“Hoş geldiniz” – “Welcome”

 

“Hoş geldiniz” – “Welcome” is almost a common word and an expression of a living culture of welcome, according to our impression, in many parts of Turkey. We are actually greeted with these words in every shop, bistro, bakery and the like during our weeks in Turkey. Once, a local passing by one of our pitches and another man stopping next to us at a traffic light even literally “welcome” us in this way. We are very happy about this every time! Again, something we would like to take home with us when the time comes….

After we have already discovered some fascinating things from ancient times on our “foray through Lycia”, we stay a little longer in this beautiful part of Turkey.

The coastal road between Kaş and Antalya often offers wonderful views of the clear turquoise sea and if you turn off the main road a bit, you can discover more little paradise bays – not least on walks along the Lycian Way.

It is now almost the end of March, but the warm weather is still waiting. Most of the time, a fresh wind blows around our noses at only about 12 degrees. Nevertheless, we are still out in the fresh air most of the day: either relaxing with freshly baked cakes and something to browse through in our hands, wrapped up warmly and enjoying the beautiful view, or on our feet exploring.

Feel free to click on the gallery:

 

 

We have collected enough ancient impressions for our taste, but there is one last well-known site we would like to visit: Ancient Myra in Demre. Hardly noticeable from the road, it lies right next to one of the many huge greenhouse landscapes in western Turkey. Thanks to these, strawberries, watermelons and tomatoes can be bought in March without import detours.

Myra has impressive Lycian rock tombs, with rarely well-preserved representations at some entrances, and a huge theatre from Roman times. A nice surprise for us are the well-preserved, detailed decorated stones that were once used to decorate the complex, especially probably the theatre building. They probably owe their good condition to the fact that Myra had been submerged in river mud for many centuries and thus the stones had been protected from the weather, theft and other damaging influences. It was not until 1965 that the ruins were uncovered piece by piece and reconstructed in the best possible way.

Once again, we treat ourselves to an audio guide, which can be borrowed at the ticket office for about half the entrance fee. In our experience, this investment is worthwhile: there are hardly any explanatory panels at the sites we visit, and the audio guide guides us acoustically through the site and tells us interesting historical facts. For example, we learn that once, in addition to cultural events, political meetings as well as animal and gladiator fights took place in the theatre.

Click to open the gallery:

 

 

Ancient Myra is also known as a pilgrimage site, as Saint Nicholas of Myra had his episcopal seat here in 300 AD. And yes, it really is the same St. Nicholas who still brings something to the good little children in Germany 😉

In what is now Demre, a church was built for him around 600 AD. However, hardly anything can be seen of it from the outside, as it is hidden under a protective canvas roof. We save the entrance fee, which is high by local standards, with the intention of going out for a really tasty meal instead!

 

Visiting Nicholas of Myra. 🙂

 

It’s hard to believe, but at the moment in Turkey, a meal the size of an adult’s stomach for a couple of hours can be had for one or two euros in small “bistros”.

So we often have a really good time and enjoy the country’s typical cuisine and specialities. Not only the “Turkish pizza” Pide, which is also known in Germany, is available everywhere, but also the Gözleme, which we are not yet familiar with: a kind of wafer-thin filled pancake, which is always freshly prepared. Once we were even lucky enough to have freshly baked pancakes prepared especially for us Sigara böreği are made especially for us: Crispy fried dough rolls filled with salty, spicy cheese. Delicious! And besides homemade colourful vegetable dishes, we also find nice breakfast platters for once.

Sigara Böregi, rolled and deep-fried fresh for us!

Fine colourful lunch!

Breakfast plate with homemade fries 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surprisingly, we can put our plans into practice right away. It is market day in Demre and a visit to the market is another highlight for us. From live chickens and sheep to salty peanuts, snacks, fresh crunchy vegetables, olive oil, wooden goods and natural soap, almost everything is sold. A few “bistros” invite us to stop and a very friendly lady leaves us her table and organises tasty gözleme together with the Turkish “national drinks” ayran and Çay.

As at the market in Ayvalik, we are no curiosity here. Although we inevitably have to stand out as Europeans – Sophia with blonde hair and Chris with a height of almost 2 metres – we are allowed to immerse ourselves in the local shopping culture and probably have a similar experience to everyone else; without touristy increased prices or market stall operators who would chat us up and try to convince us to buy something. The people here are very friendly and accommodating every stall says “Hoş geldiniz” – “Welcome” we are happy about the unpacked goods and fill up the plastic bags we brought with us, which have accumulated over time and are happy to be reused 😉

 

We stock up on great products “from A to Z”.

 

Gözleme and Cay at the market in Demre.

 

In the next few days, we continue to Çirali. In this somewhat remote but quite touristy place we find a rarely beautiful bay and finally summer weather. The first ice cream lures us with the sun’s rays onto still deserted beach loungers and the thick jackets are exchanged for a light jumper 🙂

Also on the beach of Çirali, as already in Patara, there are sea turtle offspring in the summer months. We see some kind of metal mesh baskets that are probably put over the nests to protect them.

We take a nice adventurous hike and walk up and down a small mountain on half overgrown paths to spare us and especially Tenio a river crossing. This takes us to the right half of the beach, which is only accessible on foot, and we also scramble “across” up to a ruined castle, from where we can enjoy a magnificent view of the bay and the still snow-covered mountain peaks behind it.

A few insights in the following gallery, which can be opened with a click:

 

 

In the evening we want to experience another sight of Çirali with our own eyes: The eternal flames of the Chimaira. For more than 2700 years, several small fires have been burning here, which seem to come out of the rock from different places. Sometimes they are only the size of a finger and burn bluish, sometimes they are up to half a metre high and look like campfires. The reason for this is gases that escape from the ground and caught fire ages ago. We observe that some fireplaces go out and others reignite, while we arrive at nightfall on the rocky mountainside and spend a few hours there. This place has been revered since ancient times: ruins of a temple and a Byzantine church can be found up here.

To see this magic, click on the gallery:

 

 

After these beautiful highlights, we are drawn to the sea again for a few days. Here we want to enjoy some warmth and relax before we continue our journey inland.

We make a two-day stop in Antalya, including laundry, then head to a natural beach near the hotel buildings of Side. Here, too, human traces in the form of rubbish are unfortunately omnipresent, but we still find a small place where we can have a good time and even watch some dolphins 🙂

A click shows you the pictures in this gallery:

 

 

Our good three months on the Greek and Turkish Mediterranean coast were wonderful! Now we are very curious to see what awaits us in the interior of Turkey. It feels like 27 degrees and the sun is shining, so we’re heading for Central Anatolia at the beginning of April.

Let us surprise you with what we will discover along the way and in the enchanting Cappadocia, a world of its own 🙂

Güle güle

Sophia and Chris

 

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