April 2011

2011 - Oasis Overland (Part 14 - Egidir, Olympos, Ölüdeniz)

A few days passing along the Mediterranean coast.

Saturday 2 April 2011 - Wednesday 6 April 2011
View 2011 tiki tour on nzhamsta's travel map.

Saturday 2 April - A very early start to get to Egidir. This was our extra day in Turkey due to leaving Syria early. It was a long drive to Egidir, a town on a very picturesque lake. I elected to stay in a dorm at the guest house rather than camping due to not feeling very well the night before and I needed to keep warm. The rain continued so did not go out at all.

The town of Egidir.

Sunday 3 April - After a good night's sleep in a nice warm dorm, I felt much better. From Egidir we drove to Olympos, an ancient site on a river that flows down to the sea. The place we stayed at was basically tree huts and cabins that were quite comfortable. The place also did a great dinner as part of the deal. It carried on raining.

Monday 4 April - Another miserable day, but I did manage to walk down to the ancient site. It looked very impressive along the river bank and there were little trails that went into the forest to temples, houses and so on. A lot of people were not feeling well so not much was happening around the group, but I was feeling better. The place did another superb dinner, especially the soup.

The river in Olympos.

The river bank in Olympos.

More Roman ruins at Olympos.

The Genoese castle on the coast.

Roman ruins at Olympos.

Tuesday 5 April - We had a long scenic drive along the coast with a stop at Kaş. This is a nice small town with a harbour and not many tourists (at the moment). The sun came out as well so I was able to sit in a cafe having a nice lunch soaking up the rays. After a good break, we drove onto Ölüdeniz, a prime touristy resort further long the coast. Again, due to it being very early in the season, there were no tourists around. The place is normally swarming with British and European tourists. The camp site was a decent place by the lagoon. Our evening entertainment was held at the local bowling alley, a bit different you may think, but it was good fun.

The coastal drive towards Kaş.

The town of Kaş.

The harbour at Kaş.

A nice sunset at Ölüdeniz.

Wednesday 6 April - Another lazy day. The sun came out in the morning and so we could sit on the beach soaking up a few rays. However, later on in the day the rain returned, which did not help the drying of the laundry.

The beach at Ölüdeniz, soon to be covered in tourists.