This blog will be a short one picture wise. We’ve been having difficulty with cameras thanks to a Huawei software update that killed both our phone cameras. This forced us to buy a cheap Kodak camera from a small dealer in Denizili which was a good idea until we found out it didn’t work. Eventually we bought the cheapest phone with the best camera in it and ended up with a Samsung AO3 which after some teething problems eventually worked out okay. But in the interim we lost a heap of photos so there isn’t too many to show you in this blog.
The next town after Cappadocia was Anatalya. This major seaport was included in our itinerary simply because Cappa to Fethiye (our ferry to Greece) was too much in one step. As it turned out we should have left more time here. We had booked accomodation at Hadrianus Hause Hotel in the ‘old city’. Wow! The old city is contained within high stone fort walls. You cannot enter in a vehicle without passing security and the streets were nothing but a maze of narrow spaces between building of up to two thousand years old. Even our taxi driver got lost. The shops and cafés are incredible with many set up in stone rooms from long ago.
On the second day there we went for a walk and came across a retired Greek gent who had worked in Australia for several years and was fairly knowledgeable about us. In turn he gave us so much helpful information we enjoyed a long chat with him while overlooking the old port and the many fishing and tourist boats below. Wandering along the jetty we were enticed to go on a 2 hour boat tour up the coast to see several natural waterfalls and to enjoy the gorgeous weather. The ticket seller definitely told us (and others) there would be no time for swimming however once at the ‘big’ waterfall the skipper said “OK. 20 minutes for a swim” and a gangplank was lowered. Not having swimmers on Shane declined but I just couldn’t help it. In I went in my shorts for a terrific swim in the Med.
Once back in the port we walked more of the ‘fort’ and finally had tea at a nice local tavern. Another place we found was a ‘backpacker run’ café that has a great aim of giving young Turks a skill and also of subsidising their future trips overseas. The photo of their mantra is in the second last pic and worth a read.
Moving on to our last port of call was the town of Fethiye. This is another important port and was to be where we would board our ferry to Rhodes, Greece. The road between Antalya and Fethiye is rugged. So much so we found ourselves climbing from sea level to several thousand feet in no time. This of course made for some fantastic scenery. Believe me when I say the photos do nothing to convey the size and majesty of these mountains. It was one awesome drive.
In the first photo of Fethiye township you might notice the “Corner Bar” to the left of the photo. We sat up there after we’d settled into our hotel and watching the Turkish drivers dicing with death at the roundabouts bought back scary memories of Vietnam and Asia where rules are an option (as are licenses I reckon).
No more than 20 paces from this intersection lies the broken stones of a past era which also included an amphitheatre of reasonable proportions. We reckoned that very few tourists even realised that this Greek/Roman ruin was just behind the shops and bars that they used daily. Once inside the Fethiye Markets we found a nice café next to a pond of geese. I was talking with the bartender about “Fat Tuesday” Pina Colada when three minutes later he reappeared with a rather large lunchtime Pina Colada slushie. It cost me about $15AUD but it was worth every cent. Next morning with backpacks in hand we boarded our ferry to Rhodes and our Turkish adventure was over.
After 26 days we have left Turkey. When we first considered coming here we thought a week or so would do it. Friends who have been here said 2 weeks at least. Now we are convinced we could have spent 2 months here. Turkey has so much to see and do we really believe it should be on everyone’s bucket list. Istanbul, the only city in the world to be on two continents is a mix of modern and ancient that will leave you bewildered. ANZAC Cove and Gallipoli should be a pilgrimage for all Aussies. The historic and ancient cities of Troy, Ephesus, Heiroplis, Anatalya, Fethiye and more are eye openers. Then there’s the natural wonders like the white terraces of Pamakkale and the fairy like cave houses of Cappadocia. The best part is that Turkey is not an expensive country to tour.
So the next blog you see will be on the amazing, fascinating, wonderful place called Rhodes. Don’t miss it as we were spellbound by this whole new (old) world.
See you shortly and take care.
Gary and Shane.