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Turkey 🇹🇷

November - December 2023
A 22-day adventure by A and Js World Adventure Read more
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  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    11
    Day 20

    Derinkuyu and Kaymakli Underground Citie

    November 29, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    I know I’ve used the words mind-blowing and mysterious a lot in my recent journals of Cappadocia.. But these two underground cities take the prize for the most mind-blowing and unbelievable. Mainly because there is such limited known history about them. And seemingly no interest from mainstream historians in researching it.

    In modern times, a farmer discovered a hidden tunnel in 1963 while renovating his basement. It turned out to be a vast city with 8 levels and a depth of 85m and could hold up to 20,000 people. Located directly under a modern town that had been built in the area completely oblivious to it being below them. And if that isn’t enough, it’s now believed that there are up to 200 of these “underground cities” across Turkey!

    The various versions of who and why they were used range from the Pyrigians in the Bronze Age to escape the extremes of weather, to Christians during the Roman and Ottoman empires to escape persecution. However, who originally built them and how they did so has me in awe!

    I’ve been so keen to see these cities for myself after watching Graeme Hancock’s Netflix series Ancient Apocalypse. On our last day before we departed on the overnight bus we hired a car and headed down to Derinkuyu. The first thing that struck me was that this was barely even a tourist attraction. It had a ticket office and a turnstile but there were no frills at all to this. We descended into the tunnels that wound us down the 8 levels. Various rooms and interconnecting staircases seamlessly crisscrossed across levels and living areas. I just couldn’t fathom how this had been designed and built all below the surface with stone-age tools. A system of air vents provided fresh air to all levels. There is even a system of large stone disks that have been cut out at certain points that can be rolled across the tunnel to block sections of tunnel, like airlocks or security barriers.

    After spending about an hour exploring the tunnels, and ignoring claustrophobia and my increasing lower back pain, we drove about 10 minutes to Kaymakli. Surprisingly a much more established tourist site. There was an official entrance building and information posted around about the site. We were greeted by a short informative film that explained how the different areas were used as communal kitchens and smaller living areas for families. Animals were known to be stored in the upper levels and the large storage rooms were used as pantries. But still no mention of who and how they were dug originally. We explored Kaymakli for about another hour before my back and brain couldn’t take any more. What a truly unbelievable place!    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 19

    Rose and Red Valley, Cappadocia

    November 28, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

    Today was the only day of our stay that was forecast to be clear and sunny. And it didn’t disappoint! We woke up to a crystal clear sky with no wind. We left early for our usual sunrise pilgrimage and about halfway up to the ridge, through a gap between some fairy chimneys, there it was! The first Balloon rose from its launch pad behind the ridge! Although neither of us cared to go on a hot air balloon, we had been hoping to see them at least once while we were here.

    To get clearance to operate the conditions need to be clear with no wind, and today was perfect. We raced to the top of the ridge and watched as probably about 100 balloons rose over the landscape. With the temperature currently -4C we were thankful for the sun finally rising. (But at the same time curious how cold it would be in one of those balloons right now?!)

    Our hike for today was planned to be another loop departing and returning from Goreme. We set off after breakfast and within only minutes found ourselves distracted exploring an abandoned cave home. Besides the Open Air Museum Churches, we hadn’t been in any of the homes. From a distance, we had seen various rooms sporadically in cliff faces but hadn’t had the chance to properly explore the rooms and staircases concealed within the rock. It was mindblowing to try understand how these rooms had been carved into the rock and who, when and why people had lived in them.

    Eventually, we moved back to the track and continued up the valley. We were heading for Rose Valley which is named after the prominent shade of colour in the rock. I had downloaded the Alltrails app before leaving which provides trails and GPS. Following along on a pre-marked track I noticed a feature up ahead called the “3 cross church”. We arrived at the spot marked on the map and could see a half-exposed cross-section of a room in the cliff above us. With a bit of a scramble, we eventually made it up into the open aperture and passed through into the next room beyond. The room had a vibe straight out of an Indiana Jones film. It opened up to a large hall with 3 massive crusader-style crosses carved in 3D relief across the entire ceiling. And then as if that wasn’t enough the next room was covered in frescos of Catholic-style paintings. And not a person in sight!

    Thinking that was one of the most incredible mysterious places I’d ever seen, we continued up the track. We came across a random juice stall and a very enthusiastic owner who was very happy to sell us a fresh pomegranate, grapefruit and orange juice. When I mentioned the previous cross carvings in the ceiling he told me there was an even better one just up the valley. After treating ourselves to a juice, we set off to find this next hidden gem.

