Through the southwest..

The time has come for some bitches, ehm, I mean beaches and some nice Mediterranean climate. This place has beautiful blue water, idyllic hidden coves, long sandy beaches, tourist destinations, yachting tourism and old ruins from the time of ancient Lycia.
In the southwest, we visited the coastal part of Antalya to Fethiye and went a little inside and around the city of Denizli and Pamukkale, in the place of white cascades and shallow pools as one of the natural wonders of Turkey.

Lycia is the name for this region of Turkey and was one of the Roman provinces. In year 168 BC the Lycian League was formed as a federation with democratic principles. The main center and the capital of ancient Lycia were Xanthos, Patara, Myra, Pinar, Tlos and Olympos. We were in some of these, and these places are now tourist resorts with beaches and ruins of old cities. A very popular thing is the Lycian Way, as a great 500 km long trekking route from Ölü Deniz near Fethiye to Antalya.

Definitely worth mentioning, and what I didn’t describe yet is the bus transport in Turkey. Turkish buses can be compared with space shuttles. They are longer as the usual European buses. For slightly taller persons they offer enough space to spread their legs even when the front passenger seat is lowered all the way down. In some cases you can also get a pillow, a headset for the LCD screens attached to every seat with hygienic coating and wet wipes for your hands. I forgot to mention that you constantly get served by a steward who brings you cookies, cola, juice, coffee several times and water unlimited. Some buses have Wi-Fi wireless Internet. Each time a bus stops for a break they wash it from outside, so it always looks shiny. And at the end for all that you pay 30 euros for a 13 hour and 1100 km drive. Some of the best bus companies are Kamil Koç, Metro Turizm, Ulusoy, Varan, Süha and Pamukkale.

LCD screens in all better buses. In this example, a Hollywood blockbuster with Jim Carrey in "Yes Man". The only problem is that everything is synchronized in Turkish.

Our first beach and finally our first swimming. Olympos, the remains of the ancient capital of Lycia in conjunction with a tourist beach and tourist resort. The accommodation was interesting. The standard price for a double room in Turkey is around 10 euros per person. In this case, for the same price we got a tree house and free breakfast and dinner. And it was not an ordinary meal, it was a festival. What I ate there every day, I would pay anywhere else in the restaurant about 30 euros.

Patara Beach, the beach near the ancient city of Lycian Patara, one of the most beautiful beaches between Fethiye and Antalya. Its length of 20 km of sandy shore makes it the longest beach in Turkey. The place is known to tourists, although they remain just at one place. After 10 minutes of walking you can find places where you can be totally alone. Also, it is an important breeding place for large sea turtles where they lay their eggs each evening. One late evening we were waiting for them to come, but unfortunately didn’t saw any.

Traditional pancakes in a small village near Patara.

Turkish pide or some kind of pizza. You can choose from a variety of fillings.

Kaputaş Beach, a beach along the road, in a small idyllic bay with a beautiful blue sea. From Patara it’s only available by bus direction Kaş. So it is necessary to tell the driver to stop on the road above the beach.

Fethiye, a town on the ruins of the old Lycian city of Telmessos, but also on a seismically active area. Almost completely destroyed in the recent earthquakes in 1957 and 1961. The city is now fully restored and in its modern guise differs from the rest of Turkey.

Tombs of Lycian kings in Fethiye.

I bought a ship. :)

The Butterfly Valley, definitely one of the best places in Turkey. On the coast between Fethiye and Kalkan descends a steep and hidden cove, a Hippie Heaven in the 60's and 70's, now a famous place to visit by boat taxi from Ölü Deniz. Even some boat companies advertise themsleves as "the only way into Butterfly Valley" and everywhere the story about an Australian guy who fell and died here is told. However, we went through by bus to Faralya and climbed down with Chris from New Zealand, descended on some fixed ropes and chilled in the shade. The descent didn’t represent any problem. The beach is beautiful, "hippie peoples" palm trees, some shit, organic farming, reiki and meditation. I picked myself a little carob.

The horrible big city of Denizli, where I ended up again in the hospital for some injections. After developing a rash and some sort of red dots on my body that occurred every 10 minutes, and after I took on the appearance of a "monsters" it was time to visit the doctor. However, it turned out to be an allergic reaction to salmonella I had a week before that.

Pamukkale, a small place near Denizli, exploited because of it’s natural wonder, a mountain with a thermal spring, a lot of calcite, and an otherworldly appearance of white cascades and shallow pools filled with calcite mud baths. At the top is a nice little park and remnants of the ancient city of Hierapolis. In the evening all the people are gone from the hill and the park remains peaceful..refreshing rain from the artificial irrigation systems..breathtaking sunsets..ahhh...

For all those interested in more photos, you can visit this link (click here) where there are panoramic photos.