DEAR READER

What follows is an account of our holiday
from Antalya to Izmir
Along the Mediterranean Coast
over a week at the beginning of July, 2006.

It will probably bore you to death
but it is better than those giant, soul-less mass emails
that no one ever reads.

My advice:
Is to start at the end and read up
as it is at reverse order
one at the bottom and eight at the top

Cheers
Al

EPILOGUE

We arrived home.
Slept for hours.

The next day we woke to washing, domestics, banality,
And a new housemate, Quintin having left for a months holiday in Spain.

James took over his room.
It seems to be working out just fine.

I check the internet.

"MID-EAST EXPLODES"

Reads the headlines.

Ahh that was the tanks we saw.
I check the news everyday,
the moments my back turns,
the fighting starts.

More on that later.

Hope you enjoyed the story.
If you want more information,
feel free to get in touch.

Thanks
Al

DAY EIGHT

Efes

The bus dropped us off at the front entrance.
We bought tickets and bustled through the tourists to get in.

This place is seriously amazing.

One of the wonders of the ancient world
It is really beyond words

believe it or not

So I will let the photos do the talking.

Serince
(pron: sher-in-jay)

In the afternoon we took a local bus up to this litte Greek villiage
Famed for it's fruit wine.

In the 1920's when Turkey was created,
all the Turks were kicked out of Greece,
and all the Greeks were kicked out of Turkey.

No one remembered to tell these guys.
Now their decendants are still there in this little white washed village.

We wandered around, bought some wine, had some lunch
and spent the afternoon drinking an interesting bottle of melon wine in a cafe overlooking the valley, nice.

In one on the shops an old TV showed images of tanks and desert.
I wander where that is?
but we paid little attention.

And that was pretty much it.

We got a bus down the hill,
picked up our bags... again,
Took a bus to Izmir,
They dropped us at the airport,
we boarded a plane,
landed at Ataturk,
hopped on a bus,

and we were back

into the traffic,
the smog,
the beggars,
the sellers,
and the vibe,

of Taksim.

THE END

DAY SEVEN

Izmir

We arrived, shocked
into the pre dawn light at Izmir bus station.

After a couple of cups of tea
we found the bus to Selchuk near the ancient city of Ephesus (Efes)

We spent an hour on another bus
at Selchuk we had the standard harassment

However, we already had an arrangement.
They came and picked us up.


Atilla's Getaway
as recommended to us

It was nice
Too many damn Australians though.
It had a good view out over the valley.

It is run by an Australian Turkish family
Atilla is there with his Thai wife.

Sawadee Krap!
Sabai dee mai?
Baan ti ni?

She was from Pattiya.

I see, awfully broad shoulders on that girl.

Who knows?

She always wanted to get out of Thailand
now she cannot wait to get back.

"It is not the same."

We slept for hours
got up, swam, relaxed and even had a yellow curry for dinner.
It was not the same.

We got an early night for a big one the next day.


Photo: thanks to Atilla

DAY SIX
Kekova Tour

Instead of diving
we decided to take tour of the area

We went around and looked at the deals
in the end, we just chose one.

Depart at ten
On the boat at 10.30

First stop
Aquarium Bay for some swimming
With a pair of goggles, I was able to see everything that we saw diving

The next island stop was Shipyard Bay
thus called as it was a shipyard for:
The Lycians, the Byzantines, the Romans etc etc.
Once again, lots of ruins.

On the way out we went past the Sunken City
The ruins of a Lycian city that had fallen into the ocean.

Unfortunately you cannot swim or dive on it
but it was good to cruise past and see the remains.
In the pictures you can see old vases and jugs
Pretty amazing.

I wonder whether future civilizations
will look in wonder at our kola cans and ciggie packets
Is that how we shall be remembered?
I hope not.

We stopped at another quiet bay for lunch.
Five veggie dishes and kofte
cooked by the captains mother

Next was Pirates Cave
not sure what the pirates were doing there
but it was a nice place to do it anyway.
The water colour was brilliant.

Next it was over to Kekova proper
It is an old town that is heritage listed
No one can build there
so people still live in the ancient houses
mainly selling carpets, herbs and trinkets to the tourists

No one can build there
expect a Mr Koch
The richest man in Turkey
He has a nice villa over looking the islands

On top of the hill is a castle
it has a superlative veiw of the area

On the ramparts you can see the alterations
made by the different empires that controlled it

On the land side you can see the Lycian tombs
They all have what looks like upside down boats on top.

