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Tuesday 13
th: Cappadocia here we come! We set off east at 9.35am not sure of how far we would progress in the direction of Cappadocia, our destination some 500 miles / 800 kms / to the east in central Turkey. The first stage was along the D400 coastal highway which we had travelled previously, then after 50 miles /80 kms we turned away from the coast road and headed into the mountains on the D350 which is known as the Inland Route from Fethiye (a major town on the coast) to Antalya one of the major cities on the southern seaboard of Turkey. After an exhilarating drive through spectacular mountain scenery we dropped down into Antalya at 1pm, exactly on schedule. Thanks to a large lorry forcing us into a left lane exit on a roundabout instead of a centre lane exit we headed down the wrong road towards the centre of town, something that we needed to avoid having experienced it previously (see Travelblog Turkey 2010). However we were able
On the D350 Inland Route
First view of the mountains still with snow on the topsto retrace our route back to the roundabout and found the correct exit and headed across Antalya dicing with the lunatic traffic in the city. Eventually (actually 40 minutes) we got clear on the other side of the city and continued east for another hour back on the D400 before turning inland on to the D350 and then stopping for a late lunch (3pm) at a café at a filling station, which turned out to be managed by the Turkish equivalent of Dick Turpin the notorious English highwayman. We were charged TYL36 (£10+) for a meal that would have cost no more than TYL20 even in a holiday resort like Dalyan, let alone a place that caters for the lorry driving community. It must be because I have “Mug” engraved on my forehead visible only to rip-off artists.
Not letting that slight (outrageous) scram our drive we once again headed into the mountains only this time they were even more spectacular than earlier in the day. Pine forests, picturesque valleys and massive mountains plus a very good highway: wide, good surface and traffic free.
We were making such good progress that we decided to stop at Beysehir, 312
miles /500 kms from Dalyan, a university town on the shore of Lake Beysehir, Turkey’s biggest freshwater lake. A really good call as Beysehir is very charming and has a great location on the lake looking west at the snow covered Taurus Mountains on the opposite shore. Our Hotel, the Ali Bilir (recommended by Tripadvisor) was well situated near the lake with a 6
th floor terrace restaurant that provided a great view. So it was two happy travellers who settled into the Ali Bilir.
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