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Diary - Turkey - Istanbul to Cirali (11th Apr to 24th Apr)
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| After the excitement and thrill of Istanbul we fancied a few days of relaxation on a small, beach side campsite. It was the complete opposite from the city, with wild flowers surrounding the tent and lapping waves gently sending you off to sleep. It also proved a wonderful place for meeting some superb people, all of whom had reams of travel stories and advice to share. Typically they all turned out to be German and from Bavaria, though different in that Tom was an overlander in a massive Unimog truck, whilst Margeret and Iger were lucky retirees who spend six months a year travelling on a motorbike or yacht. |
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| After doing nothing but reading and going to the Sunday market, simply to be overwhelmed with the quantity people buy, we decided to get back to being tourists and hit the major sites. The first site was Ephesus, one of Turkeys main ruined sites, dating back to 1000bc. However in our eyes it didn’t live up to the hype and status that it has reached as pillars and carvings were placed like a museum in areas that made them look out of place. We did manage to end up being the last people to leave the site, giving us a unique opportunity to get some wonderful photos without groups of Japanese and a silly person waving a stick in the air. |
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| With no real access to local everyday information, even the hunt for replacement gas can turn into a mini adventure and test. However after four days without any means to boil some water we were determined to work out where we could get some. First stop meant the marina, who eventually gave us a name of the company and simply said it was in the middle of town! So off we went in that direction, aimlessly taking any which road in the hope of stumbling upon it. Instead we found every other type of gas company, but the one we needed. After some pointing and finger counting we had narrowed down our search and found the place, only to have the bottle stripped from our hands like taking sweets from a baby by a kid who followed us into the shop. This was to turn out to be the scooter boy who took them away for refilling. |
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| Aphrodisias was our next ruined city and was nothing but wonderful in comparison to Ephesus. You wonder around the city in its original layout, including stadium, baths, amphitheatre and many remains of buildings and walls. Part of the site is simply rubble and collapsed walls or pillars, but this is where the beauty is, with wild plants and shrubs fighting back to reclaim what was once theirs, wrapping up large stonework where they fell. When you stand still and soak up the surroundings you can imagine how life was with horses trotting around the stone clad roads, the grandeur of the sporting events, the gossiping in the baths and the status of those who took up the intricate marbled seating within the amphitheatres. |
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| Stepping off the beaten track away from tour buses and major roads, we chose unclassified roads for our journey back towards the coast. This gave us an insight into how tough the landscape and life can be within the rural areas. Going through small villages that no tourist ever passes through was really enjoyable and funny when you see groups of people halt their conversation and watch, open mouthed, as you drive by. Many people were friendly and waved to us, but some only realised after we had past that there were two daft English people grinning and waving at them from inside. |
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| With no camping options it was time for Steve to overcome his wild camping worries. So we managed to find an idyllic spot on the stony bank of a river, not having a clue where we actually were. With coffee and a book in hand we relaxed and watched the turquoise water rush passed us, only to see a father and son approaching up the river fishing. They were using a simple home made net that they tossed into the river and then yanked out, all whilst wearing suit trousers and shoes, certainly the smartest fisherman we have seen (though the goat herders give them a run for their money in smart attire). After Katie’s inquisitive nature had made the initial introduction, simply to find they were both freezing and soaking from retrieving the net, they proceeded to give us their only two fish they had caught. But not being fish lovers and not wanting to take food away from a family, we declined, offering biscuits in the hope they would not take offence. It worked as the son appeared the next day |
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| With a new found keenness for wild camping we opted to go cheap and stayed in the car park surrounding Kas Harbour. Thinking other campervans would be doing the same, only to find out after a short walk around town that they had all vanished and we were destined to camp alone. We were only metres away from local fishing boats and sticking out like a sore thumb, but we persevered and stayed. The night became even more bizarre after an evening stroll and an ice cream at 9pm, when we returned to Gweneveer and a bus driver approached us. Yet again a local with no English ability and our Turkish still lacking any real skill, we ended up sharing drinks and nibbles, sat by his coach along with his second driver for the rest of the night. Not realising two hours had passed and we were all having fun playing a strange, almost drunken game of charades just to find out who had any children. |
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| Travelling along such beautiful and twisting coastline, with the sun beating down every day we were enticed into the water, so we spent a day kayaking around Kekova. The purpose of the trip was to visit a sheltered bay that is home to ‘The Sunken City’, however it turned out to be not so much sunk, as simply fell into the mighty depths. It was still an enjoyable day with Katie continuing to be the mighty animal finder, including Crabs, Tortoises and a dog that led us to the tourist spots. At our lunch stop at a tiny village with no road, we watched the locals catching Calamari with nothing more than a hook, some line and an old lemonade bottle. |
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| It is proving really nice to be part of a travelling community, especially so far from home as you end up meeting people again and again. This gave us privilege to meet up with Margeret and Iger for dinner on board their “country cottage” style, hand built wooden yacht. It also gave us a sneaky chance to use the marina facilities for hot showers and swapping books that we had finished (a recommendation/tip for any travellers). Whilst in Finike we wandered around town being followed by a stray dog, which are throughout turkey. Unfortunately we were not able to loose him, regardless how hard we tried and however many shops we went in, he always found us again with a wagging tale. |
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| After a fraught morning caused by lack of planning and excessive driving we turned up in Cirali, to camp just off the beech where Logger Headed Turtles lay eggs (in the summer!). It was yet another perfect spot, with no facilities but a vast stretch of beach and hills encasing the place into a secluded bay. The relaxed nature of the place meant that we stayed put for three nights of quite, uninterrupted peace. We did do some walking whilst here and ventured to both Olympos, a ruined and very overgrown city (just how we like it), along with the mystical Chimera. The Chimera or Eternal Flame represents an area of hill top that has a handful of flames that spew from the rocks and even when extinguished they some how reignite themselves. It was a great night trekking up and back, along with looking at yet another wondrous sight of Mother Nature. The evening was completed by yet another invitation of some tea by the ticket man on our descent. |
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| Beach Camp Spot |
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| Friends at camp |
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| Sunset Drinks |
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| Ephesus Statue |
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| Replacement Head |
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| River Dishes |
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| Animal Finder |
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| Harbour Camping |
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| Kayaking |
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| Chimera Wind |
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