More Turkey Anyone??

The end of the Middle East, heading back into Turkey signified the turning point in the trip & from this point on it was homeward bound!
It felt a little strange to be back in Turkey where although still Muslim, the country and people felt much more Western than it had previously. We decided to take the coastal road which was absolutely gorgeous, winding up through the hills and down again, passing lush green forests always with the sea on our left.
The first night we stopped at a roadside campsite in a small village, the name of which escapes me (N 36 04.853, E 32 53.555) and for the bargain price of 25YTL we camped in the bottom of a garden campsite " Campsite Paradies" owned by a fluent German speaking Turkish gentleman. It had a stunning view of a castle on the shores of the Med and the campsite ran right down to a sandy beach, so we took full advantage and went for a dip in the sea. Fab! After our dip as we trudged up the beach we noticed some small metal tepee constructions and once we had deciphered the sign realised that they were to protect sea turtle nests.


Then next day we drove on to visit Chimera - also known as the Flaming Rocks ( N 36 25.778, E30 27.907) We arrived fairly late in the afternoon, then waited till just gone 7pm before we started the ascent up the mountain. I didn't know what to expect as i hadn't really heard or read anything about the area, but i was in for an amazing sight. The climb up took about 20 minutes or so and by the time we reached the top it was dusk and in the fading light the flames looked so dramatic. There are clusters of rocks, and almost like little fireplaces where flames are flickering out from the ground. A sign at the bottom of the mountain says that no-one is quite sure of the exact mix or make up of the gasses which seep out from the ground, and it is such a strange sight. We found some areas where there were no flames but scorched rock and Adam produced a lighter from his pocket and in the manner of a sorcerer conjured up flames from the rock much to the amusement of some of the other visitors. On his 2nd attmept at doing this, in an area of rock that was a little bit more recessed, the force of the ingnition was such that he managed to singe all the hair off his hand!! :o)

Our next stop was to be Olu Deniz where we had planned to spend the majority of our time in turkey on the way back through but on arrival it was heaving & i took a bit of a dislike to the only campsite in town - vastly overpriced with arrogant, rude staff - so we headed out of town a little disappointed an uncertain of what to do next. Adam saved the day - as per usual - by following a tiny sign as we came up and out of town, towards a place called Katranci.
What a lovely place it was. It was the locals alternative to the big resorts, cheap camping,a nice cafe, a small section of beach & loads of families just enjoying the weekend. I am pretty certain from what i could see that we were the only non-locals. It was great - music playing, groups of men out in the sea, ladies on the shore in the full hijab looking after the kids, and some ladies wading out into the sea in theirs - which was quite a strange sight. Lovely just to see everyone enjoying themselves. Another benefit of coming to this place was that the prices were not outrageous and so we enjoyed a late snack of gozleme & efes on the cafe terrace overlooking the sea (N 36 42.618, E29 01.949)
We spent 3 or 4 days just lazing by the beach, swimming, reading & drinking efes. A mini holiday!


Just like xmas - there's still more Turkey, the next update sees us in Pamakale, Efes & Iznik...