Author Archives: Björn

Kekova Boat Trip

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This morning we had a quick drive over to the village of Kekova for a full-day boat ride. Our first stop was at a small village on a peninsula with castle ruins on top of the hill. We made all the way up to the top for some incredible views of the surrounding area.

From the village we continued straight to a nearby island to get a glimpse of the remains of a sunken city – later on there were also a number of opportunities for swimming and snorkeling (ok – they had goggles and snorkels … there was not much to see though).

With the trip essentially outside of any season we were the only ones around, which gave this trip a very quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Via Phaselis to Kas

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We left Antalya after a short walk around town. Our next stop was just a one hour drive down the coast – the ruins of Lycian city of Phaselis – complete with a nice secluded beach and an opportunity for a quick swim.

From Phaselis the drive continued for another good two hours to Kaş – a little coastal town and our base for the next two nights.

Konya

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The city of Konya is closely linked to the order of the whirling dervishes (Mevlana); the ceremony we had already witnessed yesterday evening.

We made it there in the late afternoon and continued straight for the Mevlana Museum.

Underground in Derinkuyu – Hiking Ihlara Valley

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We left Göreme and Cappadocia today, heading for Konya – the home of the whirling dervishes’ order.

On the way we had a quick stop at the underground city of Derinkuyu. This underground city (along with several others in the region) used to be hiding place of the Byzantine Christians in the 6th and 7th century – so they could avoid persecution by passing-through Arab or Persian armies. The Derinkuyu underground cities extends to a depth of up to 60 meters and may have housed up to 20,000 people (numbers differing by source … 20,000 seems a bit too much for my taste).

From the underground city we continued to Ihlara Valley, where we had a stroll along the Melendiz River with further opportunities to visit some of the rock churches in the valley.

More Cappadocia

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After our return from the balloon ride, we had a late (second) breakfast.
After that we were about to get more time with the Cappadocian landscape – this time by foot and much closer. The walk was going into and following the red valley (Kizilcukur) with more great vistas – this time just from terra firma.

In the afternoon I went for a bit of exploration by myself, walking in and around Göreme – with some more nice views of the town and the surrounding landscape. In the evening most of the group joined in for a cultural show along with dinner.

Cappadocia Ballooning

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We had a very early start today – to go for what has been THE highlight of the full trip – a balloon ride over Cappadocia around sunrise.

After we got picked up at the hotel we drove for about an hour to the starting point – here we made it into the sky – along with many, many, many other balloons (balloon rides are good business here). We spent about an hour in the sky before we had a pretty unerring landing – followed by a short ceremony, that even included sparkling wine.

The ride itself was simply awesome – fairly hard to put into words – the photos tell the tale.

To Göreme

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We had a long driving day ahead of us – all the way from Beypazari to Göreme – more than 400km.

A few stops on the way did help to keep the day interesting and us somewhat awake. We made a first stop at a salt lake – including the opportunity to walk on the lake and to try the salty health products (actually – there was no option to not try the salt peeling before getting out to the lake).

Another stop was at the Agzikarahan Caravanserai, which dates back to the 13th century.

We made it into Göreme just around sunset – and in time for some first nice view over the Cappadocian landscape.

Beypazari

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Originally the tour had included a night stop in Ankara – however due to the recent bombing Ankara was replaced by the small town of Beypazari.

Beypazari is a good 1.5 hours (driving) West of Ankara; its historic is nicely renovated in Ottoman style – and is also home to a small museum, that provides a great introduction into the life and customs during the Ottoman time.

According to Lonely Planet the area around Beypazari produces more than half of the carrots consumed in all Turkey – easily recognizable by the carrot monument. Carrots are also part of the local specialty baklava.