Gorges and Bicycles

After two nights in our little tree house in Kabak it was nice to leave and head back to civilization.  But before we got to civilization our first stop was to the ancient city of Pinara. Colleen kept thinking that we were goint to Panera and was a bit disappointed that there was no one there selling fresh baked bread.  But I digress... Pinara was one of the most important cities from the Lichan period (according to both our guide, Mutlu, and the lonely planet).  We saw many tombs, an agora (I checked and there were not any agoraphobics in the group) as well as a theater.  Most of the homes had been destroyed by various earthquakes over the years.  When we got to the theater, Mutlu sang us the Turkish national anthem and then Eram and Amir put on a traditional Pakistani dance (I think it was traditional) and then the whole tour group got together and Eram led us in another dance. 

After Pinara we all hopped back in the bus and many of us napped as we headed to our lunch spot at a place called Yaka Park. You have the option at Yaka Park to stand in the brisk water with trout for 5 minutes and in exchange you get a free drink; 15 minutes for free lunch.  We all decided to forgo the pond and pay for our food the old fashioned way... cash. 

After a leisurely lunch we headed to our next stop, the Saklikent Gorge.  Here we all donned our water shoes and walked hand-in-hand across the very cold stream of water into the gorge.  Once we were in the gorge the water was pleasantly warm and muddy.  Mostly the walking was easy but there were times scrambeling over rocks through the water that were a bit dicey.  Fortunately we all made it back our with all our limbs intact. 

The drive to Dalyan was long and a bit boring but I had no trouble sleeping after spending most of hte day under the beating sun.  Once we got to our hotel we only had a short time to shower, change and head out for dinner.  We decided to try Pita Pizza.  It is actually called Pide which is essentially Turkey's equivalent to pizza. It was one of the better meals so far in my opinion, ranking about even with the Turkish pancake.

In the morning of Day 6 (I can't believe how quickly the trip has gone) we headed our for our day of cycling.  Because the temperature is so hot in the summer we were able to skip the 10 km climb that usually starts the day and instead drive up to the top of hte hill and begin there.  Unfortunately, this didn't eliminate all the climbs but it got us out of the longest one.  Once we reached the top, we were all fitted with bikes and began with some off-road biking.  Mostly it was gentle enough, but there were definitely moments where I questioned whether I was due to break my left arm again (it's been 7 years since the last break).  Furtunately I made it through the and the dirt road turned into a nice smooth asphalt.  Well maybe not smooth but definitely better than the rocky dirt one.  We stopped for tea and lunch along the way and eventually made it to turtle beach for a swim.  The beach, while not as blue as the water at the blue lagoon, was nice and sandy and much warmer than our last swim.  The breeze kept us cool but soon turned a little too windy just as it was time to head back to Dalyan.

Escape to the Blue Lagoon

We flew from Istanbul to Dalaman and took a bus from there to our hotel in Fethiye on the Mediterranean coast. After a short rest we walked along the waterfront which is filled with boats offering tours and diving trips and eventually stopped for a seafood dinner. We all opted for a meze dinner that consisted of a number of small plates of seafood including octopus 2 ways, calamari 2 ways, lumberjack fish cooked in lemon (ala ceviche), shrimp, a shrimp and cheese patty, some kind of miscellaneous seafood egg-roll-like item as well as a seafood casserole which was tasty but hard to identify. I was quite proud of myself for not only trying everything they brought to the table but actually enjoying much of it. By the time we finished, which seemed like hours later, it was time for bed.

We didn’t have to be ready until 10:30 the next morning so after a traditional Turkish breakfast (essentially deconstructed greek salad – tomatoes, cucumber, and cheese) Colleen and I went for a walk through town in the daylight. It was already quite hot so after a bit of walking we stopped at a café and each ordered some fresh fruit juice – watermelon for Colleen and pear for me. While the pear was a shocking color of pink that didn’t seem quite normal, it tasted delicious. At 10:30 we met in the lobby and headed out for our first day of hiking. We walked along a dirt road with spectacular Mediterranean views and then dipped down through a forest to the town on Kaya for lunch. We ate on a breezy terrace overlooking the small village and farms. Since the restaurant was also a wine store we decided to order a bottle of Turkish fruit wine for our table. After a little debate we decided on the cherry wine. I, being a huge fan of cherries, was particularly excited to give it a taste. I’d never had fruit wine before and wasn’t quite sure what to expect but after my first taste I quickly discovered that Robitussen cough syrup was modeling it’s taste off of Turkish cherry wine and doing a really good job of it.

After lunch our hike continued through the ghost town of Kayaköy. It had been inhabited by the Greeks but after WWI the Greeks and Turks made a swap and all of the Greeks living in Turkey were sent back to Greece and vice versa. No one ever returned to Kayaköy and now the only inhabitants are the goats which made me question whether our guide was calling it a ghost town or a goat town.

