Back in 2013, I took a 4 day cruise aboard a Turkish gulet along the Turquoise Coast from Fethiye to Olympos with AlaTurka Cruises. A year later and I was back to do the inland route.
We had taken an overnight bus from Istanbul to Fethiye. The experience was similar to economy-class flying but on the road. The driver focused on the road ahead, whilst an attendant served us hot tea and snacks at regular intervals. My other half tells me that we made two toilet stops on the 12 hour journey, both of which I slept through.
We spent the morning in Fethiye. The city centre itself is like many other coastal tourist towns. We explored the lycian tombs just a short hike to the back of the town. From here, you also get a great view of the town.
For lunch, we headed to the market to buy a fresh fish (Turkish = balık). Alongside, there are many restaurants eager to fry it up for you for a meagre fee. A fresh and cheap meal, served with bread and salad.
With our stomaches content, we headed on. We decided to skip the tourist and expatriate hubs of Ovacık, Ölüdeniz and Hisarönü. We were headed further south for some more naturalist camping. The famous Butterfly Valley (Turkish = Faralya Vadisi) was host to a music festival this weekend, so we decided to stay at the quieter Kabak Valley instead. Only 20 minutes apart, both these valleys boasted incredible nature and descents to a picture perfect beachfront. Imagine sunsets like these every night.
For 100 Turkish Lira a night (AUD$25), we got this cute little bungalow all to ourselves; traditional Turkish breakfast included. We passed a couple of nights here in paradise.
From Kabak Valley, there is only two ways out: 1) back to the tourist and expatriate hub to catch a dolmus further along the coast, or 2) hike the Lycian Way to Alınca.
The Lycian Way (Turkish = Likya Yolu) stretches over 500 kilometres from Fethiye to Antalya. It is a collection of ancient paths, mule and caravan trails, forest and backcountry roads. With the ever so important guitar and umbrella in hand, we decided to hike.
It is a short 7 kilometres hike (and a steep 700 metre ascent) from the beach over the hills to Alınca. It is not for the faint-hearted with some narrow rocky paths hugging the cliff edge. But definitely worthwhile just for the views from the top.
Our trek was not over yet. In the isolated town of Alınca, we continued another 10 kilometres before we could hitch-hike out. We hitched a few rides along the road until Patara, where we spent the night. Finally at our destination, we rewarded ourselves with some delicious gozleme. Yum!