    We found the wooden bridge that he had told us was the marker and crossed over and into a small open doorway. He had said it was called “the column church” and now I knew what he meant. The inside opened up into an enormous chapel complete with large arched columns presenting like the inside of a cathedral. If any of the other places left me speechless then this place took the cake. It was unbelievable!.

    Honestly, the history of this place and the mystery of its origins is so hard to fathom. Truly a must-see destination.    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 18

    Göreme Open Air Museum, Cappadocia

    November 27, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ -1 °C

    Snow! We woke up to a couple of centimetres of snow across everything. Since we were up early, we went exploring a potentially different sunrise spot but Google Maps was definitely wrong with this one. The spot that had been marked was up a backtrack and eventually required us to scramble up to the top of a dirt mound on all fours to get anything close to a view. The fact it was cloudy and no real chance of a sunrise made it more of an adventure rather than a sunrise anyway so all good. Definitely cool to be out in the snow.

    As the weather was pretty drab for the day we locked in an admin day and hung out at the hotel most of the day. After lunch, we walked about 1 km out to the Göreme Open Air Museum. Being highly regarded as one of the “must-do’s” we paid the entrance fee and wandered around the site. The museum is a collection of caves that have been made into churches all consolidated in this one area. Each of them decorated with intricate fresco paintings. As one of the most accessible places to enter the cave-houses, this was pretty impressive. Little did we know that we would find even more impressive churches in the surrounding valleys completely on their own. And with no “Museum” or line of tourists in sight 😉    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 17

    Love Valley, Uchisar Castle and Pigeon

    November 26, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    Jessie had found a blog by a couple who had outlined several hikes around Cappadocia. Fortunately for us, they all started in Goreme where we were staying. Our first morning after arriving started as a perfect blue sky day. Apart from an icy cold wind, it was a nice surprise considering the forecast was for clouds all day. We woke up early and found our way up to the sunrise point and saw the landscape for the first time in daylight. Mind-blowing! It was incredible to see the town had been built in and around the “Fairy Chimney” rock formations that had cave homes in them as well. Thankful for such a stunning day we stocked up from the buffet breakfast at the hotel before getting out the door.

    A total of 13km, the first hike followed the valley next to Goreme up to the plateau and completely a loop down an adjacent valley to the start point. On the Plateau was the neighbouring town Uchisar, with its landmark Castle built out of a Fairy Chimney peak seen from across the majority of Cappadocia.

    The first Valley we came to was Love Valley. By far the most famous of the surrounding valleys thanks to the large unique rock formations standing individially along the valley floor. Having the valley almost completely to ourselves, we could see the tour bus viewpoint above us packed with tour groups all lining up to take their photo and head off to the next sight. Such a massive advantage to have a more flexible schedule and not trying to fit all the sights into a day or two.

    We explored around for a while before continuing up the valley. About halfway up to the Plateau, the weather started to turn. The wind that had been persistent all day had whipped up something like a dust storm mixed with rain. We upped the pace and intending to stop in Uchisar for lunch we pushed through to the top.

    By the time we made it to Uchisar the blue sky had been replaced by a cold front. We grabbed a drink in the only bar we found open and waited for a break in the rain. From there we went up to the Castle and paid entry to go to the summit. By this stage, the wind had increased to about 80km/hr. So while the staff raced around trying to rescue parts of signage and solar lights that were being ripped from their installations we of course made the push for the top.

    The remainder of the loop dropped from Uchisar into Pigeon Valley and back down to Goreme. Another stunning valley with incredible rock formations and mysterious cave homes cut into the cliff faces around us.

    We couldn’t believe how easy the hiking here was. Such a great way to see the area and avoid the crowds!    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 16–21

    Cappadocia, Turkey

    November 25, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Cappadocia, Turkey

    Cappadocia is a semi-arid region in central Turkey. It is known for its distinctive "fairy chimneys." These tall, cone-shaped rock formations cover the landscape. What makes an already incredible location even more out of this world is that most of these Fairy Chimneys have cave homes carved into them. The history of this place is so unbelievable that the origins are still disputed by historians.

    We left Antalya on another full-day cross-country bus. Along the way, as we wound our way through a mountain range, we noticed the surrounding mountains were covered in a dusting of snow. We arrived in Goreme just after dark and as we wound down into the town it was like a fairy tale! The lights of the town were interspersed around silhouettes of the rock formations. Each with lights of their own coming from the windows of the cave homes within them. What a wild place!

