
