From the age of four Victoria Scaife dreamed of a life in the sunshine where history and culture combined with a feeling of home. Now she is living her dream. She talked to Helen Cole about her version of paradise - Turkey

As the world reeled from the terrorist attacks in France and the news that a military coup had been launched in Turkey, Victoria Scaife was sound asleep in bed.

She woke the next morning wondering what on earth had happened and Facebooked the comment: “Woke up to find the world's gone mad, what's happening????”

Friends were bombarding her with messages asking her if she was safe as more pictures were shown of explosions and gunfire and army tanks rolling through the streets of her beloved adopted country.

Her friends in England were terrified and could not comprehend that she was in fact a full 12 hour drive away from the trouble and life in the holiday area of Fethiye was carrying on as normal for her.

Formally of Middridge, a small village, near Newton Aycliffe, in County Durham, Victoria has now been living in Turkey for 16 years with dual nationality.

Her love affair with the country stemmed from the treasured memories of family holidays.

She said: “My family and I holidayed in Turkey every year and I loved it there.’’

When she was 18 she went travelling with her cousin for three months, taking in the beauty and wonder of a place that is under the spotlight for terrorist attacks, problems with refugees and now the latest military coup.

She said: “It is such a wonderful place. I fell in love with the people, history and the culture.

“I decided to learn Turkish and become a Turkish citizen to enable me to live and work here.”

Victoria is passionate about her job in the tourism industry. For her it isn’t just a job it is a way for her to help others enjoy the place she adores.

She often posts pictures of an idyllic existence at The Rainbow Café which is part of rental and property management company Rainbow Property Care.

She said it is frustrating and heartbreaking to see the way in which the troubles in Turkey have been portrayed and how it has affected the country as a whole and it is hard for her not to feel animosity towards the coverage.

“Our business has seem a definite decline in bookings this year due to the negative media coverage in the UK. The Syrian border is over 569 miles away from us and we have no problem with refugees in the area but everybody assumes the whole of the country is affected,” she said.

She described how the once bustling streets are now very quiet and business owners are wondering how they will survive the winter as they depend on the tourists.

She said: “Turkey, with its eclectic mix of history and culture it is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Brits and with good reason.

“The events of Friday night were disturbing but the tourist areas remain unchanged. The small group of the army that caused the disturbance have now been imprisoned and its business as usual here.’’

She pointed out that Turkey is a big country and there are some places that have not been affected by any of the troubles.

She made an impassioned plea to friends and family on Facebook: “Please do not let the media propaganda worry you. Don't let them win. Please come and visit. People are missing out on so many wonderful things because they are scared.”

She pointed out that Turkey is a large and vast country and said it would be like stopping people from travelling to London because of something that happened at the tip of Scotland.

She said: “I urge people to relax and continue to enjoy holidaying in Turkey. Fethiye remains a stunning and safe place to visit, with customers returning year after year to explore the area and enjoy the culture, weather and much more. Istanbul is a 12 hour drive away and although we are deeply saddened by the events we need to find a way to overcome it.”