Turkish Delight!
Following up on a chance email from Omer, a Turkish guest house owner, 15 intrepid South Dorset Ramblers narrowly missed the volcanic ash clouds and flew out to Dalaman to spend a glorious week on the Turquoise Coast of South Turkey.
We stayed in Fethiye which is a busy market town with a lively marina of gulets, yachts and fishing boats and a sky line of snow capped peaks of the Toros mountain range. By day we walked in beautiful rugged scenery and by evening we did as the locals do and paraded the waterfront with café stops for Turkish coffee, fruit teas and beers.
A morning at the bustling Tuesday bazaar was a mouth-watering delight with stalls laden with local produce and delicious pancakes at the riverside cafés. Not satisfied with the effects of climbing in temperatures of 22 o to 26o C, we indulged ourselves with a sauna, pummelling and foaming at a Turkish bath. A leisurely day was welcomed on a gulet to the 12 islands with a brief time under sail and a chance to swim off the boat.
The walks were spectacular and at times quite challenging probably reaching a grade C on the final day as we slithered down rocks above near vertical cliffs to th
e sea. Much of the walking was on sections of the Lycian Way winding through undulating remote countryside. The scenery was fantastic with rugged wooded mountains showing evidence of volcanic activity dropping steeply to the deep blue Mediterranean Sea. There were wild flowers in abundance and trees in flower and fruit including scarlet flowered pomegranates. Tortoises are certainly not rare in this part of Turkey as they take their siesta on the dusty sides of tracks and roads.
The holiday was made special by Omer who organised everything for us from accommodation to walks, waiting at table and airport collection whilst his mother cooked all our meals in basic local Turkish cuisine. Both Omer and this part of
Turkey are very well kept secrets.
Following up on a chance email from Omer, a Turkish guest house owner, 15 intrepid South Dorset Ramblers narrowly missed the volcanic ash clouds and flew out to Dalaman to spend a glorious week on the Turquoise Coast of South Turkey.
We stayed in Fethiye which is a busy market town with a lively marina of gulets, yachts and fishing boats and a sky line of snow capped peaks of the Toros mountain range. By day we walked in beautiful rugged scenery and by evening we did as the locals do and paraded the waterfront with café stops for Turkish coffee, fruit teas and beers.
A morning at the bustling Tuesday bazaar was a mouth-
The walks were spectacular and at times quite challenging probably reaching a grade C on the final day as we slithered down rocks above near vertical cliffs to th
e sea. Much of the walking was on sections of the Lycian Way winding through undulating remote countryside. The scenery was fantastic with rugged wooded mountains showing evidence of volcanic activity dropping steeply to the deep blue Mediterranean Sea. There were wild flowers in abundance and trees in flower and fruit including scarlet flowered pomegranates. Tortoises are certainly not rare in this part of Turkey as they take their siesta on the dusty sides of tracks and roads. The holiday was made special by Omer who organised everything for us from accommodation to walks, waiting at table and airport collection whilst his mother cooked all our meals in basic local Turkish cuisine. Both Omer and this part of
Turkey are very well kept secrets.
Omer is General Manager of Tribe Travel, Fethiye, Mugla, Turkey - link to his web is below