The coean was important to them
Death was on par with the sinking of a ship.

They all have holes in the sides
where they have been pilliaged.

We didn't get back until seven
pretty good day out for the price

Night Bus

Just enough time to pick up the bags
and head off for the night bus

Now, I have had my fill of over night buses
but with the lack of time, it had to be.

This time I was prepared
We feed, comfortable clothes, water, snacks
and the essential bottle of red wine.

First from Kas to Fethiye - 2100-2300
Then to Izmir - 0000-0700

Managed to get some zees
but it made for a very sore neck the next day

MORE DIVING PHOTOS

All stuff to be seen in Kas

Those funky starfish

Love these little corrals

Saw a sea turtle, unfortunately only from the boat

There were a few of these little beauties too

DAY FIVE
"Underwater Live"

Up early
down to the harbour
onto the boat

Nice boat
Good gear

Hang on...
everything is in German
everyone is German

Oh, well
Our divemaster Tomas
had a pretty good command
and they were pretty small groups

Off for the first dive

Just off an island reef

There were lots of fish
not nearly as colourful
or prolific as Australia or Thailand

And the coral left allot to be desired
but it was good to be underwater again
That weird feeling of breathing underwater
along with being weightless
A thrill

There were lots of little things to see:
Star fish, sea catapillars, sea slugs
a few colourful ones

There were some nice spiral corrals too
that would shoot back into their tube
when you went by, that is pretty cool.

After an hour in the water
always not enough
we headed up

Back on land we had time for a big lunch
and a good solid nap before...

Dive Two

The Mavi wreck
Its was a really nice old wooden wreck
until some bugger pulled an anchor through it
and it was a complete wreck

There were allot of shit in it though
and a perfect porcelain toilet
Nice

The local companies got together
and decided to wreck another boat
to give them something to look at

This they did the week before
we had a look
not many fish
eerie though
to see a gutted boat down there

In the end

We decided not to have another
expensive days diving
but to hang around Kas
as there were other interesting things to see...

Photos courtesy of Kas Diving and the BBC

STOP THE PRESS!!

Some the photos did not get uploaded
Damn Blogger!!

Here is what you missed:

Antalya Hills and Houses

from the bus

The Ruins of the Roman Baths

at Olympos

Thank-you

please continue

DAY FOUR
On the Road Again

Get up
Eat
Check out

Bus out of the valley
Farewell sweet Olympos
Till next we meet.

The Road to Kas
(pron: Karsh)

Twists and turns
hugging the coast

Red-organge rock
Endless shades of green
harsh, rugged short vegitation
Endless ocean, shades of blue

A beach at every bend
Filled with locals, cooling.

Reminded me allot of a cross between:
The Great Ocean Road, Vic. and
The Nullabour Plane, SA.

Similar climate and plants

At this speed however,
with these drivers
it is best not to look out the window

Santosa Paniyon

This one was recomended at Orange
Most likely a relative of the bloke we asked.

It was allot more of the traditional style
Someones house with many rooms

We called at the bus station
A friend came and picked us up

The husband was away
The wife was pregnant

Comfortable enough
hard beds
and harder pillows

The Search

We immediately set about trying to find a decent dive company
Everyone I had spoken to had recommended this as the best spot in Turkey for diving

We called around.
They all seemed pretty much the same
and settled on:

Kas Diving

We went down to check them out
They seemed like nice people
Germans... all Germans

But nice ones
They even invited us to watch the World Cup Final with them
The real one this time

We agreed and went for a nap
Watched the World Cup
Man that just kept on giving
France should have won

Then headed off for an early night

DAY THREE

Another late start.

Walked into town.

Looked for a phone card, it was my brother's birthday.... 36.

Couldn't find a phone that worked.

Had a nice trout. 7 YTL... Bargain!

Caught some more beach time.

Caught up with Keith, watched the World Cup.

Thought it was the final but was the third place runners up match.

Then continued drinking, played some poker and drank allot of fine.

Got ready for the change of scene on day four.

