On the road (again) to Antalya
TURKEY | Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | Views [415]
For the second time in four and half months the alarm clock went off at
08:01. However this time because I was staying in the backpackers in
the centre of Bodrum, the early morning call to prayer woke me up a few
hours earlier and I could not get back to sleep.
My bus left the
station at 09:30 and I arrived with plenty of time to spare. It was a
short five minute walk from the backpackers but either my big shoulders
are not as strong as I thought or my rucksack is far too heavy. Can you
guess which one I went for! Now the rucksack is a big one, 85 litre
capacity with an additional 10 litre pouch on the front and still I
could not get all my stuff into it!
So I left behind the kettle and coffee maker, my life is now one luxury item down.
I
still have several other items that I am wondering about. Do I really
need a water filtration system, a bivvie bag, a stove, the battery add
on thingy for my camera and my sleeping mat? Notice how my hammock
wasn’t on the list! Mind you if you add up the cost of all those things
it comes to the wrong side of 500GBP. Think I may well post them back
if I decide to lighten my load.
Anyway back to the bus station….
The
bus was the most modern one I could find with nice big wide seats (yes
my arse is still wide but not as fat as it used to be). The destination
of the bus was 500kms south along the Aegean coast, to the city of
Antalya, which was nice because that was where I wanted to go (having
once got on the wrong night bus in south America I’ve learnt my lesson).
As
the bus made its way out of town and onto the main highway, I almost
caught the glimpse of a tear in my eye reflected off the bus’s window.
On the bright side I would not have to trike up the steep hill.
It
was a seven hour journey; so on came the headphones, back went the seat
and out of the window went my gaze. The first half of the trip was
along the coast to the town of Fethiye. The Aegean Sea was dazzling in
the sunlight and the rugged coastline was dotted with olive groves and
pine woods. The colours were amazing, the turquoise blue of the sea,
the lightening blue of the cloudless sky and where the distant
mountains reached up to kiss the sky, the softest, most embarrassed
pink I’ve ever seen.
Once we left Fethiye the bus turned inland
and headed towards the snow capped mountains. It was weird to look out
of the bus to the right and see the sea, then look left and look at a
mountain range capped with winter snow. The higher we went the lower
the temperature gauge displayed in the bus went. On the coast it was
21oc and at the highest point along the road it was 13oc. Once we got
to the highest points there were still patches of snow lying around the
edges of fields, beneath the large shady tress and on the north facing
sides of the many rocky outcrops that littered the terrain. The road
rose over the high points and then fell into the valleys below. Some of
these were only a few 100 metres wide whilst others stretched for
several km’s.
I finally got into Antalya at about 6pm. The city
is nestled between two mountain ranges that rampage into the sea. The
wide “U” shaped valley is almost completely covered by buildings (well
there are over 600000 people living here). The hostel that I booked was
within the old city quarter and the bus station is towards the edge of
town.
TAXI!
The taxi would have taken me right up to the
hostel door but the only way there was blocked by a gang of workers
repaving the road. I was glad of this because otherwise I would have
thought that the local council had run out of money for street repairs
sometime in the 1700’s. So there was nothing else to do other than walk
the last 800m. I know, I’ve gotten lazy.
I am staying in this
city for four nights. There are a few places nearby that I want to go
and see. As this is the off season I’m hoping that there are some
companies still doing day tours. If not then I will have to hire a
scooter, which I would rather not do. Turkish driving is a worry
sometimes!
The hostel is quite nice; the room is a good size
with free wireless internet connection. It has a pretty little
courtyard but I am amazed that they bother to Photoshop the pictures
they put on their web site.
After spending weeks in Bodrum, the guy
here seems at bit pushy (especially about getting your money)….or I
have become way to relaxed and carefree man….take you pick.
So,
there you have it for the first time since the 12th of October 2007
I’ve travelled (well physically at least and I know I went to kos but
that was only because I had too!) however, my mind has wandered
everywhere…especially when I was down the gym on the rowing machine
behind the cross trainer when a certain female member of the gym was on
it……I’m sure you could figure out the rest.
