Turkeys vast and varied landscape changes daily and on our ride from Kusadasi to Pamukkale we have left the cotton fields behind and we are surrounded by olive trees, then peaches, apricots, cherries, figs and pomegranates. On the roadside are countless stalls selling fresh fruit, bottles of homemade pomegranate molasses and huge water melons.The fruit is ripe and tastes of the sun with juice that dribbles down your chin and onto your clothes !!!
Our second one night stop in Pamukkale gives us time to walk down the travertine, formations built up over the millennia from limestone deposited by the abundant hot springs. They have made ‘Pamukkale’ famous which means cotton castle. It’s very busy with tourists but an impressive visit and is excellent conditioning for your feet walking on the rough surface. Pamukkale is also a spa town with hot mineral water pools at most hotels. They provide an extensive massage menu, which most of us enjoyed. Some evidently pummelled, but tell me didn’t scream …
A stunningly beautiful drive took us up over the Taurus mountain range and down to the coast again to arrive in plenty of time for a late afternoon swim in the Mediterranean – perfectly situated immediately over the road from our hotel in Kas. This delightful town is full of lovely shops and alive until well after 12pm each night. The streets are crammed with families, children and visitors, all out enjoying the beautiful evening temperatures. Restaurants have tables outside in the streets and courtyards with views of the harbour, full of Gulet boats ready to take day trips out each day, to places like Kekova and it’s 3000-year-old sunken city.
One of my favourite dining experiences on this tour is in the private courtyard at Bahce restaurant. This is family run and the matriarch mamma is sitting watching the evening dining performance take place. Her grandchildren are waiting in the tables and son and daughter in law provide the best service along with excellent traditional delicious food.
Our full day in Kas was also on a Gulet and indeed to Kekova and the sunken city. It doesn’t come much better than this, sailing through the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean, stopping to swim several times, enjoying the long lunch of salads and barbecued chicken followed by a siesta on the lounger mats. By late afternoon and a tad sunburnt we were suitably relaxed enough to do a spot of shopping !!! and in the late evening a drink of the customary Raki in a rooftop bar. Turkey provides the most wide ranging shopping experiences and with a very good exchange rate it’s hard to pass up the opportunity to buy. (Well that’s my excuse)
A shorter drive to Antalya takes us past thousands and thousands of shade houses growing tomatoes, capsicums, eggplant, courgettes, melons etc. This is a massive export industry and also supplying the Turkish demand for its 80 million inhabitants. Stopping at our usual trout farm for lunch, sitting on couches above the river, once again causes amusement and hilarity. We are served by lovely young men who have left their home further inland and just want to come to New Zealand. You cant help but feel for their plight and desire to improve themselves.
The two blokes on tour played golf here.in Anatalya. Picked up very early in the morning before the temperature rose too high, they enjoyed 18 hole at one of the exclusive clubs in Antalya. Meanwhile, the girls had their customary visit to the leather showroom – bigger than I could describe and full of the most exquisite range of coats and jackets you have ever seen, all made of leather and fur. We didn’t venture to the VIP floor and everyone found a jacket or a bag or both to enjoy for life. My did neice did comment about my fluffy coat and asked – Can’t tell many animals exactly ended up in this coat, but it looks like a few..
We are staying in the Kaukuc hotel, in the old town of Antalya. It is run by an effervescent lady called Rengin and she can’t do enough for us. I always enjoy her company and I think she is my Turkish sister. The hotel has an inner courtyard off the narrow street lined with carpet shops and restaurants and provides a quiet, private oasis with a swimming pool and outside dining under a huge tree and a wall dripping with Jasmine. There was time for another hilarious visit to the local Hamam – (Turkish bath) We certainly emerged squeaky clean and like previous tours everyone has certainly embraced this Turkish experience. To our delight we also found a cat sanctuary where they house the local stray cats and give them away, plus donations pay for food. Turkey has cats and dogs all over in every town and city. The locals feed them and evidently if you take a stray cat or dog to a vet you don’t have to pay.
We depart Antalya for Cappadocia early. The longest drive of the tour is very interesting and we pass through several diverse landscapes in one day. As we head out of Antalya the coast is lined with massive hotels catering for the enormous numbers of Russians that visit here each summer. Evidently there is over 2000 5 star hotels here and you can stay in anything that looks like the Kremlin, Titanic, Domabache Palace, Concorde etc etc….
The vast plains are planted mainly in wheat, sunflowers and maize. They seem to go on forever in the distance. We climb the Taurus mountains once again to 1870m above sea level, through the rocky backdrop of naturalised Pine and Cedar trees. The roadsides have pop up cafes selling fresh fruits, jars of preserved olives, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and jams of every variety, along with the unavoidable glasses of tea.
The Konya plain is on the ‘other side’ and is a welcome lunch stop of the famous stuffed flat Pide of this region. We all couldn’t resist the deliciousness of this tasty bread and ate far too much.
The familiar scenery of the Capaddocia rolling hills were a appreciated earlier than we expected. We had made good time. Life for the next four nights is at Hasan’s nephew’s hotel Asawari Suites in Urgup. Time to be spoiled once again in Alison and Hasan’s home town, sleep in a Cave room and get to know their region from an insider’s perspective.
Well done Judith…your blogs are excellent in every way, descriptive to a point that I can almost taste and smell Turkey, and so ‘ inviting’, encourages me to admit that I missed at great trip.