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Meandering East
  • Sumi Hollingworth
  • Sumi Hollingworth

Meandering East

Our family of three travelled in our off-grid camper, slowly making our way East, literally and metaphorically. Currently static in Al Andalus. For now. Taking in the history and learning a bit about natural farming. Les mer
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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Misi Koyu

    18. september 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Gümüştepe or Misi Village is a quiet traditional village on the outskirts of Bursa with lots of restored (and tumble down) Ottoman style houses and an arty feel. There was a photography trail while we were there. We stayed in a wonderful 200 year old cob house called Organic Ev which had once been a cafe and art centre. The house was simple but had a lovely cosy feel to it and beautiful walnut tree in the garden and the village was amazing. It was just like you imagine a traditional Turkish village to be: a small mosque in the centre of the village with lovely melodic azan, women making pickles in the street with cauldrons, communal log piles on every street corner, an old lady next door who walked her goats through the village and up the mountain every day, and tea garden on the river. It was almost too good: it could have been the Truman Show.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Bodrum and Boğazicı

    21. august 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    H's cousin was visiting Dede in Boğaziçi between Bodrum and Milas. They have a villa in a lovely quiet community of mostly Turkish retiree holiday homes, with balconies with sea view, pretty gardens, hilly walks and a private seaside with jetty and calm waters where everyone swims and grandchildren play in the shallow waters. We spent some quiet days here with the family and also took the kids on a camping trip in the campervan where we we camped at Volo Camp, swam in the pool, had breakfast and dinner provided for only 70TL Pp. (Amazing! Like a proper old school Turkish Pansyion). We visited Gümüşlük and climbed the Island with Ruins of ancient Mindos; we spent a whole day on the water slides at Bodrum aqua park; and we went shopping at the mall in Ortakent.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Bodrum and Boğazicı

    20. august 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ 0 °C

    H's cousin was visiting Dede in Boğaziçi between Bodrum and Milas. They have a villa in a lovely quiet community of mostly Turkish retiree holiday homes, with balconies with sea view, pretty gardens, hilly walks and a private seaside with jetty and calm waters where everyone swims and grandchildren play in the shallow waters. We spent some quiet days here with the family and also took the kids on a camping trip in the campervan where we we camped at Volo Camp, swam in the pool, had breakfast and dinner provided for only 70TL Pp. (Amazing! Like a proper old school Turkish Pansyion). We visited Gümüşlük and climbed the Island with Ruins of ancient Mindos; we spent a whole day on the water slides at Bodrum aqua park; and we went shopping at the mall in Ortakent.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Akyaka

    16. august 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Really picturesque town situated on the banks of a beautiful clear, fast flowing river full of large and small fish, and at the foot of a huge mountain range. 6TL per person boat trips ran up and down the river, Turks bathed in the freezing waters, tourists littered the fish restaurants along the waterfront and kids played in the shallow water of the sea beach. We stayed in an air bnb at the very top of the hill and relaxed for a few days. The unusual thing about the town was the uniformity of the beautiful old Ottoman style buildings with wooden veranda with ornate carved wooden ceilings. This kind of building conservation and restoration we have not seen anywhere in Turkey really, so it was quite a pleasant surprise. The town was overrun with tourists with every other building being a pansyion or hotel, and we were told that there was such demand for holiday let's and such money to be made that many residents let out their home for the summer months and were living on the local municipal campsite.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Datça: Mesudiye

    15. august 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Our Datça trip didn't really work out as we hoped because we totally underestimated how long the Datça peninsula is, and we didn't leave enough time. unfortunately it was also Kurban Bayram and everyone was on holiday and most campsites were full. We were expecting a quiet, sleepy, hippy place but Datça town was just like any other modern Southern Turkish town with all the main shops. The landscape was rocky and arrid and went on for miles. Mesudiye was a lovely looking holiday village in a valley with lots of pansyions on the beach. The closest thing we found to hippy. But there was nowhere with space for us and we had to do an Austin Powers style 3 point turn at a deadend street that stressed us all out. We finally found space at Akçabük Kamping which has great potential: a huge pine shaded site with interesting rocky cove, big beach restaurant, no electricity and crap shower block. We stayed for one night, went for a dip, H ate another all of another kids peanuts on the beach and we drove all the way back.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Sultaniye and Köyceğiz

