Lycian Way #5 - Around Kaş

     Next up, the beautiful port town of Kaş.  Remember this is all from my April trip.

     Arriving in the late afternoon, we relaxed on a terrace making friends with our waiter - a bit bored as the season was just starting up - took way too many versions of this shot:

Sitting at the very same restaurant, you would not believe, was none other than the Big Lebowski and his white Russian.  Kid you not.  Bet you didn't know that the Big Lebowski is actually a German Turk who frequently holidays in Turkey. 

Next day, up early for a walk from the city to Liman Ağazı, managing not to get lost this time.

I liked these colors -but you can tell from the empty beach chairs it was a little too chilly to swim.

Liman Ağazı is a bit out of the way - there is a 15-minute boat from Kaş, but as we descended from our hike we weren't thinking about that.  We were thinking about our very own quite, private, remote and peaceful beach we had just come across.  But who sunbathing on the rocky shore other than the BIG LEBOWSKI and his travel companion.  Hmm...

Then a boat back to Kаş.

Interesting?

Next on the itinerary was a boat trip to "the Sunken City."  I had read an article about this in the Turkish Airlines in-flight magazine a few years ago and was looking forward to it the whole trip.  In the end, this was the only "sunken" part of the city you could see:

Not surprisingly, this is also the exact photo from the article (minus some attractive snorkelers).  I asked our guide (yes, broke my heart but we did have to have a guide to go there) if this was it and he laughed and shrugged.  Oh well.  As their town has sunk I suppose the locals deserve hoards of tourists to sell their Chinese fezes to.

A cute girl David snapped a photo of:

Back in Kaş we ended the day at a cafe by the port and a game of football.  And who should walk by?  None other than the BIG LEBOWSKI.  That man was everywhere.  Perhaps he came to Turkey to purchase a new rug.  Unfortunately, we took off early the next morning to head back to Istanbul, so we may never know.

If you're interested in faking the Lycian Way as we did, only staying in pensions and not doing any camping, check out this site.

Lycian Way #4 - Patara to Kalkan

If I had to nominate just one contestant for Turkey Top Chef, it would have to be the amazing woman at the Aspendos Restaurant in Patara.  Yes, we probably spent a little bit more there than we should have over our time in Patara. but how she deserved it!  nothing can describe the relief of coming back from a long day of hiking and knowing you have the Aspendos woman already working hard on your dinner.    Below, David drinking her homemade ayran (5 stars) out of an Efes glass.

Patara (or Gelemiş, as it is known today) was a cute little village, a bit more touristy than our outdated guidebook suggested and probably swarming by now with Australians and Brits (we heard many shopkeepers in the village speak English with colloquial British accents they'd no doubt picked up in the busy summers). As a base for hiking, however, you really couldn't ask for more, and in late April it was still peaceful and even genuine.  One day I went to post a letter from the Post Office but didn't have the right change.  The postman slapped a stamp on it, tossed it in the box and told me to come back tomorrow to pay.  Walking down the main street I dropped my hat without noticing and lamented its loss all day.  Sitting at Aspendos that evening, a man we had chatted with earlier came up and set the hat on the table.  "Bu şapka sizin değil miydi?" he asked me with a smile and a touch of reprimand.

Oh! Forgot to mention that Patara is also an ancient Lycian city with some pretty sweet ruins, but what city around here isn't?

Even the stray dogs were friendly, and like the residents, had learned how to make the most out of the neverending cycle of tourists.  Our first day this little dog followed us around everywhere, even napping next to us on the beach, a 30 minute walk from town.  He followed us to Aspendos, but when we didn't get him any food, we immediately started following the Turkish man and Russian woman who had just arrived in town.

It was a long day.  A very long day.  The hike was only 13k, but we had a little bit of trouble...finding the trail head.  We did find this Turkish evil eye pinned on the front of a truck grill:

After walking around 3 hours in the sun,

we finally found the trail ("no thanks to you, Kate Clow!" we sandwiched in between empty threats and curses).  We probably would have just turned around and called it a day, but we had told the Aspendos woman we were going to walk to Kalkan, and goddammit we were going to earn that dinner!  She would have been disappointed in us.  Of course after we found our way, we felt bad about all the horrible things we sad about Kate Clow, as there wouldn't even be such a trail for us to get lost on if it weren't for her.  The nice views cheered us up as well.

