More gobble, gobble

Picking up where I left off after my blog on Part one of my Turkey trip! It was no great surprise that we were off on another bus ride following our cycling adventure in Akiyaka. This was the biggest bus day of them all and included a small public bus– the kind where everyone crams on and some people don’t get seats but Fatih made sure we all did– to another public bus, the comfy coach kind with the bus flight attendant guy. (Actually I could be missing a bus in there… I am actually. There were two of the cram-on buses). Needless to say we were bussed out by the end.

Anyways, despite all of this activity we still arrived at our destination, the town of Fethiye, by lunchtime. Somehow we’d worked up an appetite with all that bussing, and we enjoyed Turkish pides at a restaurant next to our hotel. Pides are super thin crust pizzas with various meat toppings, and this was a deal too good to pass up… a meter and a half long pide for 14 Turkish lira (so about $3.50). A very impressive PPC (price per calorie) ratio and it was hard not to feel a smidge gluttonous when they served our pides on long wooden planks that stretched across three people (even though each plank was for one person). But, despite being slightly overwhelmed, we managed to clean our plates!

That afternoon there was an optional hike to the nearby Blue Lagoon and I’m pretty sure I would have opted in regardless of the Great Pide Overdose that took place at lunch, but that certainly removed any modicum of a question. It was very cool as the hike started at the “ghost village” which is an Ancient Greek town (named Kayakoy) built in the mountains in the 14th century.

For a loooong time it was inhabited by Greek Orthodox Christians and Anatolian Muslims, living harmoniously side-by-side. The village was completely abandoned when the Greeks and Turks swapped places at the end of WW I (I believe the official term is a “population exchange” as part of an effort to make sure that both Greece and Turkey had only one main religion). The Muslim Turks who had been excised from Greece as part of the “exchange” were into running water and had no interest in the water cisterns that their new home, Kayakoy, relied on for their water supplies. So, they basically said “eff it, we’ll just start over somewhere else” and left the entire city abandoned. There was some solid construction left behind (clearly, as it’s still there however many years later), so they obviously felt strongly about this water thing. After exploring the ethereal-feeling deserted village, we followed Fatih over the mountaintop and were rewarded with spectacular views of the Blue Lagoon, which is a picturesque lagoon area that also boasts a little resort town.

We reconnected with the group that evening and enjoyed dinner at the local Fish Market, which is an outdoor market with many vendors showcasing their catches of the day. You point to whatever creature of the sea you have a hankering for and tell them how you want it cooked and then a little while later… WAH-LA! The squid that I had said “looked good” in the display case but didn’t really (does raw seafood ever really look good… minus sushi, of course) ended up looking and tasting amazing when grilled and plated.

The next day was… the BIG hike that Fatih had been talking up (aka warning us about) for much of the trip. We were told this was NOT a hike for the faint of heart and once you committed to doing it there was no turning back. Fatih shared this piece of information multiple times. And to really drive home the point, he shared the anecdote of when a group member once was so tired she started crying mid-hike and Fatih carried her backpack for her (and thought he was going to have to actually carry her as well!) My backpack on this adventure was heavy, as we needed to bring everything we would need for an overnight and I way overpacked… I did wonder at one point if I could scrounge up some fake tears just to see if Fatih would volunteer to trade packs. Check out that pack I lugged around:

I have to say (and I’m certain Fatih would agree) that our group totally rocked it on the hike! No crying and barely even any complaining. The hike was a portion of the much longer Lycian Way (the whole thing is something like 500 km long) and included stunning views of the sea.

There were a few (very small) villages along the course of the hike, which felt odd. You really feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere and then suddenly up pops a sign for a coffee shop! Our lunch that day was one of my favorite meals of the trip… it was an outdoor restaurant nestled in a remote mountaintop village where we were the only patrons (not surprisingly) and were hosted by the owner and her three year old daughter. We ordered “gozleme” which is a popular Turkish “pancake,” but really more of a quesadilla made with a thin, crispy yet flaky phyllo-esque thingy instead of a tortilla. We watched the masterful chef create this delicacy using just flour and water (so basically paste), deftly roll it out, and add fillings of spinach, feta and some seasonings (potato and cheese was the other option). Both versions got two thumbs up by all!

After lunch we made our way to our final destination, in another tiny village a few kilometers away, a hotel called George’s Place. Who is George you may be wondering? Well, I’m glad you asked! Turns out “Old Man George” is a bit legendary in this little village and his name is not really George but he got that nickname long ago and named his hotel accordingly. It also turns out that George’s son (who also lives at the Place with his own family) is the MAYOR of the village, so we were pretty much staying in the Governor’s Mansion, I figured. George has amazing sea views from his Place and his wife and the staff provide delicious home cooked meals.

After arriving we were a tiny bit (okay, a lot) exhausted from the hike and most of us thought relaxing by the pool seemed like the perfect late afternoon activity. My roomie Danny and I headed there, and he grabbed his sunscreen on the way out of the room, SPF 10 with tan accelerator. According to Danny the tan accelerator is a key feature of the sunscreen and with SPF 10 it’s apparently hard to find. Personally, I understand as (like Danny) I love myself some sun and am #blessed to tan easily (I rarely burn). And, I will say that I find it slightly annoying when all I can find is sunBLOCK that is a minimum of SPF 50… what happened to good ole’ fashioned sunSCREEN?? I digress, so there we are at George’s pool and it’s lovely with mountain views so beautiful they looked fake.