    14. august 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After we returned from England the bus wouldn't start and we spent the day in a hot airport car park waiting for mechanics, then the evening at the Sanayi in Ortaca while mechanics spent all evening fixing it. We finally got going and headed to a remote campsite Cemil'in Yeri Akdeniz Camping on a beautiful lake called Köyceğiz which led into the Dalyan delta. We drove through the busy, sunny town on market day, it had a nice feel about it, and skirted round the mountainous roads of the swampy lake until we arrived at the campsite, accidentally just before the rush of people arrived for the Bayram holiday. The lake was full of fish large and small, frogs and snakes. There were lots of kids and a canoe and H had days of fun jumping off the jetty and paddling in the canoe.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende
    Kaunos
    Iztuzu beach

    Dalyan and Kamp Lotus

    25. juli 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We were flying from Dalaman to England for my Grandmas 100th birthday so we spent a week in Dalyan at a lovely campsite in the Dalyan delta with yurts among the palm trees, a trampoline, a swimming pool, a fresh water spring and river with frogs turtles and freshwater crabs, a litter of kittens and mosquitoes. It was too hot to do anything much - we went shopping in the town but didn't go to the ruins. H got a lots of swimming practice including learning to hold his breath and sit on the bottom and played with other kids who came and went. H. Turned 4 here and we celebrated with donuts. When it was time to leave the van wouldn't start but a guy we met who was an airline pilot helped us out and we managed to get the fuel filter changed and get to the airport.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Kayaköy Ghost town

    21. juli 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    K had very fond memories of backpacking through Oludeniz when it was just shacks on the beach but now it was full-on hotels, swimming pools, pubs and Brits abroad. We could not even get to the blue lagoon let alone park but we did marvel at determined campers pitching their tents along the central reservation on the dual carriage way on the coast road. We headed straight for Kayakoy where we found absolute sanctuary by accident in the form of Jungle Camping.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Saklikent gorge and Gizlikent waterfall

    18. juli 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    K had been to Saklikent gorge many times before when the experience was less touristy. Now it cost money to enter through the turnstiles and walk up the gorge through the river. Before you enter the gorge garden restaurants line the road approaching with seating areas and hammocks which hang over the river and ducks paddle by. The initial part of the river is very fast flowing and difficult to cross and a rope is fixed across so you can hang on and pull yourself across. The water was freezing and the huge rocky canyon was in shade. We spent several hours wading through the shallow waters, up stream, in water shoes (essential), stopping to bathe in the famous mud deposits which collects in pockets or pools along the banks. We nicknamed Saklikent gorge 'valley of the lost shoes' because so many people had broken a flip flop or a sandal that it was a regular occurrence to see a lonely shoe lodged on the banks or floating by. Unfortunately H got cold and we didn't have a change of clothes so we turned back. As we were leaving we saw a sign for Gizlikent waterfall and we jumped in the bus and drove there. Gizlikent was an amazing trek up a lush green river valley to reach a beautiful waterfall at the end. Well worth it. Don't do it in a Gstring. You look like a twat.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Limyra Ancient City

    10. juli 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    K exclaimed: 'two of my favourite things: ruins and freshwater' as we saw on the internet photographs of people wading through the river that seems to flow through the ruins of Limyra. Indeed, we drove through the flat nondescript villages of polytunnels and farming shops, catching a glimpse of some picnicers by the crystal clear babbling stream near the archaeological site. We showed our museum cards and pulled on our water shoes and entered the gate of the site. It was really magical to see this clear fast flowing stream bursting through the ancient city gates, through the steps and down the old road, where you could paddle across to see the relics on the other side of the bank. H loved it and refused to leave the water despite the fact it was freezing. Young men played dive bomb in the deeper waters downstream, Goats wandered amongst the ruins and came to waters edge to drink. Just how ruins should be.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende
    Arcadia Villas

