The Mediterranean Coast

After reading countless poorly translated signs at various archeological sites we knew we had to give our brains a rest and took a bus south toward the Mediterranean Sea. We delighted in the luxury of our transportation on the inside (AC and personal TVs!) while on the outside the scenery slowly transitioned from farmland to rolling mountains covered in spruce trees. Up, down, and around the windy road until we crossed our last mountain pass and nothing but the breathtaking view of the sea stretched out below us. From that high vantage point we could see the dramatic landscape of mountains falling sharply into the crystal blue sea and small wooded islands dotting the crooked coast.



We started our coastal tour in the small town of Icmeler on a peninsula just a few miles south of the resort city Marmaris. We got a great deal on a room overlooking the boardwalk and beach and soon found out why. Out of 54 rooms in our four story hotel there were exactly 53 others available. The Turkish coast is a lonely place in late April.



Lucky for us the weather was amazing and we spent our first few days just lounging on the empty beach. With fresh sunburns and a desire for a little more adventure we headed east along the coast to another small town named Dalyan famous for it's nearby turtle beach.

Dalyan sits on a small river that empties into the Mediterranean a few miles downstream and the main activity in town is a boat tour of the sites along the way. The pontoon style boats were nothing fancy but the tour was well worth the $13. Over the course of the day we visited mud baths and hot springs, swam in a fresh water lake, explored ruins dating back to 400BC, and relaxed on the turtle nesting grounds of Iztuzu Beach.


We even saw a handful of the large Loggerhead turtles as they slowly swam along side our boat on the way down the river.



Our plan was to continue hopping from town to town along the coast but that idea died when we found a little slice of paradise in the bay town Oludeniz. As a town it was nothing special, just a small resort town, but the white pebble beach and crystal clear water surrounded by 3,000 foot mountains looked like a picture out of National Geographic.


We also scored the deal of the century on our accommodation. For $25 we got a nice room overlooking an Olympic size pool, a huge breakfast and dinner buffet, and nightly entertainment.

While we probably would have been content just reading on the beach all day every day we figured we should take advantage of the full day boat tours being offered of the surrounding area. We ended up doing two such tours one of which was on a 100 foot sailboat. We explored a couple islands and underwater ruins, swam into a large cave, lounged on some undeveloped beaches, and snorkeled in the cool Mediterranean.


After six glorious days of sun and buffets we stood the risk of becoming permanent fixtures on the poolside lounge chairs. We worked up the courage to leave paradise and took a brutal 12 hour overnight bus ride to Cappadocia in the middle of the country. The shock-less bus may have undone the relaxation of our bodies but the beautiful beach will be burned into our minds forever.

Ephesus, Pamukkale, Aphrodisias

Upon returning to Turkey after two great weeks in Europe we headed down the Aegean Sea coast to the famous ruins of Ephesus, an ancient site with settlements dating back to 6000 B.C. One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World (The Temple of Artemis) was built there by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C. and then subsequently burned down by a lunatic in the 4th century B.C. How one goes about burning down a marble temple is beyond me. Around the same time Alexander the Great conquered the city and it continued to prosper with an estimated population of 250,000 at it's peak in the 1st century A.D. Some of the most iconic early Christians lived in the city including Apostles Paul and John and possibly even the Virgin Mary.


The ruins are only 15% excavated and in condition of various degree but there are more than enough to imagine the city full of toga clad citizens walking the white marble streets on their way to a Greek drama, gladiator competition, or sculpture carving class. Since the personnel didn't seem overly concerned about what we did after paying our entrance fee we were able to roam around freely and explore the current excavation sites including a 4th century church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It took us a good four hours to walk the ruins which culminated with an incredible 25,000 seat theatre.


We heard about some hot springs with ruins at the bottom of the thermal pool that you can swim around so we decided we had to make a detour inland to bath in the awesomeness. The Antique Pool was built for Cleopatra as a gift from Marc Anthony but an earthquake destroyed the surrounding structure. Gleaming white columns litter the bottom of the pool and small bubbles from the sodium bicarbonate water tickle your skin. We felt like royalty as we bathed the day away.


The ancient Greek ruins of Aphrodisias was all that stood between us and the Mediterranian coast but since they were said to be on par with Ephesus only without the crowds we figured we had to check it out. It was an eerie feeling walking around the overgrown ruins of the Temple of Aphrodite. I was half expecting to hear the creepy laugher of a Wheeler from behind one of the crumbling columns (sorry, a Return to Oz reference). The oval 25,000 capacity stadium still had the gladiator tunnels intact. Sitting on the marble benches staring at the poppy filled field I could almost hear a blood thirsty crowd cheering on a brave gladiator.

Turkey

We kicked off the next chapter off our journey in Istanbul, Turkey. It was our first experience in a predominantly Muslim country and we couldn't have felt more welcome. Listening to the enchanting daily calls for prayer bellow through the tall minarets in the ancient city gives one the feeling of being in a truly exotic land.


Pictured above: Blue Mosque
Istanbul's storied past has to rank as one of the most historic and important. Walking through Sultanahmet, the old city, gives one the feeling of being in an enormous museum. The Hagia Sofia church still stands from the time of Josephine, the Roman Emperor in the sixth century. As does a long stretch of road that had been used for chariot races around the same time. Topkopi Palace from the 15th century was the ultimate Ottoman crib with four courtyards, endless elegant rooms, and of course a large Harem.


Pictured above: 1. Domes of Hagia Sophia
2. 12th century mosaic in Hagia Sophia 3. Textured ceiling - Hagia Sophia
4-5. Guards and beautiful hijabs - Topkapi Palace
The salesmen in the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market tried their best to convince us of our immediate need of Turkish Delights, carpets, and fresh saffron.



We toured the Bosphorus Strait on a large ferry which essentially connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Famous palaces and mosques line the busy strait and a scary amount of jellyfish swim in the waters.


For all of it's history the city is not stuck in the past. They have excellent public transportation, trendy styles, and a vibrant night life. We were impressed with the city of 15 million and would encourage anyone to visit.