We weren't able to make it all the way to Kalkan, but instead called it quits a few kilometers before the end when we saw a main road with CARS.  Great invention, the car.

Do you see this mushroom soup?  It was the most delicious, mushroomy soup I have ever eaten.  The Aspendos woman kept telling us she made it from scratch.  "Fabrıkadan değil, ben yaptım!"  God have mercy on the poor soul that blames this amazing cook of making this soup out of a powder.  Tastes even better after walking around half the day lost.

This was the beach at sunset.  It is very religious-inspired greeting card, don't you think?

The Lycian Way #2 Fethiye to Kaya Koyu

Another installment from my April trip to southern Turkey.

The walk from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz was the first hike on our trip, and by far my favorite - climbing up above Fethiye with great views of the harbor, then through the woods, winding up and around to the deserted village of Kaya Köyü (UNESCO World Heritage site...and for good reason), and then a slow descent to the beautiful beaches of Ölüdeniz, a rest on the beach and a ride back to Fethiye after sundown.

Kaya Köyü was a largely Greek/Christian populated village until the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923.  It is worth a visit even if you aren't hiking the Lycian Way - it is reached easily by buses from Fethiye.

It is said that the village was the inspiration for Louis de Bernieres' beautiful novel Birds Without Wings, and in the opening pages of the novel, you can feel the village in his description:

When the town was alive, the walls of the houses were rendered with mortar and painted jauntily in the dark shades of pink.  Its streets were so narrow as to be more like alleyways, but there was no oppressive sense of enclosure, since the buildings were stacked up one slope of a valley, so that every dwelling received light and air.  In truth, the town seemed to have been marvellously designed by some ancient genius whose name was been lost, and there was probably no other place like it in all of Lydia, Caria or Lycia.  

Breathtaking village, breathtaking read.

This following picture is nothing great, but it does document the near-sacred event wherein we consumed perhaps the best gözleme/sac böreği ever, washed down with homemade ayran.  And that is not a claim one should make lightly!  On offer were meat, potato, spinach and cheese varieties, as one would expect, and a desert version with lemon juice and sugar.  It was so good we even entertaining hiking up again the next day just for one more taste of that limonlu şekerli goodness.

Hiking up the valley, through and then away from Kaya Köyü, we came to this ridge with beautiful views of the Mediterranean. 

Now this next part is a bit embarrassing.  David and I are usually such cool travelers.  Seriously.  We don't get all bent out of shape just because we see a blue sky or a picturesque bay.  Irreverent and jaded, and proud!  But standing on the ridge, we just stood there looking at the gorgeous view and repeating...it is so beautiful.  This just hours after we made fun of the Turks for never varying their postitive adjectives when describing amazement.  Everythign is always çok güzel...çok güzel.  But here, seriously.  Başka söyleyecek bir şey yok ki.  Was the Lycian Way ruining us for other travel?  Every hike is filled with amazing views and, I kept joking, "we don't even appreciate it!"  But now sitting here in my Crimean living room thinking about our week in Lycia (with this photo as my desktop image), I know that of course we did.

We made it to Ölüdeniz just in time for a sunset on the beach before a dolmuş back to Fethiye.

Along the Lycian Way - City escape in Fethiye

Here is a secret - we didn't actually trek the entire Lycian Way (that would take weeks...of hard work!), and we didn't even actually carry our stuff.  We just based ourselves in towns along the way and made day trips, finding a bus or a kind local to take us back to our accommodation at the end of the day.

We started out in Fethiye,which is far from the road less travelled, but nice nonetheless.  Especially in April, before the tourist season heats up too much, it makes a good base for day trips.

My advice in case you ever make it there, and I hope you do

1.  If you ever see this in a pension in Fethiye (or anywhere for that matter), run away.  Fast.  Yes, that is dust on cobwebs on nudity.

