Turkish roads are full of road side stalls, shops selling nuts and dried fruit and people with a camp like set up selling tea and freshly cooked corn on the cob. Ali knows the best ones and we stocked up on roasted chickpeas,almonds and hazelnuts. This shop was amazing and many bought lovely knives and wooden spoons . I bought a gorgeous brass spice grinder.
There is nothing like a disruption in the day and when the bus breaks down, due a faulty fuel gauge – we spent a couple of hours on the side of the road – reading, chatting and making wild flower posies!!! A can of petrol that Ali sourced after taking off on some randoms motorbike along with the local mechanic and his trusty CRC we were under way again in a couple of hours
Good always come from bad and the mechanic suggested a great local family run restaurant selling Gozleme – the ” can’t stop eating ” filled type pancake .Wow, in minutes we had 3 girls cranking up the fire , rolling out the dough, cooking the filled pancakes on a hot griddle and serving with a fresh salad – Yummy varieties all kept coming and coming ..The family including the children served us a deliectibale lunch in no time at all.
Today Turkey goes to the polls and election voting takes place evidently in schools and village town halls – There is nothing around to indicate where to vote , the buntings and hoardings have all come down. You are only eligible to vote if you are in your own town on the day !!! so sadly Ali and Hasan and Ghengis our driver miss out.
Kas sitting perfectly on the coastline was a welcomed stop and our hotel was right in the middle of the town. Although we were all hanging out for a glass of wine – due the the election Alcohol was forbidden to be served until after midnight…This is a perfect place for the shoppers among us and boy did they do well. My favourite Turkish towel shop had terrific new colours and the variety makes it hard to choose!!!
This is a lovely town and sitting on a high balcony on a warm night over looking the boat harbour was pretty nice .
The following day was our day on the water -Hasan had negotiated a Gulet -( wooden traditional boat) the night before and as the group walked down to the boats lined up ready for daily excursions I am sure they wondered what was in store for them.
Swimming in the Mediterranean was a first for many and it’s very salty water means you can float and acqua jog effortlessly. The owners of the boat Mustafa and his wife went out of their way to make our day special and memorable – including their son ( sorry I can’t remember his name ) he looked about 10 and ran about helping everyone. He loved bombing us in the water and Rae enjoyed getting him back. It was so relaxing and perfect after some of the long bus trips. A pre- lunch wine sitting on the top deck before a lunch with platters lined up down the dining table including delicious barbecued chicken cooked on charcoal in a barbecue attached to the side of the boat, along with typical wonderful salads and Meze.
This coastal region of Turkey is known as the Lycian Coast. This was a political and Cultural centre from the 4th century BC for over 500 years. But, like many of the incredible Greek and Roman cities it faded into obscurity and became the home of goats and Fishermen. Today it is experiencing a huge tourist revival and attracting visitors from around the world.
We passed the coastline of Kekova – a long skinny island known as the sunken city. The city drowned after a massive earthquake and today its amazing to see the some of the walls, steps, sarcophagi and the outline of houses – now visible just above the water line. We stopped at the ancient city of Simena – some walked to the fortress at the top – others negotiated the uneven steps – we had a very funny time buying very cheap batik dyed dresses – edged with crocheted cotton edges and little shells along the bottom. Some bought jewellery and scarves . They are incredibly cheap – Vegetables and herbs were planted in old olive oil cans and made wonderful garden on the edge of the water.
This was a terrific, fun relaxing day – we feel rejuvinated and this day will sit with the other wonderful set of memories to store and dip into when the tour is over .