Cirali Nearly as good as NZ. Nearly.

  Cirali, Antalya, Turkey
Thursday, May 21, 2009

Turkey is a place everyone should  visit at least once. The currency is close to the NZD , the people open and friendly , food is  plentiful varied and cheap  and rather tasty , the language is just weird and you have lots of truly strange Russian tourists to ogle at.

We have stayed put in Cirali, a national park on the Mediterranean coast for the past two weeks and it has been heaven. Cirali is the home of ancient monuments at Olympus , old greek cities, marine loggerhead turtles and hippies.



The valley is surrounded on all sides by steep stone mountains with crystal clear mountain streams running almost to the sea. The limestone soils are so porous the rivers disappear before the beach.

Water is plentiful from the irrigation aqueducts and the valley is a green oasis. For those inclined to walking this is place to be. The Lycian Way, a major walk in this region, stretches for 500 km and passes through this section of the coast. We travelled for 2 hours along one section to a deserted beach and old silver mine.  It's hot, damned hot for walking and this is spring so who knows how people cope in summer.




The beaches are stony rather than sandy with a fine grit, this makes strolling on the sand a chore rather than a pleasure. The water is very clear and warm although if the wind blows the wrong way, the Mediterranean seems to find a lot of plastic to send ashore.

The following night we travelled to Chimera, three kilometres from the hotel. Chimera is a magical place of fire, where the ground literally has been burning for thousands of years. Methane seeps out of the rocks and burns looking for all intents and purposes like a collection of campfires. Some say this is the place the original Olympic torch was lit. Nice story if it's true.



Around the corner at the right hand end of the beach is the ancient site of Olympos  and further up the river the village of Olympos. To call it a village is a stretch as what we really have is a series of temporary structures lightly built to service the backpacker trade. Still it looks like a fun place for the under 30's.

Every adventure attraction is on offer so we decided to do them all, NOT, and to simply relax, walk and sunbathe as we recharged after three Explore Tours. Never again, Explore employs great people as guide, but the organisation is simply not what we are looking for.

Old Olympos is reached by crossing a series of springs on rickety wooden bridges. We ferreted through the Ancient Greek , Roman and Byzantine ruins , in much the same way as we had done in Africa.  Still the photos look nice. The best part of the day was meeting Paul and Jennie, an American / German couple from Berlin. As so often happens in travel, you find a way to get to know people very quickly and these guys were great.



They had plans to rent a car the next day so we offered to help share the costs. They needed to travel to another town for an ATM. There are no Cash Machines in the valley, which is kind of nice. To be honest my major reason for offering was to enable us to see some more of Turkey without having to drive on the wrong side of the road, or take buses. This was a good solution for both of us.

They duly arrived around 9.30 and we set off to Paul's fateful words. "Did I tell you I don't have a car, and I don't drive much". Oh Crap.

I am sure we will be fine...you know it's better to trust and be disappointed from time to time rather than live life as a worrying cynic.  Pauls driving was a lot better than mine would have been so I am grateful we made it back in one piece. Jenni simply has to remember never to let him talk on the phone at the same time as trying to remember how to drive. Watching her wave her hands around in the air whilst repeating one  swear word at Paul was very funny.

The trip flowed along the coast, limestone bluffs and tiny beaches tucked into little stone coves filled the seaside until we reached Myra. Myra's principal claim to fame, apart from some nice Roman Ruins and Tombs is that this place is the home for St Nicholas, patron saint of Russia and Greece and of course famous as Father Christmas.



Fiona informed me that Father Christmas' red suit was a marketing invention by Coca Cola in the 1930's. (This is almost true, check out urban legends for the true story.)


 
This did not stop the locals from taking advantage of this. To be honest they really did not need to. This place seems to be a major pilgrimage point for Orthodox Russians. They pour out of the tour buses in numbered droves with matching scarves to get trapped in the Russian Religious Icon shops that surround the walk to St Nicks church.

The Church is half buried and well preserved under protective roofs, a bit like a giant boatshed. Like a well oiled machine the Russians invade the ramp down scurrying in their high heels to be first inside. Then strangely they file out with tears pouring down their cheeks , crossing themselves at least five times and kneeling  before leaving. It was quite moving that people could find something so special when it has no significant religious value to an old Anglican. They have my respect for this although I cannot forgive the appalling dress sense. It is on par with the Americans on tour in its oddities and complete lack of respect for local customs.



Turkey is a secular society , accepting of other religions and personal interpretations of their own dominant Islamic faith. They do not seem phased by the clothing extremes, or, perhaps they simply accept that the country needs the Russian tourist roubles and that religious compromise is required. Many of the Arab states could learn from Turkey's example and relax a bit. After all tourists get back  on a plane and go home after a week or so.

The next day we met Lian a tall tanned Dutchwoman, who had escaped from Holland in her Fiat campervan to hike the mountains. She told us about a hidden township called Ulupınar  that was worth walking to. "Just an hour or so she said, an easy walk, plus de have a beautiful restaurant in the river". We did not know what we had let ourselves in for.



Like all good walks we started at the bottom of the valley and slowly climbed our way uphill  alongside the crystal clear river. The walk in made me homesick for the New Zealand bush. The only things missing from the Turkish bush were some tree ferns and the call of the Tui.  It was also Fiona's birthday so we decided to make a big effort and to complete the walk to the top of the hill and to stay for lunch. We did not know that this required a 10km walk up the steep valley.

We finally completed the walk after pausing to examine a 10 day old turtle I found on the track, which Fiona of course wanted to adopt and to take with her on her world travels. The baby turtle was dutifully photographed and set free after some vigorous debate. To be honest I just needed a rest, that track was steep, and talking is easy if you stop moving.



The restaurant was placed like a tree hut on steel poles inside a rocky shallow waterfall. Each table was connected to another with gangways over the tumbling water. You need a good sense of balance to be a waiter here.  



The water was also used to aerate Trout breeding ponds, and you could catch as many small trout as you like for Two or Three Euro. This proved to be a major draw card for , you guessed it, the Russians. They had a ball, with the women seemingly out fishing the men. Fiona says this is true the world over.



Trout as a dish is quite bland and not a touch on Salmon or real sea fish but it was very good value, especially when teamed with spit roasted lamb. The restaurant is packed out in summer as people escape the heat, but in May it was still a little cool. Falling water is probably the best air conditioner available.

The trip down was uneventful, apart from an ancient Turkish woman who came running after us squawking and smiling at us as we passed her house and awoke her noisy dogs. She had some piping hot fresh fried bread. What a simple generous gift, we were both quite touched. The bread helped us finish off a very long day.   I don't think I have ever walked 20 km in one go before.

Our time in Cirali drew to an end and we left for the ninety minute drive to the airport in Antalya. The drive was amazing, particularly as we were seeing this section of the country for the first time. If you remember a previous post we basically slept all of the way in as we had been forced to stay awake for over 30 hours in order to get to Cirali with our bags intact. 



Great Hotel, great place, very few people and good food. Well worth the effort to get there.