The only glitch was the pool filter which was making an annoying clanging noise and ruining the peaceful ambiance a smidge. Danny was particularly bothered by this noise and spent some time troubleshooting how to make it stop. He had the brilliant idea of using his sunscreen as a plug in the filter. The only glitch in this masterful plan was that he slightly misjudged the size of sunscreen vs. hole and with a giant “SLURP” the precious sunscreen was SUCKED down into the filter vortex. Danny’s face as this transpired was priceless- like a little kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

It took me about 30 minutes to stop laughing and join the sunscreen-with-tan-accelerator rescue mission that had commenced. And it was an intense rescue mission, especially as the pool started to overflow at one point (thankfully Rob found the off switch). The consequences of breaking the Mayor’s pool seemed like they could be grim and Danny was certain he’d be banished from the village and forced to sleep in the woods. Everyone got involved in the rescue operation and I equivocate it in it’s intensity to the baby Jessica well rescue in Texas in the 1980’s (am I the only one who remembers that? I think they interrupted Webster to show the rescue live on TV). Anyways, we tried various tactics, which ranged from whittling bamboo spears, using thorn bush branches, wire fishing hooks, duct tape, rope lassos, and (my personal favorite) Ana making a Coke can diskette that she taped onto the end of a stick and lit on fire, in an effort to melt the sunscreen bottle so it stuck to the can (this did not work).

Finally, Danny opened a scary trap door in the ground and delved into the underground abyss next to the filter, to put his hand over the drain so the bottle would float to the top (pretty much risking his life for the sunscreen).

As he did this, three of us used bamboo spears to extract the bottle (it was really wedged in there).

Then….SUCCESS!!!

I’m pretty sure the whole village could hear our victory whoops. So, it turned out not to be the most relaxing afternoon at the pool, but it was a great team-building exercise!
The next morning we finished our hike (much easier than the day before but with equally amazing views). I think Danny was still on a high from the sunscreen rescue.

Then we were treated to a private bus (oooh-la-la!) to take us to our next destination, the adorable Mediterranean seaside town of Kas (pronounced Kash).

It was there we hit the sea for the kayak portion of our trip- spending a beautiful day on the water and stopping for a delicious lunch on a remote island with a super-cool castle (I think it’s technically a peninsula but there’s no road access so I’m rebranding it as an island).

Then it was time for our final stop, the city of Antayla, where Fatih led us on an exploration of yet another ancient city. This one was less “discovered” than Ephisus and excavation is still underway to see what treasures can be found.

It’s so cool to think about all that is yet to be discovered and apparently even in Istanbul the occasional ancient sword or other amazing relic is discovered under a rock (okay, maybe you have to dig a little… but still). During our final dinner together we celebrated the upcoming birthdays of Fatih and Francisco and reflected on our many adventures over the past two weeks. Parting is always such sweet sorrow!

I didn’t have to say good-bye to everyone, though, as during the trip, I’d learned that my new friend, Ana, had planned a three night boat cruise around some Turkish islands following the trip. She’d done her research and the cost was a real bargain! Danny and I both latched onto this trip right away (thankfully Ana didn’t mind as we didn’t really give her a choice) and then Mary decided to join us too! And how lucky for us that it was only the four of us on the boat, so a private tour! The company is called Before Lunch cruises and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Captain Ahmet drove the boat, led us on hikes with stunning views and cooked us delicious meals three times a day.

While Capt was hard at work doing all these things, we relaxed on the gorgeous vessel (named Ros), sunbathed, swam, ate, and drank. We were all pretty miserable, clearly.

We also hiked and snorkeled occasionally, but it was mostly relaxing and eating…and jumping off the side of the boat every hour or so to cool off.

Life was a struggle at sea.

It was FANTASTIC and I’m so grateful to Ana for finding this gem of a cruise.

I admit I had a liiiiittle crush on The Captain and creepily snapped a few photos of him. Then this photo transpired on one of our hikes (not sure how that happened!) and it may be my Christmas card this year:

Back on land we made the best of it with a final Fish Market dinner. I then continued my tapered good-bye to Turkey and the friends I enjoyed it with by parting ways with Danny, Ana, and Mary the next morning and heading back to Istanbul.

There I reunited with my friends from THE restaurant Aladdin and Osman (my Turkish boyfriend, although he may or may not be onboard with this) and enjoyed a few more yummy meals there.

During my second solo adventure in Istanbul I couldn’t help remembering how I’d had reservations about traveling to Turkey on my own, due to safety concerns. And, how in the three weeks I’d been in the country I had not felt unsafe once. Not even once. In fact, I found the Turkish people extremely kind and friendly. I enjoyed watching the Ramadan traditions throughout the country, such as this breaking of the fast that happens when they can eat their first meal of the day, at sunset.

During my Istanbul reunion tour I hit up a few sites I’d missed during my first go-round. Osman kindly toured me around the amazing Topkapi Palace, which had been inhabited by Ottoman sultans for only about 400 years. Location, location, location with that place, I’m telling ya, with amazing views of the Bosporus river (btw, aren’t we an adorable couple??)

And talk about OTT in terms of details- with the mosaics, murals, architectures and even the displays of the swords and clocks the Ottoman’s made back in the day. It’s absolutely incredible to look at what they were able to create using the simple tools they had back then. I can’t really fathom how they did it. You could give me access to every modern day tool in the world and I couldn’t DIY my way to anything even the tiniest bit close to anything they created.

It was sad to say good-bye to my buddies and leave Istanbul, as well as Turkey. It’s an incredible city and country, and I definitely plan to return.

And now… one final international fly-by before I return state-side for a bit. Stay tuned!