Tomorrow, a self guided walking tour of the old quarter.
I.e. walk around, get lost and then spend an hour trying to find the hostel
Happy days are here again!
Wednesday 27th of Feb.
After
a very easy and lazy night I was up early and eager to explore. Last
night I dreamt that I would have fried eggs on toast for breakfast and
was looking forward to actually having some. Sadly, that was not on the
breakfast menu but the coffee and a fag or two did the usual trick.
After
an early morning hot shower (which was a treat as my place in Bodrum
only heated the water by the power of the sun…crap on a cloudy day) it
was a case of camera on, feet moving. I decided to head downhill to
look out over the Aegean Sea and mountains. Half of the city seafront
is built on the cliff edge overlooking the old roman harbour. The other
half stretches out along golden sandy beaches. I walked away from the
centre of the old town and passed the football stadium (home game on
the weekend). Then it was through the modern town and back out along
the seafront for the 20 minute walk to the museum. I spent just over an
hour wandering around and then made my way back to the old quarter.
Spent
a while bimberling around the many little lanes (all of which are
having new drainage and water pipes laid over the off season…hence no
paving stones on many of them) I ended up down in the old roman
harbour. It was whilst I was there that I came across a dive centre, it
was open, they’re diving and soon so will I! The water temp, is 18oc
which whilst cold for here is hotter than I have dived in in England.
On the plus side there is on WW2 wreck lying on the seabed at a max
depth of 32m....yippee I get to go wreck diving.
On the way back
to the hostel I relented and hired a scooter for 2 days. On the plus
side it has a 100cc engine so it should be able to outrun the dogs up
the hills, I hope.
Thursday 28th of Feb.
Last night after
having an expensive Iskender I popped down to Mr Blues Pub (which was
recommended to me by the people in the dive shop….so you know its
good). The door was very stiff to open and as I pushed hard it opened
quickly. Stumbling in, the 1st thing that I heard was Mr Boom Boom
singing the blues. Any place that plays john lee hooker is alright by
me. It’s a small wooden panelled pub with a small bar at the end. Quiet
but it’s the off season. On the brightside it’s the perfect place to
chill out, relax and breathe in the perfumed air of the occasional
jostick.
After two hours and three beers I walked the 157
strides to my hostel room (did I mention that it was just around the
corner) and went to bed. Sadly sleep didn’t come till just before three
in the morning…there are teenagers staying here.
This morning I
was downstairs at 8am sharp for my 1st caffeine fix of the day and 10
minutes later I was on my steel donkey (it’s a scooter not a motorbike
so it can’t really be called a steel horse now can it!)
Twenty
minutes and a few wrong turns later I hit the open road and was leaving
the city behind me. Donkey handled well enough and my eyes were
checking out the road ahead, behind and to the sides for dogs, taxis
and all other Turkish drivers.
It was a 40km ride to my 1st
destination. Around halfway I just had to stop, my hands were ice cold,
and my ears were numb (relax mum I was wearing a helmet but the only
one that fitted me was a skull cap style one). It was warm ands sunny
yesterday, today it was overcast and 10oc colder. Anyway, five minutes
later I was back on the road and my turning off the highway was upon
me. The side road twisted and turned continually uphill and 9km’s later
I was in the car park below the ruined city of Termessos.
As I glanced up at the surrounding topography I could understand how Alexander the Great failed to capture this place.
Termessos
is an “un-restored” ruin. So it’s pretty much in the same state as when
it was abandoned. It took a healthy 10 minutes to walk up the rock
strewn earth track to reach the city gate, a further 5 minutes to get
to the start of the city. This place is in a nature reserve and I think
all the trees and other plants know it. The various paths twist and
turn around trees and the littered masonry blocks., leading to piles of
rubble that were once buildings, half collapsed walls and the odd
collapsed column.