DAY TWO

Got up around noon
missed breakfast
moved straight onto lunch

rolled into a restaurant
reclined in an Ottoman style lounge
all carpets and cushion

had an old woman next to a wood fire
make us goozleme
pancakes filled with cheese, fetta, spinach or potatoes
and bring coffee and tea

mmm this is living


Eventually
we pushed off
for a roll around the ruins

By definition
they are not in very good condition

You can feel the history of the place though
why anyone would want to settle here

in the shade
cool river flowing past
lap of the ocean never far from your ear

And look
an old relic
the rear...
coke can
oh, and a marlboro packet

The Greek temple was cool
made less so by the giant group of tourist
there when we arrived

Just like any traffic
you just have wait for it to pass

One group of German posed for a photo
in the Speedos
one large gentleman in the front row
had his legs spread a little too far

The local photo lab will have a laugh
when they return this guys photos
with on great hairy white bollock hanging out of his cod piece

Would love to bring you the photo
I was too shocked to move however

The rest of the day was spent floating

After dinner we had a few drinks and hit "the" nightclup
It reminded me of Ra Lai Beach

Open ceiling
Rustic decor

We got there at ten
we were the only ones
We sat out the front for a beer and a chat

we went back in at about eleven
it was packed

Turkish Men

It should be noted here that Turkey is the home of the peacock male
more than any other place I have been
Turkish males seem to spend a lot of time on their appearance

This is merely an observation
not a criticism

careful attention is paid to hair and clothes

They also dance
sometimes enthusiasm is not matched by talent

but it is definitely amusing to watch

The Mediterranean Odyssey
Or "Scuba, Sunken Cities and Scenic Sights"

DAY ONE

Departure

0400
2hrs sleep
Alarm
Snooze
Alarm
Shower

Blurry eyed blunderings
past nightclups
still pounding
onto the bus

Airport
Security
8YTL coffee
Security

Check in chaos
Turkish style
multiple queues
confused looks
just push forward

Meanwhile,
Ataturk
huge, eerie and golden
looms high on the wall
looking down on us all

Across the tarmac
and onto the plane

0900
we emerge into the heat of Antalya
onto the bus to the otogar
otogar to mini bus

Antalya

We do not stop
It looks like a nice town

Mountains on one side
Sea on the other

Rows of concrete apartment blocks
spoil the view in between

The minibus drops us at the cross roads
and we take another minibus
down the twisting valley road
into...

Olympos

The Lycians used to hang out here
Romans thought it was cool too
They took it over
Several other Empires had the same idea

About five years ago the place was full of hippies
They have been moved on
bad for business
unfortunately

Today it is colonised by tourists
Mostly middle class Turks roughing it
They find it hard to travel internationally
for some reason...

Other ethnic groups include
in order of prevalence
Australians and Kiwis
Germans in Speedos
Oversunned English

We checked into Orange Pansiyon
It was pretty good
It had air con

Setup

Olympos is in a valley
there is one road

on one side are mountains
on the other there is a river
dry this time of year
and mountains

Along the road are pansiyon
or guest houses

many of them offer tree houses
most of these qualify as they are made of trees

At the end of the road there is a man in a box
beyond that are ancient ruins
beyond theses there is the beach

You must give the man in the box
two lyria or he will not let you through

Pay to go the beach
Well, as more of what is public
is sold
this is something that we should get used to

The Beach

There is no shade
It is covered in baking tourists
who later complain about sunburn
Don't get me started

It goes for miles
with rocks

This might be alright for the English
but I am used to pristine fine white sandy beaches

On the plus side
The is ocean
as far as the eye can see

And it is wet and cool and salty and floaty
and man, do I miss the ocean
And there are lots of fish

Chimera

The Chimera was this weird fire breathing horse goat lion thing
He used to pop up whenever there was a storm coming
or anything nasty generally

Luckily
This hero dude Ellerophone,
with the help of the winged horse Pegasus
managed to slay the bugger

Where he fell
There are flames shooting out of the ground

That is what the Greeks reckoned anyway
Homer talks about it in the Illiad, I think
Sailors used to naviagte by it

Those Greek have shot through
but the flames are still shooting from the ground

We took a bus up there in the middle of the night to check it out
It is pretty trippy

Modern science type persons
think that they are methane vents
they still can't explain why you can put them out
and they will just set right back on fire

It like the weird beast idea thing myself

It is also where they got the flame for the olympic torch
and still do

Worth a look if you are in the area

When we got back after one
we slept for about twelve hours

Bitch of the day

I haven't been paid!!
There is no excuse for this.

Not sure if I can recommend this school to other people.
We will see