    From our research, we found that most of the sights around the area were easy hikes from Goreme so were excited for the next 5 days here.

    In the last decade Cappadocia has become one of the top 3 destinations for tourists in Turkey. The ironic thing is that the mysterious history of the area isn’t the reason for the recent influx of visitors. The area become famous for the incredible sight of hot air balloons that take advantage of the wide spaces and incredible photo opportunities.

    With only one day forecast to be sunny we knew the conditions would be a bit varied. Yet despite the next day forecast being overcast we woke up to a stunning morning and got out for our first 12km loop. About halfway through the day the wind whipped up a dust storm and a cool change and then the following day we woke up to the whole area covered in snow. At least we could finally justify carrying all the additional cold-weather gear!

    They say there are three must-dos for visitors in Cappadocia:

    1. Hot air balloons- which are very dependent on the weather. Which we scored on the one calm sunny day! Even just watching them was great to see the stereotypical view of the region in its full glory. (Despite it being -2°C!)

    2. Göreme open air museum- a collection of medieval age churches that occupied a number of the caves in a specific valley. All uniquely decorated in catholic styled paintings.

    3. The underground cities - a truely unbelievable wonder that to this day haven’t been able to be explained.

    Overall our time here was incredible! By far the greatest experience of our trip so far.    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 10–16

    Antalya, Turkey

    November 19, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    To drop the car off we needed to drive back to Milas from Marmaris in the morning. We had booked onto the 11 am Bus from Milas but with little faith in the car hire company we arranged to drop it back at 8:30 am. With some minor issues we made it to the Bus station and boarded the bus for a full-day trip back East to Antalya. The weather had significantly deteriorated to cold and rainy so a day on the bus was quite welcomed. Even with some icy rain coming in on our last rest stop before arriving.

    We had booked 6 nights in Antalya with the plan to have a break from the constant travelling. With the cooling weather, we got a nice apartment a block back from a long beach and settled into a refreshing schedule of regular exercise and work on our projects.

    Antalya is known to be the biggest tourist centre along the turquoise coast and it was the biggest town we’d been in since Istanbul. We went into the Old Town one afternoon for a look around but apart from this, the week was pretty non-eventful.

    On a future trip to this area we would definitely check out a few of the beaches south of here. The main highlight I’m pretty disappointed we didn’t get to is a naturally occurring eternal flame in the mountainside. Just above Olympus Beach is Mount Chimaera which has natural vents spouting perpetual flames above the ruins of the temple of Hephaistos. Again, on the list of sights for the next trip here.    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 9

    Dalyan and Marmaris, Turkey

    November 18, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Dalyan and Marmaris, Turkey

    We had left a day up our sleeves between our booked apartment and needing to drop the car back to Milas. The weather was forecast to be cold and rainy so we made our way back west to see what else we found of interest. Dalyan, a small town along the way had some attractions we thought we’d check out. Along with some more rock tombs, it was also known to have a thermal mud pit that you can “swim” in and a beach famous for having turtles.

    Along the drive we hit an almighty downpour with the heaviest rain I’ve ever driven in. With Jessie clearly not impressed with my strategy of slipstreaming behind a semi-trailer to stay in the lane we pushed on through and eventually made it to Dalyan. Once we arrived we discovered that the town was basically dead. The only way to see any of the attractions was to either catch a taxi boat across the small river, do a tour, or drive over an hour to get to the other side. Clearly we should have researched a bit better. With the weather pretty rubbish, we grabbed a coffee and kept going.

    Our next stop was Marmaris, another place that we’d flagged on the map. By the time we arrived the weather started to clear. It turned out to be a beautiful beachside town. We went and explored the old town with its waterfront bars and restaurants for dinner.

    With a large protected natural bay this would be a great place to moor up and relax if you were sailing the coast. Noted for when we return on our yacht in the future ;)    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 8

    Kaputas Beach and Kaş, Turkey

    November 17, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today was the last day forecast to be sunny and warm so we were keen to find the perfect beach and make the most of it. The next part of the coast for us to explore was a road that wound directly along the cliff above the water on the way to the town of Kaş.

    We got away early and the weather was perfect. We arrived at the first place starred on the map and it didn’t disappoint! Kaputas Beach was the best beach we’d found by far and was stunning. We parked along the roadside and made our way down the stairs to the small stretch of sand wedged below towering cliffs. The water was an incredible turquoise and as one of the only sand beaches it was magic. We set ourselves up for a few hours before realising we should at least try to see any more similar beaches along this stretch of coast before sunset.

