After a relaxing few days in Sirince Dave and I took a Dolmus (shared mini van taxi system) and then a bus to rent a car in Dalaman and drive a bit further south to meet up with Lisa, Alex, Elijah and Milo. I was at first skeptical (yet open-minded) about the 5 hour bus ride in the countryside of Turkey. I have to say, it was a really nice way to travel. It was just as comfy and relaxing and well-organized as the high speed train I've been on and WAY more comfy than any plane trip.There was even a steward on the bus who supplied us with snacks and cold water and kept everything clean and organized. If you ever need to travel long distances in Turkey and cannot fly, take a bus!
After arriving in Dalaman and taking possession of our rental car we drove further down the coast to catch up with Lisa, Alex and family who had flown into Dalaman from Istanbul earlier that day and had already made their way down the coast. On our drive we saw acres and acres of greenhouses, many mosques, sheep, goats, people walking down the highway carrying huge bundles of sticks on their backs, as well as all the usual modern, commercial stuff you would see in the states - car dealerships, restaurants, hotels, stores, etc. A really interesting contrast between the "old" and traditional way of life and the things of "modernity". I feel lucky that we were able to see Turkey before it completely changed. It felt like had gone back in time and were traveling decades earlier.
A mosque
As we drove we saw miles and miles of greenhouses. I had always heard that Turkey had the best tomatoes in the world. The Turks said that the tomatoes used to be amazing but now that you can get them all through the year (thanks to all the greenhouses) they just aren't as good. The ones we had were good, but they didn't have that "garden fresh" juicy, sweet taste of a summer tomato. In part thanks to all of the greenhouses Turkey is supposedly a "net export" country - they produce more food than they need. You can also get nearly any kind of produce most of the year. Some things were still very seasonal like the strawberries were in when we were there and the watermelons were just starting to come.
On our drive we stopped in a few towns to see where we wanted to stay. Eventually, we settled on Kalkan, which ended up being the furthest South – or East –that we drove.
Here is Kalkan. A really pretty little town on the sea. It was still waking up from the winter and some shops and restaurants were still setting up. we had a great dinner at one place and the owner told us that we were the very first customers of the year. Alex said that in Turkey, that's very good luck! Well, YAY for that!
The view from our Pension in Kalkan. Spectacular. The next morning we had a delicious, traditional Turkish breakfast there on the terrace. The owner was the nicest and most helpful man. The only unfortunate thing about Kalkan was that there was a lot of construction going on and it was kind of loud. So, after one night we decided to move on and see something new.
More view.
Loquats, or "Nisperos" in Spanish were starting to ripen. I picked a few but they were still pretty sour.
However, Milo loved them.
This was the first time I saw the sea in Turkey up close like this. My heart sang at the sight of the crystal clear, aqua water. Pure heaven to me.
Walking around Kalkan.
After Kalkan, we went back north, up the coast to Patarra. We had passed through here on our way to Kalkan but didn't like it at first glance. It felt a little too rough around the edges for us so we decided to move further south at that time. However, the second time through we saw it more accurately: a charming, warm, funky little town with tons to see.
We ended up choosing "The Golden Pension" right in the center of town. What a great place. The rooms were nice, bright, and clean and the attached restaurant was fantastic.
Across the street from the pension was a little market that had things like traditional Turkish yogurst, cheeses, dusty bottles of sunscreen from last year, and a constantly full glass cabinet of fresh-baked bread. It seemed that most all of the bread in Turkey looked like this. It was very soft and yummy and went deliciously well with the honey (best honey I've ever had in my life).
When we shopped for our beach excursion that afternoon we asked about some fruit. At the time the fruit stand was not open so the store owner suggested we just get some organges from the tree behind the shop. So we climbed on top of some still dusty garden chairs and grabbed a few oranges for the road. They were the sweetest, juiciest oranges I have ever tasted.
Lisa holding some of the oranges we picked.
Above the little shop was a small cafe where they made fresh Guzlemes. Guzlemes (Gooz -leh -mays) are flat breads that are rolled with a stick then roasted on these big round convex griddle-like things. They can be filled with veggies, cheese, etc. They were a great little snack or light lunch.
I'm not sure if this friendly and explanatory message refers to a person or to this tractor.
One of the many tomato trucks we saw coming and going while staying in Patarra.
On Patarra Beach - one of the most famous and beautiful sand beaches in Turkey, and probably the entire Mediterranean. It was vast, warm and virtually empty. It was so nice to feel the warm sun and actually swim in the ocean in March.
And the water was that gorgeous crystal clear aqua blue.
After a day at the beach we went back to the pension to take a rest, get cleaned up and then we headed over to the ruins. It was truly amazing to see fields of column chunks, surrounded by cattle, sheep, and goats. ANy other times i've seen ruins they have been carefully fenced off and there were certainly no livestock living among them. I loved how the flowers and animals just coexisted with the ancient chunks of architecture. You felt like you were discovering them yourself.
Elijah loved climbing on the chunks of stone and he had an amazing knack for spotting tortoises.
Elijah getting a closer look at the tortoise.
Some more ruins ...
and some more ...
Sheep grazing among the antiquities...this was my favorite thing about these ruins.
One of the many, HUGE olive trees we saw in Turkey.
This was a former market or forum or something like that (embarrassing that i forgot). The water had lots of little critters like frogs and small shrimp-like creatures swimming around.
At this point the frogs were going crazy. THere was another pond nearby and the noise was incredible. The boys later said that the frogs were their favorite part of the ruins. It was one of my favorite parts too. :)
LIsa and Elijah hanging out with the sheep.
Every morning at the Pension started out with a fabulous Turkish breakfast. Lots of tea, bread with cheeses, honey, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and fruit. It was always warm enough to eat outside. I am just realizing now that the restaurant ONLY had dining space on the terrace. There wasn't any indoor eating space. God, I loved that.
One of the many fresh herbal teas that were served. They brough out several bags of locally grown herbs and asked us to choose. I dont know what this one was. it looked kind of like yarrow.
Dave waiting for dinner.
The dinner choices were delicious. A nice selection of traditional dishes that were a nice change from the usual kebab sold everywhere.
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