    Çiralı

    2. juli 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We had planned to meet friends in Çiralı which is a village off Olimpos beach. We had booked a chalet bungalow with a shared pool in an orange grove (Arcadia Villas). Chickens and roosters roamed the grounds and the air conditioning beckoned us in. The place was beautiful: amazing beach, cute hippy sleepy village, lovely villas in lovely grounds. Expensive though compared to what it used to be like in these areas... We spent the days in the pool, at the beach and BBQing. The boys climbed the mountain to see the Chimera: the eternal flames burning out of the mountain. H had a great time with his friend and both much improved their swimming. We were sad to say goodbye and skipping Olimpos we spent the night as 222 camping in the valley and headed west. Olimpos used to be a remote beach where backpackers stayed in tree-house pansyions and slept on the beach amidst the ruins (K and I had been together 5 years before) but now we heard it had a tarmac road and we didn't expect it to be the same.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Sapadere Canyon

    29. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    After finding an upmarket campsite on the beach on the outskirts of Mersin - Alcakil Kamping, we rested for a bit and got sunburnt. We then headed the amazing windy mountainous coast road between Mersin and Alanya, with mile after mile of banana plantations, something we didn't expect in Turkey. We absolutely loved a coastal village on the way called Soğuksu (cold water) where a beautiful turquoise river flowed out into the deep blue sea. We were headed to Sapadere Canyon, a beautiful river canyon with waterfalls and and natural swimming pools. We ate lunch and walked the dubiously rickety wooden walkway through the canyon to the waterfall at the top. Most of the pools where signs indicated you could swim were so deep we dare not risk it with H but we all took a dip in the freezing cold blue green pools towards the bottom where the water was shallower and more still. There were actually quite a lot of tourists here so we moved on. We loved some of the farmland in the valley here.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Urfa

    26. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    Sanliurfa was a buzzing, clean, modern Arab-esque city. It was also incredibly hot with the thermometer in the campervan reading 50 degrees. We got airconditioned and fed and washed in a shopping mall and slept or tried to sleep in the car park of the archaeological museum, a modernist building with big plaza. We had spicy Turkish breakfast in the Pazaar and visited the famous gardens with 'sacred fish ponds' and Abraham's cave. We decided to have a quick look in the archaeology museum and are so glad we did because it provided a great narrative accompaniment to Gobekli Tepe and placed some of the historical sights we had seen in a timeline. H liked to see the animal and human reenactment scenes.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Gobekli Tepe

    25. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    Gobekli Tepe far exceeded our expectations. It was absolutely amazing. As we turned off the main road from Harran to Urfa and made our way up the winding country road to the 'potbelly' mountain, the tallest peak for miles around, it was golden hour and the pink setting sun shone on the yellow corn fields and it was magical. This is the archaeology site that changed history: a series of monumental circular buildings that date back to the Neolithic period, that predate the pyramids by far. It proves signs of advanced civilisation much earlier than we originally thought. This year was branded 'the year of gobekli tepe' by the Turkish government. Investment in the site had been huge here: excavation was still taking place, there was a huge visitors' centre, lots of written information and a shaded raised walkway which surrounded the main ruins.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Harran

    24. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    As we journeyed east the weather became hotter and hotter and the landscape more arid. Typical biblical landscapes arrived: dry, rocky, mountainous, scrubby bushes and lonely goatherds. We stopped for the night in a forest park outside Gaziantep and drove on. As the landscape became more hostile the roadside truck stops became more welcoming: huge wooden tented buildings, with cool shaded veranda occupied by truckers drinking cay and eating aci kebab, picnic alani under the eucalyptus trees, pitstop barbers, ugly garden ornaments for sale and ten lira tepid showers welcomed us. The smell of ev yemek beckoning us in. We went first to Harran, avoiding desperate tour guides attempting to show us around. Harran is
    famous for Abraham having stayed there on his pilgrimage to Mecca but little was made of this. It is also famous for having the First eighth century Islamic university.
    It was disappointingly all closed and fenced off with no sign of any archaeology or restoration. As we drove the campervan through the dusty streets inside the walled city, the most interesting sight you can engage with are the beehive houses, traditional houses consisting of a series of inter joining square but conical roofed houses.    Les mer

  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Ürgüp, Göreme and the fairy chimneys