After a while I ended up in the necropolis.
Here were loads of sarcophagi scattered around, some intact, other
smashed in and looted. Many were on their sides or leaning against each
other in piles. From there I meandered over to the theatre.
Wow, fantastic location with amazing views through the misty clouds. Then I walked back down the valley to donkey.
The
next port of call was nearly 20k’s across the valley floor. I followed
the signposts and after each one the condition of the road deteriorated
and the width narrower till I finally ended up on a single track gravel
road that led to a dead end. No, I wasn’t lost (that comes later) the
place I was visiting was at the end of the road.
The Kararin
Caves have been occupied by various sections of the human races for the
last 25 millennium. I spent ten minutes walking up from the valley
floor to the mouth of the cave hoping it wouldn’t be like Wooky hole.
It
wasn’t and it was all the better for It. Simple and sympathetic(ish)
lighting illuminated the three caves. Now, a cave is a cave is a
cave…off you goes to www.sfau.smugmug.com and look for yourself!
One good ting about coming out of season is the fact that at Kararin caves and Termessos I was the only person there!
Once
I had walked back down (to the little museum…it was a single room with
3 display cases and a picture. Not really sure why they bothered) I got
sat on donkey and started to head back to Antalya. Once there…yep, got
lost and spent 40 minutes tying to find a location that I knew how to
get back to the hostel from. Good thing I like side streeting.
The
rest of the day, well it was mostly trivial stuff. Sorted out a couple
of days diving, went for food and then spent two beers sitting in Mr
Blues writing all this out in my notebook.
Tomorrow, it’s a
longer day with double the distance to cover. Only went past one dog
today. Yep, it chased after me; my 100% record is still intact.
So, what did you do today…damn I have a hard life.
Ps. Audrey, if you’re reading this, I was smiling all day longer. Sorry didn’t take a photograph.
Friday 29th of Feb.
Today
promised to be a long day. If the mileage on the map was right I would
be doing over 220k’s on a crappy little 100cc scooter.
I left the hostel in the early morning and travelled out of town and onto the dual carriageway, heading east along the coast.
The first place I was heading to was 45km away. It was the city of Aspendos.
It’s
main (well if the truth be told only) point of interest is the
amphitheatre. It’s the best preserved one around and it’s still in use
today for concerts and other performances. Originally built in the 1st
century ad and then refurbished by the sultan in the 13th. Personally,
I like my theatres in ruins but it was very impressive. The rest of my
time was spent walking around the site. There were very few paths so I
ended up making my own. It was fun!
From there it was a “short” ride of over 60k’s to the town of Selge.
However
before I got there I had to navigate the roman bridge over the Köprülü
canyon. I left the main road and headed north away from the coast and
into the mountains. Once off the main road it was 55k to Selge and 37k
to the start of the canyon. The road started out flat, straight and
quite frankly boring. 10k’s later my fingers were busy pulling the
brake levers. It’s a shame that donkeys cornering abilities were to say
the least, poor and unpredictable. Twice the road went left and I
headed on straight, braking hard and cursing the bikes tiny wheels
inability to turn and grip. The ones on my trike were bigger and faster
around the bends!
I reached the roman bridge, which in its day
was considered a marvel of engineering. The top of the arch is nearly
100m above the river. By today’s standards its narrow (a pick up wide)
and when it was built it didn’t have walls on the sides…crazy!
I
parked up, grabbed my camera and headed along the canyon wall path
upstream. The trail lead up and under for about 800m till it came to an
end. Along the way I came across a cave nestling in the canyon wall,
big enough for a small family but not a tribe. Trout live in the river
and I spent 5 minutes watching a guy land one. Landing nets are not
much use as he was 20m above the water line perched on a ledge.
Selge
was a further 11ks uphill along a narrow twisting road. Snow capped
mountains to the left of me, bigger ones to the right of my and a
canyon in the middle, at times 600m deep.
