Blogs from Mediterranean, Turkey, Middle East - page 11

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Note: by double-clicking on any of the photos you will be transferred to the photo gallery which provides bigger images of the photos. Saturday 1st June: a leisurely breakfast in the sun looking up at the Tahtali Dag, a mountain that dominates the coastline here. It’s 2,318 meters/7,600 feet high and is just 10K/6 miles from Cirali. Later we headed off to Phaselis, an ancient port city just along the coast from Cirali that we had previously visited in 2008 and had good memories of it (Alexander the Great also rated Phaselis quite highly having wintered there in 334/333 BC; but he rated it more for its wine than it’s tranquility). Driving there only took 25 minutes and it hadn’t changed at all except that there were a lot more visitors this time, mostly ... read more

Monday 27th May: the plan for the day was to drive to the Datca Peninsula south of the major tourist resort of Marmaris as it’s reported as having some of Turkey’s most beautiful coastline. However, on checking the distances involved this would have required at least 2 ½ hours driving each way. And, having assimilated and adopted much of the very relaxed lifestyle of Dalyan, we decided instead to stay here and have another stroll to the Lycian/Roman ruins at Kaunos just across the river. We even had the same boatwoman, Mina, who had ferried us across previously and despite our warm greetings she failed to recognise her former customers: another blow to the self esteem. Halfway to the ruins, after no more than 400 yards, we decided to pause and sample the freshly pressed pomegranate ... read more

If you know me at all, you know I fall in love with every country I visit. Turkey is no exception! This place has impressed, wowed, and awed me more than any other country (other than India perhaps). I was a tad apprehensive coming into a muslim country, and right after reading about the bombings near the Syria border, but I have never felt more safe! Truly, I would recommend this country probably above any of the other countries I have been on this trip so far (and that is saying a lot!). So before I get all carried away, let me tell you a couple of my experiences, and you can be the judge :) Instanbul...what a city! Everywhere you look is a mosque and there is more history to bore a historian. Well, perhaps ... read more