Our first bite of Turkey in Marmaris left a distinct Pommy taste in our mouths. During summer this seaside town is overrun by those sunburnt chavs from the Mother Land drawn to the cheap "five course meals", pebble beaches and sports bars named after famous football stadiums. To make transitioning to a crazy foreign land easier, the Turks even offer all prices in Pounds… which really doesn't help all the other non-pommy travellers. All negativity aside, it was here that we experienced our first Turkish Bath. It was time to strip down, jump in the sauna before being rubbed down by burly turkish men, before being fully cleaned with bubbles. We also chose to indulge in some much needed foot care and I continued my love affair with the old school barber shave. Luckily our stay was short lived as we headed further down the coast to Fethiye.
Fethiye was one of the first "must-do's" of our Turkey adventure due to a friends enthusiastic referral. Although not the most happening town, we did base ourselves in a cool hostel and made a bee-line for all the highly recommended day trips. The highlight had to be our visit to Saklikent Gorge where we donned sexy rubber shoes to wade through the icy water.
Our biggest disappointed of our day trips came when we were informed that OBVIOUSLY Turtle Beach would have no turtles. I guess I must of missed the subtleness in the name… sad face. Luckily our next day out provided the perfect remedy for my blues… a WATER SLIDE!! Because we both hadn't spent enough time relaxing in the sun, we decided to do a full-day boat cruise to the 12 Islands surrounding Fethiye. My only stipulation… our boat had to be the one with a huge water slide. Winner winner! Good lazy day out.
From Fethiye we decided to take the scenic route and jump onboard a Blue Cruise and sail our way to Olympos... and by sail, I mean sit on my bum and tan. With a great crew and crazy captain on board we embarked on a few relaxing days skirting the coast. In between swim stops, water sports and extreme relaxation we visited butterfly valley (yes… again NO butterflies), blue lagoon, a sunken roman city, Kas and a pirate cave just to name a few. At night we all got to know each other after a few drinks, games and magic tricks and had many an awkward laugh at our crazy captain. The poor fella has been out at sea too long and needs to work on his Romeo and social skills. The last night ended in drama with Simon from our boat teaching us all how NOT to swim at night, gaining himself 25 stitches and a tea cosy pressure hat in the process. Sometimes its hard to not laugh. The final morning we docked at Andriace harbour before visiting even more ruins on our way to Olympos.
Most visitors to Olympos are there for the super relaxed hippy vibe and to stay in the treehouse hostels. Once again Turkey lead me astray with the "tree houses" really being wooden huts… sometimes in the air. I guess In a way they were made from a tree… but I still feel jooped! As you walk to the beach you pass some amazing ruins scattered amongst the forest - pretty cool. Not far form here are the underwhelming natural eternal flame. I was envisioning a flamethrower off the top of a mountain, but alas it amounted to nothing more than a few camp-fire sized bun toasters. Not worth the night-time trek up the mountain.
From Olympos we made the quick jump up to Antalya for a few days. Unfortunately not long after arriving we received the terrible news that Edwina's grandfather Jack had passed away. Plans were quickly re-organised and flights booked for her to head home in a few days time. Obviously this was a very upsetting time for her and the whole family and a very sad ending to an amazing trip. In an attempt to remain upbeat we continued further north to Goreme in the famous Cappadocia region of Turkey.
This area has many unique geological, historic and cultural features, so with no time to spare we jumped onboard a day tour to let Edwina see as much as she could! I would describe this place as a geologists wet dream... and I should know because I lived with Scrim and Couch Dave long enough to see what got their rocks... okay I'll stop the joke now. Truly amazing country side with amazing mountains, volcanos and odd rock formations. Rock on! (Please delete this paragraph is bad jokes offend)
Highlights included the amazing underground city, originally built to protect the population from invaders, Ihlara Valley, Selime Monastery and Pigeon Valley. It was a big day full of amazing natural beauty.
We were up early the next day to squeeze in my belated birthday present… HOT AIR BALLOONING!!! It was an amazingly beautiful way to spend our last morning together. Edwina had to then rush to the airport to spend at least one day in Istanbul, where she managed to squeeze in all the "must do" sights.
After listening to Alanis Morissette on repeat for a good four hours… the lone wolf was born. I guess this marks a turning point, and probably a decline in readers, for this blog. For those dedicated "Team Edwina's" out there, I must remind you that with her departure I now have even more time to come up with the witty humour you all love so much.
All jokes aside, it will be hard to finish up Turkey without my favourite travel and life companion as this was always meant to be "her country". Alas, there are people, places and pleasures (non sexual) to enjoy to lets get amongst it! I must apologise in advance because editing of the blog was always her role… so good luck reading from now on.
Anyways, I was lucky enough to have some new friends to keep me company and I enjoyed a lovely last dinner out with Dan, Emily and the Garbarino family. The next day I kept busy on another day trip, taking in the beautiful Goreme Open Air Museum, small local villages, Pasabag Monk Valley and Devrent Valley. We also visited a local ceramics factory where I almost impulse purchased way too many bowls. Close call.
After more chilling out, I eventually made my way to the airport and did the cross country jump to Izmir. But you'll have to wait to see what all the fuss is about over there...
My next blog will be the first tale of the lone wolf and his european adventures. Never fear, there is plenty more Turkey to come yet… and it's only getting more moist. On a side note, my good friend Cody informed me turkey meat has a natural sedative called tryptophan in it that makes you sleepy… I sure hope my Turkey blog doesn't contain it to. Gobble Gobble - happy reading.
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