I’m jumping back and forth between these events since my progress of keeping up with the journal is a rather lazy one.
Upon my mention of traveling to Antalia during the big Turkish holiday, many people have warned me about the virtual unavailability of open seats on busses, which I can confirm. People also warned me about the possible lack of available accommodations, which I can say with certainty is not at all correct. I cannot speak for the five star hotels and such, but if that is not a necessity in there are plenty of other very comfortable accommodations available in the old quarter of the city. The two guesthouses which we visited were virtually empty. We stayed in a small but comfortable room with heating, for the price of 40 lira per night, which I had bargained down to 35 lira per day after a 2 day stay, on the account that the guesthouse across the street was offering cheaper prices.
The two day stay in the beautiful city was nice but our itching feel, or rather my itch for the need to stay on the move drove us on along the West coast.
Olympos
Before heading out to the city of Olympos, I wanted to have a look at the ruins of Thermesos, located a short 40 minute ride outside of Antalia. We hopped a bus at the Antalian Otogar, which dropped us off at the foot of the national park, and headed for the main gates. In December the park entry fee was 13.5 lira per person. Ahead of us lay a 9 km hike up the mountains and the sun was on its way to the west. We arrived at 1 o’clock which left us with a mere 3-4 hours of sunshine. The 9km uphill hike seemed like a grand venture but with the light being scars we decided to take the taxi descending from the hills, which turned out to be a rather expensive idea. The cabby wanted 25 lira each way. On the way down we managed to bargain his fee down to 40 lira but the 80 odd lira we spent on that trip still seemed like a pricey visit to the ancient city.
Thermesos is located on the top of a mountain, which name I now do not remember. The view is spectacular and walking around the highly levitated ruins awoke in me respect for the people who have carved the city out of rock in such high elevation. It was great spending the 3 hours walking around the ruins and the over 80 lira we spent on the trip was well worth it.
Three hours later, or so, we found ourselves back on the highway with no way of getting back into the city. A number of vehicles passed by my outstretched thumb before a small bus pulled over and we hopped it for 4 lira each, back to the Antalian Otogar.
The trip to Olympos was 3 hours long and cost 8lira. We arrived at 7 o’clock, shrouded in an almost blinding darkness. We were on the road with no idea how to proceed and our on bus discovery of not having any money with us did not help the tensed anxiety we were experiencing at that very moment. We were planning on taking a stash of cash with us and when I realised that the stash was nowhere to be found, the idea of having lost the money lingered with us for the remaining 5 days of our journey. We found the money laying on the bed upon our return home.
Once the bus took off, we waited for another 15 minutes for a van which was to take us down into the valley and to one of the resorts. Lucky for us the Bayram resort took credit cards and we even managed to get a small cash advance of 50lira. Not much but better than nothing.
The city of Olympos is what seems to be the least well preserved of the ancient cities, but the location is fantastic. A fifteen minutes walk from the resort and through the ruins took us to a Mediterranean pebble beach with nothing but sea and sky. No boats, no cars, no crowds, nothing but the least pollution possible.
There were numerous resorts along the beach, but tucked away behind a low dune, far enough to be invisible from the beach itself. The Bayram resort itself had a very homely feel. Accommodations were 20lira per person for dorm beds, but since no one else was staying in the dorm, we had the room to ourselves. The prices include all you can eat breakfast and all you can eat dinner, which comes in delicious varieties every evening. Definitely the best deal I’ve come across here in Turkey.
The resort atmosphere is great. We met a bunch of colourful people from all over the world. Made some great connections and after three days were actually experiencing a sense of regret at having to leave the place.
Pammukale
We had to make our way back to the Otogar in Antalia, from where we caught a bus to Pammukale. The trip was only a few hours and dropped us of in Denlizli where we had to take a minibus down to Pammukale town. At the Denizli bus station and man approached us offering some decently priced accommodations. Heating and breakfast included for 30lira per night. We were intercepted by his cousin in town who took us to the resort and wanted a bit more money than his cousin initially mentioned, and although I knew that cheaper alternatives were available we took it since the night was upon us and so was fatigue.
We checked out the sights the next day and inquired about cheaper accommodations. We were offered our own room for 20lira in a cosy little place, which later on turned out to be unavailable since the owner of the new place seemed to have a family relation with the owners of the guest house where we stayed during our first night. I guess they figured that we were unable to find other accommodations. We left the place and arranged for cheaper accommodations. On the way back to get our stuff a white car drove up driven by the same guy who told us that the rooms were full due to a sudden appearance of a hand gliding tour, but now he was claiming that one room became available.
I hate when people take me for an idiot, especially when they do it so blatantly. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of having led us by the nose, I declined his offer and felt good about it.
On that little unsuccessful swindle, the guy lost himself another night of accommodation income and the commission for bus fare to Istanbul. Maybe not a big gain for him but my point had been made and that’s all that mattered to me.
