Blogs from Dalyan, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East

Google maps has been invaluable at helping us find our way between destinations and also providing some ‘enrichment’ in the routes chosen. Today's adventure started off well with another delicious breakfast in the courtyard, but things went somewhat downhill from there. First descent was when child #1 noticed in an absolute panic that she had left her favourite toy in the bed at the hotel, precisely 3 seconds after we had entered the freeway system. Tried to navigate our way out of it, only to head 20 mins in the exact wrong direction with no exit in sight. Finally made it back to the hotel to collect the attempted escapee. Exactly one hour behind schedule and we headed to Pamukkale for some restorative soaking. It was a long trip, mostly on freeway (where we experienced an ... read more

The last thing I wanted to do was get on that damn bus again....the thought of leaving at 6am (4am bodyclock time) to sit on a bus all day again was not exactly inspiring, but with the thought of seeing 300 BC tombs in a hillside were enough to pry my head of the pillow and do it all over again. I had resolved that I was not getting of the bus and transferring around the place again ( I would, if it came to it, become one of those oh so annoying group travellers where you would have to drag me kicking a screaming off the bus just to prove a point) however, I was pleasantly surprised when we were not on the list to transfer! (much to Vaughn's relief as he knows me too ... read more

The climb to the top of the hill had been tricky but the view from the top was spectacular. The path - little more than a goat track that wound its way up the rocky hillside - was precipitous in places and crossed back and forth over the remains of a fortified wall clinging to the hillside. Lounging gratefully among the pungent foliage of Artemisia and Helichrysum on the summit (the latter plant smelling of curry), we took stock of our surroundings. A faint breeze blew across the summit plateau taking the edge off the hot spring sunshine that blazed down out of a clear blue sky. On one side of the hill, there were views out over the Dalyan Cayi - a reed filled marshland threaded with a maze of waterways - all the way ... read more

April 11, 2008 Dalyan, Tlos, Turkey Today we went to Dalyan and enjoyed a very nice riverboat ride from the town to the coast with a stop at the ancient city of Caunos. This is another very interesting site and at one time was home to many thousands of people. The city site is now several kilometers up the old river’s path from the coast but in its’ time it was an important port city before the river silted in. The riverboat took us to the coast and one of the most popular beaches in this part of Turkey. This is a huge sandy beach and a favorite destination for many Turks and foreign visitors in the summertime. This time of year it is just getting opened up and there was almost no one there except ... read more

Well, this travelling gets addictive! We'd only been home a few weeks from Bali when we both found ourselves with a weeks holiday from work. Couldn't stand the thought of England's grey skies so booked a flight to Turkey. We ended up in Marmaris, it was fairly quiet as it was the end of the season. The weather was a pleasant 25 degrees by day, a bit cool in the evening. We did plenty of running around on the dolmus buses, visiting Icmeler and Turunc. Both were lovely small towns backed by high mountains. On our last day we visited the famous rock tombs of Dalyan and also the supposed healing mud baths close by. This turned out to be quite a fun affair, although I have to admit that I declined from completly submerge myself ... read more