Korsan Ltd is a family run business established in Kalkan in 1979. We were one of the first tourism related enterprises in Kalkan and now have over 40 years experience in the fields of tourism, catering and property development. The company was founded by my father, Gürkan Bilgütay, a retired naval Colonel and is now run by myself, Uluç Bilgütay and my wife, Claire. I am an accomplished chef and have restaurant experience both in Istanbul and London. We have two sons, Patrick Ömer and Oliver Eren. The staff of Korsan Ltd work together as a team to ensure all guests and clients receive the best possible service. Our team has worked together for many years, which is one of the reasons for Korsan Ltd’s continued reputation for offering accommodation, food and service of the highest standard.
Korsan translated to English means pirate, a pun on the fact that the owners of Korsan Ltd and the Korsan Restaurants, the Bilgütay family, have always had very strong associations to the sea with three generations of the family serving in the Turkish Navy.
In the mid 1970’s my father, Gürkan Bilgütay (who knew the Turkish coastline like the back of his hand) retired from the navy and looking for a change of life-style and pace he opened a restaurant and a small pansiyon in his favourite sleepy fishing village. The village was Kalkan and that restaurant was Korsan. This brought the total number of restaurants in Kalkan at that time to two!
This was the beginning. In his youth my father had also been a musician and, with three other musicians, formed Turkey’s first Rock’n’Roll band. The band’s notoriety and connections with Istanbul meant friends started to visit this little place on the Mediterranean and tourism was born. Before long my father was accommodating the first foreign visitors and Kalkan was officially on the map.
I took over from my father in 1990 and in 1992 my wife, Claire, joined the family and the business.
Korsan Ltd has expanded greatly since those early days in the 1970’s. The Korsan Brand now includes property development, property management and maintenance, villa rentals, restaurants, outside catering, hotel management and our latest venture, agriculture and olive oil production.
We are a family business with a team that have worked with us for many years. During school and university holidays our sons, Patrick Ömer and Oliver Eren, work in the restaurants and elsewhere learning the ropes …. the tradition continues!
Relax and enjoy your stay in Kalkan.
Uluç Bilgütay
