Mud, Kayaks and Ruins

Our final day in Dalyan was our most relaxing day of the trip so far. We slept in and didn’t have to meet up with the tour until 10 AM at which point we boarded a boat and headed to the ancient city of Kaunos. Similar to Pinara, Kaunos contained a fairly well preserved theater (no dance show this time). There was also a temple from the Greek times and a church that was built after the people were converted to Christianity.

After Kaunos, we re-boarded our boat and went to the Sultaniye hot springs and mud baths. This was definitely a unique experience. After changing into our swim suits, the first stop is the was to be hosed down with a fire hose by a guy that seemed to like his job a bit too much. The we slid in to the brown pool filled with muddy water. You had to reach down deep to grab mud that you then applied all over. Then you exit the pool and stand in the sun and wait for the mud to dry. Next you head to the showers to rinse off the mud before entering the hot springs pool. We were a little disappointed to discover that our friendly fire-hose laden guy was standing at the ready to get us again before and after the hot springs. The hot springs have the pleasant scent of rotten eggs (sulfur) so we weren’t that interested in spending too much time floating around in the cloudy, but warm water. After one more shower and a change of clothes we were back on the boat. After a buffet lunch at The Other Side restaurant (cleverly named because it is on the other side of the river from the majority of Dalyan) we took a long cruise back to turtle beach. A few of us opted to stay on the boat (in the shade) rather than head out to the beach in the scorching sun. After the beach the boat took us back to our hotel in Dalyan where we loaded our luggage back in the bus and headed back to Fethiye.

On our last day of the tour, we went on a kayaking trip. We all gathered in the bus and headed to the town of Gocek and reunited with our cycling guides for a day of kayaking. There were four two-person kayaks and the remainder were singles. Sonia, our guide warned us that you should only kayak in a two-person kayak with someone you really get along with. Colleen and I risked it and were fine; Louis and his son Jeremy were not so fine. When they finally reached the beach for our first break, there were both blaming each other for taking the much longer slalom course they took to get there. After the rest, they broke up. Jeremy hooked up with Sonia in the two-person and Louis ventured off on his own to prove that it wasn’t his fault. When we reached the next beach for lunch the results were inconclusive but they both seemed happier. Kayaking after lunch was tough. I think everybody was pretty tired by that time and just wanted to be back on shore but we had to paddle for an hour to get there. Once on shore, Colleen and I had to say our goodbyes to our tour group since we decided to skip the 12-hour overnight bus ride to Istanbul and instead take a bus to Selçuk.

I must say, that Colleen and I were both a bit nervous waiting on the side of the road for our bus to arrive, not knowing what to expect. When it did pull up we found it to be nicer than that Luftansa plane we took to get here. Each seat had its own television and we were served cookies and ice cream during the 4-hour ride. The bus, however, only took us as far as Aydin where we then boarded a dolmuş (mini-bus) to Kuşadasi and then transfer to another dolmuş to Selçuk. We could have taken a taxi from Aydin directly to Selçuk but where is the fun in that. It was nearly 11 PM when we finally arrived at our hotel so after a quick snack we headed to bed.

In the morning we took a dolmuş to Ephesus – also known as Efes which is coincidentally (or perhaps not) the name of the most popular beer in Turkey. Our plan was to arrive at Ephesus ahead of the heat and the crowds. We failed. It was already scalding hot at 8:30 AM and humid. And while at first there didn’t appear to be many tourists, we quickly discovered that they all entered from the upper entrance and as a result we spent the morning like salmon swimming upstream to all the sites. After admiring the library and other ruins we decided to walk (I don’t know why in this heat) back into town via the temple of Artemis. Only one complete column of this wonder of the ancient world still exists and is now the home to a couple of storks that have made their nest on top. Next we escaped the heat by heading in to the Ephesus museum. Both the air conditioning and the relics were worth the price of entry. After lunch we did a quick tour of the Basilica of St. John (of which little remains, although much more than the Temple of Artesmis) and to the Isa Bey Camii which was a mosque built in the 14th century and still operates today (although it’s had some work down). Next we took a dolmuş to Şirince about 9 km away. This is the town where our cherry wine originated. After tasting a number of other fruit wines (raspberry, strawberry, mulberry, blackberry, peach) Colleen and decided that there are some things that should just stay in Turkey. Tomorrow our adventure will relocate to Cappadocia… stay tuned.