Tag Archives: Kas

Kas to Olympos

December 27, 2014Travel, TurkeyKas, Olympos, treehousekarenfranza

12/26 – today our modern penthouse / ocean view / hot water on demand Christmas present came to an end as we walked down the 131 steps of the Kaputas Apart for the last time. Farewell Kas!

We caught the 9:30 bus heading toward Antalya so we could jump off after 2 1/2 hours at Olympos. Here are some bus station dogs, doing what they do best:

The bus took us through a town with a statue of a tomato in the town square, and another that was all about oranges. I got some snaps as we left the Orange town of Finike:

The bus let us off at a rest stop on the highway at 12:15, and we waited for the dolmus that would take us the last 10 miles to Olympos. Our experience has been that the next dolmus always comes within 10 minutes. Of course today, as it was cold and raining, we waited an hour and a half for the minibus to come. At least we were in a place where we could get hot tea (çay) in little glasses to hold for warmth.

Olympos will be the polar opposite of Kas, and I hope my system can stand the shock. Olympos is a protected area, with beach, ruins, and high mountains. The weather changed today, so we are looking at rain for the next several days. Because it is a protected area, no concrete can be used, no permanent structures are permitted, so instead of hotels, the tourists are invited to stay in tree houses, tents, cabins, and other structures reminiscent of Scout camp. There is no ‘town’, no shops to speak of, and no ATM. We were advised to bring all the money we needed, as there is no place to get more. Of course, there are not many places to spend it…

An Olympos treehouse:

We are staying at the Saban Treehouse Pansiyon. A river runs where main street should be, and we have to cross a bouncy suspension bridge to get to the other side.

Our little cabin:

Even in the rain, the mountains are beautiful.

The paths here are lined with orange trees, and we are invited to pick as many as we like.

Sabans offers ‘half board’, which means both breakfast and supper are included in the price of the cabin. Although Jim loves to cook, he is looking forward to sampling some authentic Turkish dishes! Our hostess Meral and her mother do all the cooking. The common room smells wonderful!

For our first supper, we had salad, soup, pan fried trout, rice, Vegetables stuffed with couscous and cinnamon, spinach pancakes (gözleme), mixed vegetables in sauce and nan. Looking at all the dishes arrayed before us, I despaired of trying to eat all the food, but before we knew it, most of it had magically disappeared. So delicious!

We’d better get lots of exercise, or they’re going to have to roll us out of this place!

Kas – Christmas

December 25, 2014Travel, TurkeyChicken, Christmas, cookies, Kaskarenfranza

12/25 – In our family, Jesus gets to share his birthday with the lovely Emma Rose. Happy 2nd birthday, Emma! We love you!

There’s no Christmas here – we can hear the kids in the schoolyard, and the construction workers next door. No church in town either. We’ll have to make our own Christmas.

I’m feeling a bit homesick, so wonderful Jim decided to fix us a Christmas dinner, and bake some chocolate chip cookies. We walked down to the shops and bought a chicken, baking potatoes and carrots. No chocolate chips, so we bought a bittersweet candy bar to chop up.

I looked for any signs of Christmas in town, and found some festive underwear in a display window, and a Charlie Brown tree in the supermarket.

Here is our Christmas feast:

Tomorrow we will pack up and catch a bus to Olympos, for some more adventures.

Here’s one last sunset. Kas, we’ll miss you!

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Kas – Another Day on the Lycian Way

December 24, 2014Hiking, Travel, TurkeyKas, King's Tomb, Lions Tomb, Lycian Waykarenfranza

12/22 – We started our hike today at the King’s Tomb, in the middle of town. This is also called the Lions Tomb, and dates from the 4th century BCE.

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/24c/64656307/files/2014/12/img_5806.jpg </a

Every town we visit seems to have a statue of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. The current government is working hard to reverse his westernization of the country by bringing back mandatory religious education, Arabic script, and censorship of the media. The NY Times ran two editorials this week about Turkey – said the EU is considering denying their application to join the European Union. I hope the unrest in the country is resolved peacefully.

Along the way, we see a helipad for the rich and famous:

We hiked west, to a deserted beach with crystal clear water. The pics can’t do justice to how beautiful the water is here on the Turquoise Coast.

We followed the trail up through a rocky area. Were these ruins, or just piles of rocks?

Off in the distance, we see another tomb, in the middle of nowhere. Of course, it was broken and looted. I wonder who it was built for? Unlike some of the other tombs, there is only room for one inside.

We’re grateful for another perfect hiking day, in the mid 60s, warm in the sun and cool in the shade.

One more sunset, please!