2.  For dinner, stop by the Fish Market.  They've got a great system going that really is a win-win for everyone involved.  You buy a fish from market, which is really just an island of fish sellers surrounded by cute restaurants outflowing into the square.  Take your bag o' fish to any of the restaurants in the circle (preferably one that already looks full of rakı-soaked locals) and hand it to your server.  For 5 TL (about 3 dollars), they'll prepare your fish and also bring you salad and bread.  Of course rakı and mezeler aren't included in the price, but certainly necessary for the experience.

David choosing fish

Aforementioned rakı-soaked locals (David took this shot, I was too shy!)

But I got this one, after waiting for 20 minutes for him to finish off his drink and letting my fish get cold.

3.  For breakfast, don't be tempted by the cacophony of establishments screaming "TURKISH BREAKFAST."  Yes, Turkish breakfasts are good, but chances are you'll get your fill of them by the time you leave Turkey anyway.  So wander around town and look for a nice small place serving menemen or almost any type of börek.

This börek place had a small but delicious variety:  spinach, cheese, meat, spinach and cheese.  An order came with tomato and cucumber on the side and some spicy little peppers.

At least I found them spicy.

David did not.

4.  If you get a chance - especially if you can't make it out here - watch the 2006 Turkish film Dondurmam Gaymak.  It is available with English subtitles and the international title is "Ice Cream, I Scream."  But the Turkish title - Dondurmam Gaymak - means "My ice cream is creamy," and is a poke at how a village ice cream seller might call out for customers...over and over again.

Sidetracked - I love the unique ways sellers call out with their goods.  Dondurmam gaymaaaak!!  It reminds me of the old second hand buyer that used to wander around my neighborhood and wail "eskiciiiiiiiiiiiiiii," not sounding much unlike a goat.  When I was travelling with Kelly to Ephesus, there was an old man selling figs to tourists.  He yelled out in English:  "Freeeiissshhhh Fiieeeegs!!"  My heart melted.

Back to the point - Why watch this film? It is a great picture of village life in this part of Turkey.  I love the scene with the shepherd grazing his sheep in a ruined amphitheater.  There are so many layers of history throughout Turkey, but here especially its reminders pop up everywhere and weave their way into daily life.

Amphitheater by the Fethiye port, near the pension with the statue of the horrible spiderweb Medusa.  Seemed quite the teenage hangout as well.

And if you go to the right place, damn, the dondurma might as well be kaymak.  

Baklava, sakızlı dondurma and tea

Next post - some actual tourist attractions, so you don't think all I did on this vacation was eat...

The Lycian Way

I'm a bit behind on my posts from my trip to Turkey in April, and with the weather so beautiful in Crimea and my research time quickly coming to a close, I doubt I'll be able to post everything I'd like.

Ever since my first year in Turkey, I've wanted to hike the Lycian Way.  Natalya came to visit me in Istanbul in 2006 and ended up getting a job working at Reflections Camp in Kabak.  I went to visit her for a long weekend and fell in love with the valley.  What's not to love - a secluded beach, just a swim away from some hidden caves in the cliff and a hike over some fallen rocks to to next cove with a quiet beach with no road access.  Great food cooked at the camp, mostly from village produce and food supplies, and a perfect location on the Lycian Way, with day hikes to a cool waterfall and amazing views.  Even in the hottest part of summer, the Mediterranean light, smell and heat are intoxicating.  I traveled back for a few days when Kelly came to visit me in the summer of 2008.  What sorry, jaded soul wouldn't fall in love with this part of the world?  

This lovely photo of me, courtesy of David, was taken after approximately 3 hours of wandering around in the hot sun looking for...the trail. 

Knowing that soon I'm heading back to that big ol' island called America, I wanted to travel back and finally explore more of the trail.  Not that going back to graduate school is the end of my travelling days, but, as they say, better safe than sorry.  David planned us a beautiful route, that while not going to Kabak, brought us in a few days to some of the most beautiful parts of the Lycian Way.  I'll be posting about them over the next days (weeks?).  In the mean time, you can find out more about the trail on its official website, TimeOut Istanbul, and the Guardian.