Friday 2 October

We didn’t have far to go today to the ancient spa city of Hierapolis from our hotel in Pamukkale. The amazing Travertines are terraces of carbonates and are World Heritage listed. The hot springs are fed from under the ground and the water in the Cleopatra pool is very warm. We tried out the Cleopatra pool along with many other people. There is spouting warm water and a deeper section which has ropes to hang on to and in the shallower areas are large boulders. The ruins have a hole which has gas coming from it and a sign saying Plutonium which apparently means place of the god Pluto and the gas is carbon dioxide. We checked out the amphitheatre and then also the museum and the ruins in the necropolis. We had lunch with tunica clad young men assisting before we were taken to the obligatory carpet display. The carpets are very beautiful and it would be great to buy a few to decorate home. A couple of the group bought carpets, but we realised that going with a group to such a place takes a certain amount of pressure off to buy. Then another hotel smorgasbord meal back at our hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 1 October

It was a long way to Adem’s family village at Ulukent and we did get a bit lost getting there as the driver and the guide had never been their boss’s home village. We stopped along the way to buy and taste melons at a roadside stall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually we arrived and Adem’s parents and sister were waiting patiently for us. They opened their arms and their house to us with a big delicious meal of bean salad, beef casserole and desert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we strolled around the small village and met some of the locals, as well as going to his sister’s house to visit. One of the other sisters was away tending to their goat herd in the mountains. It was a pleasure to meet them and, after many photo shoots, we left the village for our accommodation in Pamukkale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day was hot and we came back and jumped in the pool to cool down. That night we were given the usual hotel style smorgasbord and we shared a bottle of local red wine with one of the other adventurers, Kath. After dinner, belly dancing was available for those who wanted to wiggle their hips. The belly dancer got first men from the audience and then women to show what they could do under instruction from the dancer.

Tuesday 29 September (continued)

We arrive in Oludeniz late afternoon and stayed in the Magic Tulip Hotel. We immediately noticed the many hang gliders in the town from our balcony. It was a tourist town with many English tourists and so many restaurants all competing for guests to come and eat there. It was all bright lights, food and shops … lots of fun!! The hotel had a swimming pool which our room overlooked. That night, the adjacent hotel had a karaoke night which kept the singers occupied until the early hours singing Abba and other pop songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 30 September

We travelled this morning to go on a boat trip on the river Dalyan where we stopped at another anchored fishing boat. Here we saw big long necked turtles and ordered some freshly caught and cooked crabs which were delivered to us later beautifully cooked and such a delicate flavour. We continued on to turtle beach, again on the Mediterranean Sea where we jumped into the warm waters with the hundreds of others on the beach. I met an Afghanastani man who was living in Germany and holidaying in Turkey. His wife was in the water too in a special top to toes swimsuit including headgear but in pink Lycra. Once again there were beach umbrellas and lounges to use and after the swim we boated to our riverside  restaurant for a fish lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw the Kaunos tombs on the way back in the boat. After we got back to Oludeniz, Paul and I wandered out to have kebabs and beer. There were lots of shops , restaurants and singing and dancing happening again.

When we were down at the beach promenade, it was at dusk and the hang gliders were landing on targeted areas on the actual promenade amongst all the people there. We finally found a fish restaurant to go to.