    Once into Kaş we found a cool little beach out on the peninsula. With the remaining sunlight we got the mask and snorkel out for the first time. While there wasn’t much to look at, the water was stunningly clear and warm enough to at least fool around for a while.

    Kaş turned out to be a very cool beachside village vibe that we were disappointed we didn’t have more time to check out. Along with things like freediving and climbing, there were plenty of old Greek ruins to explore as well. Definitely somewhere to come back one day.    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 7

    Ölüdeniz to Kabak Beach, Turkey

    November 16, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Ölüdeniz is possibly the most picturesque location along the whole turquoise coast. Widely advertised for its long stretch of white sand and the deep blue lagoon directly behind. It's surrounded by high mountains that have a constant stream of paragliders launching from the peaks and landing on the beach.

    Being a 30-minute drive from Fethiye, we were surprised to find it very much closed for the season. The last remaining beach bar setups were in the middle of their end-of-season pack-down. Even in this state we could tell that in the high season this place would be crazy.

    Jessie had heard about a place called Butterfly Valley. Despite being reported as “boat-access” only Jessie had read that there was a way to hike down into it. (Not without its warnings that it was pretty difficult). We drove further along the coast to where the road came the closest to it and found a small place along the cliff edge that had a view down into the valley. The hike down would definitely be a challenge! There were massive signs erected saying it was “dangerous, and forbidden” to climb down to the valley. Perhaps fortunately for us, at this time of year, the sun didn’t quite make it into the valley and beach below so we were less inclined to try our luck at the climb down.

    We found a spot along the road for a simple Gozleme lunch and continued on our way along the coast in search of a beach to hang out. The end of the road brought us down to Kabak Beach. In what appeared to be a hippie commune Kabak Beach was at the base of a gully with a dozen or so camps and lodge setups. The beach itself was simple enough and was the perfect spot to have a swim and soak up some sun. The water was incredibly bright blue living up to the name of the turquoise coast.    Read more

  • TravelerTurkey 🇹🇷
    Day 6–9

    Fethiye, Turkey

    November 15, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    From Bodrum we were undecided as to how best to approach the trip along the turquoise coast of Turkey. Similarly to our experience in Sicily and Albania, we expected that the public transport options would be quite limited. Especially between the key places we’d highlighted on the map. Each place was between 50-100 km apart with a handful of locations between that could be hidden gems or nothing at all. We figured the best way would be to hire a car to get from Bodrum to Fethiye and then rent an apartment for a few days. A home base while we explored the coast in different directions each day.

    The experience of hiring the car from Bodrum was a saga in itself. Long story short, Bodrum airport is nowhere near Bodrum itself. We needed to catch a bus for an hour before arriving at where we’d hired the car, but on arrival, we couldn’t find the car rental company or even contact them. Turns out their office and car yard aren’t even at the airport. Once we were finally picked up and taken to the office we began to realise the whole company was dodgy. We ended up with a car completely out of fuel and with different details on the contract than what we’d agreed. All issues that exacerbated the fact we’d already wasted so much of our day finding the place.

    Once we were finally on the road we decided to head straight to Fethiye. Our apartment was a fantastic top-floor place with a balcony, kitchen and heaps of space. Exactly what we wanted for a few days in the same place. We’d booked it for 3 nights which was perfect for us to settle in and get some routine back into our schedule.

    Out of every beach location we’d been to recently, Fethiye had by far the most signs of life. Most bars/restaurants were open and there were quite a lot of people along the waterfront. We found out while we were there that the town has become quite popular with British tourists and expats. With an increasing number of party boats have set up their operations in the area to capitalise on the growing market. We kicked back and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with a shisha along the beautiful waterfront.

    It turned out that having a car was a great choice. While the nearby areas are serviced by local buses (or Dolmus as they’re called), having our own car gave us the flexibility to explore further and to our own schedule.

    Our plan was for the next 2 days to explore further east down the coastline and capitalise on the last couple of days of sunshine in the forecast. By now deep into Autumn our sunny days and warm weather were definitely becoming scarce.

    On our last day in Fethiye before making our way back towards Milas to drop off the car we went up to see the Rock tombs. Like something straight out of an Indiana Jones film these “tombs” are giant temple-looking facades carved into the cliff face. And apparently the grave sites of ancient occupants of the area. It turns out that there are several of these sites all along the coast of Turkey.    Read more

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