Alanya by Dolmus bus

---

After another day lazing on the beach we decided it was time to go and explore again. We chose Alanya as it was reputed to have a castle and good snorkelling.

We jumped on the Dolmus bus outside our hotel and travelled to Manavgat where we needed to change buses to Alanya. We found the correct bus no problem and got on. We were extremely surprised to find that this bus was air-conditioned and quite plush, a big bonus! The ride took us all along the coast line for about 60 kms and lasted about one hour 20 minutes, very good value for 6 lire ( about £2 in our money)!

The bay of Alanya was very picturesque, a pretty Port backed by high mountains and a castle overlooking the town. After grabbing a quick coffee we headed off towards the castle, the path took us up through steep winding streets As the temperature was rapidly rising we began to think it might be better to forget going to the castle and instead follow the road just above the rocky coast line where we could get views of the castle, the Town Wall and the dive boats anchored in the bay.

Just at this moment a little old man popped out of his house and barred our way. He insisted the path straight ahead was 'kaput' and led us up the windy twisty road towards the castle, we began to protest that we didn't actually want to go to the castle when he opened a door to another house and said "Lady, she is English come, come."
We were railroaded into the house where we came across another couple sat eating homemade cake and drinking Turkish tea. We all looked at each other as if to say "what's going on?"
The 'English' lady only had two words 'you buy' and proceeded to show us trinkets. Now, as we'd brought the minimum of cash due to the fact we intended to leave our stuff unattended when we went snorkelling, we knew we wouldn't be able to buy anything. Whilst she was busy with the first couple we sneaked out, but turned to hear her cursing us from the front door. We climbed a little higher avoiding the old man this time and found ourselves on the town walls. We walked along them for a while until we met the path we'd wanted originally. It wasn't 'kaput' at all! But we were very hot and sweaty by then.

We stopped to eat our picnic in the shade of a tree and noticed the other couple scrambling about on the rocks high above us, hopelessly lost. They too were trying to avoid the man's house for fear they'd be hijacked into buying more trinkets. They were greatly relieved when they saw us and made their way down, grateful to be on a path again.

From here we could see the dive boats and the divers, one by one, dropping into the sea. We scrambled down the rocks, stripped off to our swimsuits and made our way into the water. (Thank goodness for my tough rubber swim shoes). Instantly we were transformed to another world. The rocks below the surface formed canyons to swim through and then dropped away to the deep blue sea where we saw several varieties of fish, although not as colourful as the ones we'd seen in Indonesia or the Red Sea. It was a very pleasant experience and one which we repeated over again twice more. Each time we could also see the divers below us taking, quite possibly ,their first lessons. I still think I'll stick to snorkelling though.

From here we headed back into town for a refreshing beer and got talking to a turkish man who was living in Bolton but on a two week holiday there. I asked him why he chose to live in England when his own country had so much to offer and he told me about how he used to have a bar there but now not enough tourists come due to terrorism. He then proceeded to tell us about the 3 bombs yesterday in Antalya and Marmarais! Bombs, what bombs?! We knew nothing. It turned out Dolmus busses had been targetted and several British Tourists were injured. We'd been in Antalya the day before, literally hours before it happened!

The next 2 days were spent frantically trying to e-mail our families to inform them that we were not involved. Everyone else must have had the same idea as all the computers were down or working at snail's pace. We spent the last few days just 'chilling out' on the beach and dining in our favourite restaurants.

On our last night we watched the Traditional turkish dish being cooked on a fire then cracked open before being served, of course they had to make a spectacle of the whole thing!

As we arrived at the airport on our final day the heavens opened and it poured with rain, just in time to prepare us for the good old British weather!

---

Photos

Traditional Turkish Dish
The food is cooked in a sealed pot in the fire then the pot is cracked open with a hammer and the top removed.

Farewell
Saying goodbye to the friendly staff at the Sultan Restaurant