I’ve been on a few
sites across Europe when “guides” are hanging around. Usually I find
them an annoyance but this time was different. I was riding slowly
enjoying the views; fag in hand when I came up to a right hand bend
with a few houses on the left. There was this man standing in the road
gesturing for me to stop. I did and he asked if I was going to Selge.
Turns out I was already there. Not a sign in site. If hadn’t of been
there I would of carried on passed it.
So, with the bike
parked he escorted me past the mosque, across the school basketball
court (50 kids and 2 teachers) along several garden paths to the
amphitheatre. Personally I found this one more interesting than the one
I saw in Aspendos. The views…don’t you wish you were here! Its times
like this that I am glad the coin turned up heads when I tossed it in
the air to decide if I would sell up and travel for years.
The
entire old city of Selge is now a little village of perhaps 20 houses.
The arable land is a mixture of flat land and terraces around and
within the ancient ruins. As we walked from the theatre, to the agora
and past the temple we crossed recently tilled terraces ready for the
spring sow, the odd lost chicken and this being rural turkey…goats! As
we know, cows here are mostly kept on leads and dogs aren’t…crazy crazy
place.
If you have been to turkey then you have experienced the
joys of haggling. As we made our way back through the village to the
road, we were both working on our opening gambits…much more fun than
poker. Because “I was his good friend he would give me a special
price“. My reply was “I get paid less than that in London for an hours
work and London is more expensive than turkey and you call m your
friend?” this carried on for about 10 minutes and I have to say I find
it a great laugh. All the time its going on I’m doing that scene from
the life of Brian in my head line for line.
With money given and
the look of “I’m a simple peasant with several hungry children who will
not eat tonight because you didn’t pay me enough” coming my way I was
on the road again.
It was 55km back to the main road which was
were the petrol station was. All I had was a quarter of a tank of gas
and gravity to get me there…only just made it!
In the evening,
not sure of what I wanted to eat I bimbled. Came across a delightful
little restaurant. Inside was a lady singing the blues, Turkish style!
I was hungry, so I went half and half, mixed grill with a green salad
accompanied with a rather cheeky glass of red. All that for about
26ytl. If I go there again I’ll save myself 17ytl and forget the mixed
grill. And just have the salad (I hadn’t eaten a thing all day and I
was “Man hungry”) it was huge, served with freshly toasted chunky
farmhouse bread…
I did just say that I was “man hungry” and then went on about salads…oh dear me!
Monday 3rd of March
Today was my second day spent diving, which is one of my favourite things do to.
Yesterday,
I arrived at the dive shop (www.apdivers.de: i like them, so they get
the sfau thumbs up) based in the old harbour. It’s a short walk
downhill from my hostel. As I was super keen to get wet and start fish
stalking I arrived slightly earlier than the appointed time.
The
usual formalities were gone through, if you dive you’ll know what they
are and if you don’t…stop wasting time, get yourself trained and found
out for yourself.
Within the hour my guide and I were on the
little rib moving out of the harbour. Being used to English waters, to
go out on a rib with just 2 people meant having no boat cover. However
as the ride lasted 97.4 seconds and we anchored 26.78m from the cliff
edge complete with steps and fisherman. If the worst happened an AV tow
wouldn’t take to long to reach dry land.
So, kitted up I rolled back into the Aegean.
The
water temp was 18oc, amazingly hot for England but surprisingly cold to
me. All these days of cloudless skies and sunny days must be making me
a wimp when it comes to the cold. Once we got under the surface and I
had opened and closed my legs twice (if you’ve dived in a wet suit in
cold water you’ll know exactly what I am talking about) the combination
of the wet suit and my blubber got their acts together and things
started to warm up.
As I hadn’t dived since last year (and sadly
I only did 7 dives in total) I would be taking it easy. Max depth, less
than 20m with a dive time of about 40 minutes.
