Fethiye, Pamukkale and Selcuk

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6/5 - 6/9
Our boat trip ended in the pretty coastal town of Fethiye. We got settled into a modest hotel- and explored the surrounding areas. The downtown area is picturesque with a port and several water front restaurants. There is a decent shopping district that offers fine Turkish goods...and still more carpets. There certainly seems to be no shortage of carpet salesman in Turkey.

Our first full day we rented a scooter and took a 20min drive to the nearby town of Kaya aka "Ghost Town". This village was predominantly dominated by Greeks (represent) until WWI. After the Ottoman empire was defeated ~1915, Turkey and Greece had redefined borders and there was a population exchange, with many Greek people moving out of Turkey into the newly defined border of Greece. As a result this Greek village was entirely abandoned, and has remained that way for nearly a century. It wasn't exactly completely abandoned though. A couple of local entrepreneurs offering handmade jewelry to the few tourists still remain. There was also a cool mountain goat that seemed to "Baaa" in response to each time I "Baaaaed". Jaime was unable to get a similar response- obviously goats would like me better.

We bummed around Fethiye another day or so and it was nice to not be on the move for a few days- but besides some good sea food- not exactly a must see. Jaime did manage to pick out some handmade pillow cases for our couch pillows, that I failed to instantly recognize we "absolutely had to have."

We had one and a half days in pamukkale which is an inland town known for its natural springs and calcium pools. Probably one day too long. The calcium pools look way cooler in the post cards than in real life- but make for a few unusual pictures and our feet feel nice from the minerals. Our hotel was pretty lame and I still am holding a grudge that we agreed to sit for dinner. Before we saw a menu we were immediately brought a three course meal that neither of us loved and it wasn't exactly cheap. Oh well.

Last stop in Turkey was Selcuk- where we spent 2 days. Nearby is Ephesis, where we had a day trip to see some of the most famous ruins in all of Turkey. The sites were pretty and the history was interesting. Ephesus was a large city and archeologists spent a lot of time recreating it, so it made it a lot easier to see what the city dating back to 200BC would have actually looked liked. Jaime really enjoyed it but I am getting a little full on ancient ruins. We should also note that this was our fourth daytrip to see ancient sites- and it has become a bit tired, that every time we go see some historical site- we also get dragged to some jewelry exhibit or ceramics shop- where merchants get a captive audience of tourists to pitch there merchandise- and the guide who brought us there receives a kickback on anything we buy.

Aside from that, Selcuk is a rather nice town, with cool bars, and home of Andrews first barber shop haircut and shave. For a mere $6 equivalent, I got a haircut, face massage, and shave. I must admit I am looking rather good. Next stop the Mother Country- Greece.

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Photos

Biker Me
Hillel's Angels Here I Come. Shout out to Jaime's Dad

Safebet
Don't let the smile fool you. I still have nail marks on my stomach showing how scared she was.

Dinner in Fetihye
Notice Fish market in background. We bought our fish fresh there- and had the restaurant cook it for us.