20110411 - Hiking the Lycian Way Turkey

Hiking the Lycian way is a great way to escape the crowds, see real Turkish villages and also enjoy some spectacular scenery along the Aegean Coast. Descriptions below, and Garmin route map links also below for each section of the hike.

Waking early in Fethiye (well, breakfast starts at 8am, the Turkish aren't too keen to get up earlier than that in Spring!), we took a 5 lira Dolmus (a mini-bus... which means "Stuffed" in Turkish) to Esen. We then took a 50 lira "taxi" (a beat up, old 4 door sedan) the 20 km from Esen to Alinca for the start of our hike. Hiking through pine forests, it was downhill the whole way to Kabak... the views were amazing. We stayed at the Olive Garden, a cliff top restaurant-cum-hotel run by a former chef. The views and food were absolutely stunning. Day two we hiked only a few hours, along a level contour to the village of Faralya... again, more ridiculous views, plenty of bright red poppies and other mountain flowers. Frankly, I'm surprised we didn't see Julie Andrews singing, it was that scenic. We unloaded our packs at George House (ok, but not as nice as Olive Garden), ate lunch, then climbed (yes, "climbed", not "hiked") down to Butterfly valley - home of the Tiger Jersey butterfly who wasn't around because it was too early in the season. The valley was still nice, and the weather was good enough to hop in the Aegean for a bit (cold, but not too bad). We then climbed back up (easier than down climbing), then watched the sunset with a bottle of wine and enjoyed a traditional dinner. NOTE: dinners here were all vegetarian... not sure if this is cultural, or the proprietors are just usually health conscious, but we weren't complaining! Day 3 we hiked along mainly dirt roads to Ovacik where we caught a Dolmus back to Fethiye. We had another day and a half in Fethiye, and mainly just relaxed and ate yummy food at Mozaic Bahce, a wonderful eastern turkish restaurant that also sold Turkish lamps (we bought one, of course).

Alinca to Kabak: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616919

Kabak to Faralya: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616923

Faralya to Butterfly Valley: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616929

Butterfly Valley to Faralya: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616937

Faralya to Ovacik: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616941

20110410 - Afrodisius & Hierapolis Turkey

Waking early in Selcuk, we drove several hours inland to Afrodisius, a beautiful and quiet Roman ruins in a tranquil valley. This was far quieter and a more pleasant experience than Ephesus, but again, it's rather remote. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here, and could have stayed longer, but we had to drive another couple of hours to Hierapolis. Hiearapolis is a UNESCO site, but it was a little appaling to how badly it's been ruined, and I'm surprised the UN hasn't gotten around to removing it's status. The calcium travertine pools were all basically diverted or ruined in some way during the tourist boom of the 80s and 90s (I'd like to take a minute to lambaste the baby boomer generation for yet another thing they ruined). At any rate, the ruins are interesting, and if you get here with time, you can even walk barefoot on the calcium from the village up to the roman ruins... very cool. We then had to drive another few hours to Fethiye, so no time for dithering (which is fine, because Hierapolis is totally over run with tour groups).

The drive was pretty enough, but it started snowing (yes, snow... very novel coming from Bangkok) over one of the mountain passes. Luckily it wasn't cold enough to stick, and our 4 door diesel Renault handled just fine. We arrived in Fethiye, checked into the Yacht Classic Hotel (recommended) and had the evening to relax.

20110409 Selcuk Turkey

Flying from istanbul to izmir, we rented a car and drove south to Selcuk, home of Ephesus (library pictured), the Temple of Artemis (one of the original 7 wonders of the world) and some beautiful countryside. We stayed at Naz Han in Selcuk, recommended by the Lonely Planet, but we didn't think much of the place. Selcuk was a quiet little town, a relaxing change from Istanbul. We were able to drive up to a cute little village (Sirince) for an evening drink and some wonderful dolmas.

One thing to note: arrive at Ephesus at the main (south) parking lot 10 minutes before the place opens and run like heck to the library to get some great pictures. Snap pics of the ampitheatre and surrounding sites along the way, then move uphill and start your tour from the top while walking back downhill. this beats the crowds (which mainly all start from above) and you'll be walking downhill with the heat of the day (which is better than walking uphill). the audio guides aren't great, but rent them if you don't have a decent guidebook.

Selcuk is a nice place, but really deserves only a night or two, depending on arrival and departure times.

20110406 - Istanbul Turkey

Arriving in Istanbul on the red eye from Bangkok, we immediately headed to the Hotel Dersaadet in Sultanahmet. April is an amazing month to visit Turkey... there are fewer tourists, prices are reasonable, and the fresh Spring air was a relief from Bangkok's humidity. The proximity of all the major sites is quite remarkable, within just a few square kilometers, there is more historical buildings and museums than one could possibly soak up in a week (we had 3 1/2 days).

We headed off to see the Blue Mosque (which is basically next door to the hotel). The mosque is quite incredible, probably even more striking from the outside than from within. We then headed the 300 meters over to Aya Sophia (Haghia Sophia), which was a Byzantine church build 1,000 years prior to the Blue Mosque. Frankly, while not as beautiful from the outside, it was a lot more interesting than the Blue Mosque. We spent the better part of the morning there, only stopping for fresh pressed pomegranite juice and Turkish coffee.

We meandered over to the Basilica Cisterns, and seeing a well usually isn't all that interesting, but the beautiful engineering and the eerie glow of the place make this a necessary stop. We then walked up to the Grand Bazaar. Now, for those of you coming from the West, the bazaar might seem a little overwhelming, but frankly, Chatuchuk Market in Bangkok is more frenetic, and probably about the same size and scale. We even saw similar products (at obviously inflated prices). However, it's worth a stroll, as the colors and architecture are amazing. We stopped for lunch (which was expensive and horrible), then moved on for more window shopping, and decided to buy a Turkish coffee set. We settled on a price and moved on to the Spice Bazaar. Again, a tourist really wouldn't buy much here (apart from Turkish Delight), but the architecture, sounds and smells are worth the walk down from the bazaar. We walked right by a local place that was grinding fresh coffee (locals only in line), so we obviously had to stop and buy some coffee.

After walking through the spice bazaar, one comes out in front of the "New Mosque" (which is 400 years old. It's a beautiful building, and right across from the Galata bridge. As our jet lag hadn't quite set in, we walked over the bridge towards Galata Tower (a Genoese fortification), but now fortified with cute stores and restaurants.

We spent another 1/2 day in Topkapi Palace, where the Ottomans ran their empire. Definitely worth a 1/2 day for any visitors coming through, but get here early, as it's a popular tour stop.

We also spent another 1/2 day on a Bosphorus cruise up to the Black sea and back. You can stop along the way, or take the ferry to the end, hop off, catch some lunch, then hike up to some ruins, then catch the ferry back. It's very nice, especially if you're tired or just need an escape from the streets of Istanbul. Again, coming from Asia, Istabul (while very populous) isn't as crazy as say, Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok, but if you're coming from suburban America, this cruise is a welcome escape.

We also were able to take in a Turkish Bath... now, this is recommended, but depending on who you are, you might need to be very careful where you go. For couples, we went to Suleymaniye Hamami (next to the Suleymaniye Camii), and would recommend it. If you're male, then you can pretty much go anywhere, and for single women reading this, well, I really have no idea.

All in all, Istanbul is one of the world's top 10 greatest cities, and if you're an experienced traveler who doesn't really like museums, then 3-4 days is plenty, but for real history buffs a week is recommended.