Kas – the Doric Tomb and the Ancient Theatre

December 21, 2014Hiking, Travel, Turkeycats, goats, Kas, Lycian Way, ruins, tombkarenfranza

12/21 – Another beautiful hiking day. Kas is on the Lycian Way, so we are continuing our day treks, wherever the trail takes us. Today we climbed up to a Doric tomb, 4th century BCE, freestanding and carved out of the bedrock, with a walkway all around. The sign said it was decorated with images of 24 dancing girls, but, try as we might, we could not see them. You can just make out some flowers carved inside.

There was room to sleep four – two slabs on each side. I tried to lie down for the full experience, but was a little too tall for the lower berth…

The trail wound down the hill to an ancient theatre, from the 2nd century BCE. It could seat 4000, and seated us while we ate our lunch.

Imagine our surprise when we were joined by a family of goats! The billy and the nanny really seemed to enjoy gamboling up and down the tiers.

The baby goat and Jim, checking each other out.

I’m still tickled to see flowers blooming in December.

On our way home, we found a sarcophagus and the ruins of a Hellanistic Temple, right in town.

A man was feeding meat to the stray cats. He told us that he fed 100 a day. He asked for money to continue his good works, then was insulted when Jim only offered him two lira (about a dollar) and refused the money.

Another beautiful day.

Kas – the Market and the Marina

December 20, 2014Hiking, Travel, Turkeyboats, Kas, Lycian rock tombs, market, Mediterraneankarenfranza

12/19 – We weren’t inclined to exert much energy today, happy to sit on our little terrace gazing at the ocean. But life demands action, so we skipped down the 131 steps to find the market and see what’s available in town. Jim’s hiking boot has developed a serious hole, so it would be nice if we could find a shoe store here.

This is a modern town with a regular supermarket, as well as produce, meat and fish shops, but on Fridays the town hosts an open air market with stalls selling food, clothing, bedding, and hardware in addition to fresh produce. We stocked up on fruit and veg, had a cup of fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, and delicious gözleme for lunch. I particularly like these little dough pancakes filled with spinach, cheese, potatoes and chopped meat. Yum!

We did find a shoe store, but the man laughed when Jim asked for a size 13 boot… We’ll have to keep looking.

Kas is all about the beach, the boats and the marina. There are many boats for hire, including glass bottomed boats that will take you out to see underwater ruins. The sea is a spectacular shade of blue.

The sea wall is a work of art.

Right down the road from our apart is a sign inviting us to climb up to see Lycian tombs carved into the rocks. How could we resist a peek? The first tombs were at the top of a staircase, then we had to climb up the rocks to see the rest. The scrabble up was harder than it looked.

The tombs were broken into and looted long ago, but you can’t help be curious about who these people were. Couldn’t find any info on the exact age of these tombs, but they are probably first or second century BCE.

Can’t end the day without showing you another sunset – if you get tired of these, let me know!

Ölüdeniz to Kas

December 19, 2014Backpacking, Travel, Turkeyapartment, Ölüdeniz, hot water, Kas, Mediterranean, viewkarenfranza

12/18 – We really loved our little apartment in Ölüdeniz. It was quiet, and the mountain scenery was beautiful. Because I am not a whiner, I haven’t said too much about the fact that we’ve not had a decent hot shower since we left Istanbul (although in Istanbul we had days where the whole neighborhood had no electricity or water…), and the sinks only run cold water, so we have to heat water on the stove to wash the dishes. I try to adjust my expectation level to my surroundings. I don’t want to be one of those people who demand that the rest of the world change to suit me.

All this to say, Jim rented us a modern apartment with a view of the ocean in Kas (rhymes with Posh) for Christmas week. I am considering this my best present ever!

A 20 minute dolmus ride got us back to the Fethiye otogar, where we walked right onto a bus heading for Kas at 9:30am. A two hour ride south along the Mediterranean coast, and we were there! Pics of gorgeous mountains and clouds from the bus:

As soon as we stepped off the bus, I knew we were in heaven. Right on the ocean, with balmy breezes, citrus trees and tropical flowers blooming.

Jim picked this apartment as it got a 9.1 rating on Booking.com (that’s very good!) However, new ratings within the past few weeks complained that a new hotel was being built next door, and the construction noise and jack hammering caused some people to change hotels. Jim emailed the proprietor with his concern, and said we would reserve for only one night, so we could assess how awful the noise was.

We arrived at Kaputas Apart, and walked up the 131 steps to reception. (Yes, I counted them! You have to suffer if you want to get a view…). The proprietor walked up with us, pointing out the apartment we had booked, then taking us up to the penthouse, where he was graciously upgrading us, so we would be above the noise! Oh happy day!

So here we are, with sinks that run both hot and cold, a stove that lights itself without fiddling with a match and a propane tank, a flat screen TV (no English channels, oh well), two couches, a dining area, a modern bath and a terrace with a view that can’t be beat!