    21. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We drove through the non tourist trail through the scruffy villages from Soganli valley on Friday lunchtime watching Friday prayer spill out of one village mosque, cows munching along the roadside, tractors drove by carrying whole families, caves and underground caverns made makeshift barns and gypsies camped in fields in blue tarpaulin tent constructions. We drove through Urgup the touristy but functional town, ate lots of dinner in Goreme centre (tourist and backpacker central) before parking on the Panaroma viewpoint of the red valley overlooking one of the most stunning landscapes I've ever seen. We stayed here for the night and k got up at sunrise to photograph the balloons flying over the valley. (My crappy balloon snap here does not do it justice). We drove on to visit the fairy chimneys which were amazing rock formations caused by flows of volcanic larva thousands of years ago. (And then people dug caves out of them and lived in them.) You could see that not long ago you used to be able to drive and park amongst the fairy chimneys but now it is fenced off and there is a visitors centre. Exit through the gift shop.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende
    Derinkuyu

    Derinkuyu underground city and Soganli

    20. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    At Derinkuyu in the Cappadocia region is a network of underground caves which have not been fully excavated but which stretch for miles and are at least 8 stories deep and housed up to 20,000 people. In fact under several villages in the region these underground bunkers are found. They are thought to have been inhabited by early Christians in the region escaping persecution, but they actually predate them.
    After exploring the caves we drove to the Soganli Valley. The craggy, pointy landscape was littered with cave dwellings and numerous cave churches. Contemporary inhabitants were living and farming from ugly concrete houses often now using the old cave dwellings as sheds or barns. The valley was silent and we parked for the night at an empty but beautiful restaurant on the river amongst this ancient cave city. We trekked around the ruins in the morning, almost falling through a hole into 'the hidden church'.
    This is a gorgeous day out where you can trek around the cave churches and relax in one of the family run restaurants, sitting in the orchard with hobbit houses lying at the bottom of the garden and massive, ancient olive trees lining the banks of the river which flows through the green valley.    Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende
    Selime cathedralSelime cathedralIhlara gorgeIhlara valleyYuksek church overlooking Guzelyurt

    Ihlara Valley

    19. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A beautiful ancient gorge in the kapadokya region. We spent the night outside the megalithic ancient cave cathedral at Selime, and woke up to this magical fairy tale landscape: a crescent shaped gorge with troglodyte cave dwellings carved into sandstone rocks shaped to points like witches hats. We clambered its eroded corridors early doors before anyone arrived and visited the tomb of sultan Selime. We drove straight on to Ihlara and entered the gorge via the 300 steps and spent the afternoon exploring the cave churches along the river in the canyon in the summer rain. We had dinner at a town on the hill called Guzelyurt (beautiful land) before parking for the night at Yusek church on a hill top overlooking the town and the volcano, and went to sleep to a thunderstorm that lit and shook the whole sky for several hours.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Lake Tuz

    18. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Between Ankara and Cappadocia is a huge salt lake aptly named Lake Tuz. We stopped for a couple of hours with the coach loads of tourists and enjoyed the beautiful white pink flat landscape that went on forever. We covered our feet in the healing mud before wading through the shallow pink salt beach, skin feeling lush afterwards.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende

    Ormanya: Sapanca Golu

    16. juni 2019, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We are back on the road again for three months to travel Turkiye. Our first destination is Cappadocia / Kapadokya and on the way we stopped at a free campsite near Sapanca Lake at a forest park called Ormanya. H loved the free adventure playground and farm park and were less keen on the taxidermy animals in glass boxes in the middle of the forest.Les mer

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  • Sumi HollingworthMeandering EastReisende
    Sariyer
    Saridag SokakSariyerSariyer

    Istanbul

    27. juli 2018, Tyrkia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We crossed the border into Turkey, headed straight for my father in law’s in Istanbul. Sariyer, Istanbul was going to be our last stop for some time, as we planned to rent a flat here and settle for a while. We stopped for the night at Semizkum Mocamp just after Tekirdag (there were almost no campsites on this stretch from Greece to Istanbul either). We felt immediately at home here: a scruffy plot of land on an unpicturesque beach; with jawdroppingly makeshift facilities; tents and caravans with extensions; little tended gardens; music playing; barbecues on the beach and big long tressle tables for everyone to eat together, and a warmth of community that you cannot put your finger on. The next day we headed straight into the metropolis of Istanbul, parking our bus in a friends car park, and ‘laid our hat’ at ‘baba’s’. Our son’s second birthday had been spent with our English and Welsh family, seeing us off on our travels, and his third birthday would be here in Istanbul welcomed by our Turkish family, who still cannot quite believe we drove from London.Les mer

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