MEET YOUR HOSTS

OUR STORY 

Lale and Mehmet were born and raised in Turkey where they met during their childhood. Lale's maternal grandparents lived in Russia during the Great War, serving on opposing sides. As fate would have it, her grandmother became a prisoner of her grandfather and then his wife- talk about romantic! The Bolsheviks had had wiped out her family, so the two settled in Turkey. Her paternal grandparents fled to Turkey from Bosnia during the Balkan wars.

Mehmet is a chemical engineer and has a PhD degree from LSU. He has worked with an international US  company; the last stop of his career was Hendersonville, NC. Lale completed the economics program  at the University of Istanbul and managed the family business before moving to Hendersonville.

"We both grew up in an environment of spiritual largesse; of tolerance and brotherhood, " Mehmet says. "The paths of our children today are evidence of world citizenry. One son married a German woman and lives in Canada. Our daughter married an Italian man and lives in Germany. Our other son married a Jamaican woman and lives in Miami. We have dear guests who enrich our lives immensely. Others have turned from guests into inn-sitters; we cook together and celebrate. To many of the couples married at the Melange, Lale and I became adoptive parents and grandparents. We strive to be ever more ecologically conscientious, favor local produce, and always receive one of the highest sanitation grades of the area."

VISION

The dream that would become Melange began on New Year's Eve 1994. Lale and Mehmet purchased the house with a vision beyond the ordinary bed and breakfast.... something distinctly their own, a nest that reflected their travels, their experiences, and their desire for grand entertainment, and for guests - a destination to return to!

Like all labors of love, the re-creation of the house into a bed & breakfast was not without, well, some laborious times. Modern bathrooms were installed for each guestroom, the kitchen was entirely gutted and replaced, things that sagged and drooped received facelifts, fireplaces were restored, tile and marble replaced. 

The best of times...the worst of times, as nearly everything was updated. Moments that Lale and Mehmet will never forget, like the time when a gallon of oil paint fell onto Lale's head and It took her three days to clean her hair! Friends and neighbours helped immensely along the way with handiwork, some taught the nuances of successfully running an inn, others loaned antique furniture in the early days. After about 2 years Melange was ready to receive its first guest.