The viz was about
10m, which was good for early spring diving here in Antalya. The
wildlife here has, like Bodrum, suffered from over fishing especially
when it comes to catching the immature and undersized fish. There were
some small but nice looking rainbow wrasses about the place. We did
come across a couple of good size octopus. Unlike lobsters they’re
quite hard to coax out from their rocky holed hiding place.
This is because
A) Lobsters are stupid
B) Octopus aren’t
I
was fairly pleased that after about 5 minutes my buoyancy control was
back to its near perfect level and I was swimming nicely trimmed.
Back on shore there was plenty of time for the three things that make diving a joy
1) Mugs of coffee
2) Fags
3) Little lie downs in the sun
Following
a 90 minute surface interval, my dive buddy was for some reason still
feeling the cold, so we opted for a shore dive to avoid spending time
on the rib. So we walked to the harbour wall and jumped off. All I can
say about that dive is if you like checking out empty beer bottles on
the seafloor then you’ll think you’ve died and gone to beer bottle
heaven. If you don’t, you know to just say NO!
That said its still diving and let’s face it….diving always rocks!
Today
was what yesterday was all about, practise, getting some depth and
checking myself out. Today was a day for wreck diving. The last time I
dived on a wreck it was 2006, in the English Channel (complete with
beard and fat bastard stomach)
Which was far too long ago…although I don’t miss the beard or the stomach so much?
The
wreck (www.antalya-ws.com/english/underwat/fransiz.asp) was sank in
1942 during WW2. It was 110m long and lay on the sea bed at a max depth
of 32m. The deck on the ship was at 18m, so plenty of range.
On
the rib, ready for a nice boat ride, we left the harbour. 200 meters
from the harbour entrance is a permanent marker buoy. Yep. That’s were
the wreck is…not even enough time to “boat chill out”. As Antalya had
had a downpour the previous evening my fingers were crossed regarding
the viz.
As we made our way down the large growth encrusted
chain, the outline of the ship’s superstructure slowly started to
appear. The viz, 8 to 10 metres, not bad! I was diving with the guide
and she’s a damn sight more experienced than me and has dived this
wreck over 2000 times but because this was only our 3rd time together
deep wreck penetration wasn’t really an option. This was a shame
because the ship has 3 big holds.
I managed (just) to resist the
urge to go straight to the bottom of the 1st hold and start poking
around. Instead I was content to glide over the deck and check out the
cabins and wheelhouse.
27 minutes later we were back at the
buoy chain, ready to start our ascent. At this time we were joined by a
large school of fish, which as we slowly made our way up from 17m,
followed us all the way to 10m. They were slowly circling the chain and
every once in a while one would leave the shoal and come within 3 or 4
foot of us. Just checking out the weird looking sea creature. That’s me
by the way
At the request of my dive buddy, I won’t mention the second dive of the day. All I’ll say is, cave, winter storms and flotsam.
Diving in Antalya
1) Better than Bodrum, which to be honest isn’t that hard
2) It does suffer from over fishing (but then so did Italy)
3)
It has an absolutely great wreck, 200 yards from the harbour. If this
wreck was in Dorset it would be covered by divers every weekend of the
season.
I got back to my hostel room in the early afternoon. I
had a mini siesta and then went to get my bus ticket for Wednesday’s
journey to Pamukkale.
As I was making my way back I passed
“Harrys tattoo and biker shop”. I thought about going in to see if I
could upgrade my wallet to one with a chain (now that I’m wearing jeans
I’ve got belts and loops) but I thought…maybe tomorrow.
This
evening I went back to the restaurant I’ve already been to twice (well
its good value). I like it, I walked in, sat down and the waiter
said…tea, salad and what else… Once the meal was over I reached into my
back pocket only to come out empty handed. Luckily I had only left my
wallet in my hostel room and I hadn’t lost it.
Tomorrow, I’ll go and see Harry
Wednesday will be my last day in Antalya; I booked the hostel for 4 nights and ended up staying for 8. I like weeks like this!