Our hike continued to the blue lagoon in the town of Ölüdeniz. Once we arrived at the blue lagoon we changed into our swim suits and went for a swim. The water was the perfect temperature and in no way was I interested in escaping from the blue lagoon. We were given about two hours to frolick in the water (although after about an hour I went to watch the Germans destroy England’s hope of a World Cup.)

Eventually it was time to depart the blue lagoon and head to our hotel in nearby Kabak. En-route to our hotel our guide (Mutlu) was sharing details for the following day’s activities. After hearing what was being offered we staged a mini revolt and demanded to go paragliding instead. At first Mutlu seemed a bit annoyed by the request but eventually gave in and coordinated everything for us. The only bad news was that we would have to wake up a little early than other days so we could get to the Paragliding office back in Ölüdeniz by 8:30. While the drive from sea level to the 2000 meter high peak of up Baba Dağ was not fun, it quickly proved worthwhile. I wasn’t out of the truck more than 5 minutes before I was geared up and told to run. I really only got one real step in before the wind got us and my feet no longer reached the ground. While paragliding doesn’t give you the same rush as skydiving, it was still worth every penny.

After paragliding we headed back to Kabak for a lunch of Turkish pancakes. These are nothing like American pancakes. In fact, I don’t really know how to describe them except to say they are a cross between a crepe and quesadilla. Mine was filled with potatoes, cheese and parsley and was quite delicious and just enough food to fuel me for our hike through the butterfly valley back to our hotel. Similar to the day before, the hike gave us some great views of the Mediterranean but I was disappointed that there was not a butterfly to be seen anywhere.

Airpot to Istanbul to Airport to Istanbul

Colleen and I arrived in Istanbul sans luggage.  We watched while the people arround us spied their luggage, smiled, and left the airport while we waited.  And waited. We went into the Turkish Airlines luggage office and they asked us to go back out and wait some more.  So we did but with no luck.  I do not recommend losing your luggage in Istanbul because they apparently can tell you nothing. 

In the morning, after showering and putting my dirty clothes back on we went downstairs and learned that our luggage had arrived at the airport.  We were given two options:  1. Wait for the luggage to be delivered to the hotel or 2. go to the airport and pick it up.  The risk with option 1 is that the bags might not get to the hotel before we would have to leave for the airport to fly to Fethiye.  So we went for option 2.  We returned to the airport and it is a good thing we got there when we did. Colleen's bag was in a pile about to be loaded on a truck for delivery to our hotel and mine was in next to the lost luggage office with a tag indicating it was to be delivered to Alan Jan. 

We quickly changed into new clothes before dropping our bags back off at the hotel and finally we got to see a little bit of Istanbul (besides the airport and hotel) with the rest of the tour group.  First we went to the Basilica Cistern.  This is an underground water storage built in the sixth century to supply water to the Great Palace.  It was forgotten about for a few hundred years when it was redescovered in the 16th century.  Now it is a really great place to escape the heat in the summer as well as check out the Medussa heads.

Next we made our way to the blue mosque.  We only had about 15 minutes to marvel at the beautiful stained glasses and tiled domes before all the tourists were kicked out for prayer time. 

After the mosque we proceeded to the Hippodrome.  I'm sad to say that there was not a hippo to be found.  At one time, this was the site of the beloved chariot races but now it is merely a nice looking park.  Among the sites in the hippodrome was an Egyptian obelisk from Karnak.  When I was in Karnak a few years ago, I didn't notice that it was missing any obelisks but I plan to go back through my pictures and see if I can find the spot from where it was ripped so that it could come to Istanbul and guard the hippos that once lived there.  (I might be making that last part up.)

bir iki üç

For as long as I can remember I've heard stories about my dad and his family arriving in Turkey for the first time. My grandpa had been there for a while and then brought over the rest of the family to live in Ankara while he was setting up a new factory for Minneapolis Moline (for those of you reading this that were there, feel free to comment and correct anything). My dad was only 10 or 11 at the time and either before they left the US or sometime in route my grandpa taught my dad how to count in Turkish. So when they got to the immigration counter and the officer demanded to know if anyone spoke Turkish my dad confidently spoke up and said "bir iki üç". This seemed to lighten the mood and quickly my dad and his family were out of the airport about to embark on their two year Turkish Adventure.

When Colleen told me she was going to Turkey I couldn't pass up the opportunity to embark on my own Turkish Adventure, albeit for two weeks not two years. I'm all packed and just hours away from take-off and ready to impress the immigration officer with my expansive knowledge of the turkish language "bir iki üç"