Turkey part 3: Ephesus, Pamukkale, South West Coast

January 27^th 2022

Kuşadası – Kuşadası (Ephesus), Turkey

Miles: 20

Km Total: 6’490

Today's destination Ephesus was only 15 minutes away from our sleeping place. In the almost empty parking lot of the world-famous archaeological site, a nice gentleman assigned us a parking space right next to his small stall. Praising Turkish hospitality, he invited us to apple tea, which he said to be made by a village woman and contains no sugar at all. We don't blame the dear man, but in the end, it was a sugar-sweet apple punch that had nothing to do with homemade tea. We politely declined the punch granules offered at his stand ;-). Of course, you can tell that mass tourism is leaving its mark here.

However, the crowd comes here for good reason; the archaeological site of Ephesus is considered the best preserved ancient city in Europe and the Greco-Roman world comes to life here like nowhere else. As the capital of Roman Asia Minor, the 250,000-inhabitant city was a vibrant, prosperous metropolis 2000 years ago. We marched around the ruins for a good four hours and still hadn't seen everything. 

We were very impressed by the imposing streets built of marble, which were in ancient times lined with shops, workshops, restaurants, temples, well houses, residential buildings, etc. Today only individual restored temple gates and countless stones and columns remain. To prevent the people from slipping on the large marble slabs, circular or linear furrows were sometimes carved into the slabs. 

The flagship of today's Ephesus is the Celsus Library, whose facade, after extensive restoration, shines with high columns, sculptures and ornamented gables. 

The large grand theatre, which could be reached from the former harbor via a pompous, dead-straight road, is also impressive. Afterwards, we spent the night at a nearby campsite.

January 28^th 2022

Kuşadası (Ephesus), Turkey

In countries where there are campsites, people travel quite carefree. You know that somewhere you can easily empty the toilet, refill water, get electricity. Here in Turkey, that's actually the only reason why we visit the campgrounds. Since we travel in the off-season, wild camping outside of the cities is absolutely no problem and is tolerated almost everywhere. However, because of the low season, not all campsites are open and therefore better planning is required. It is also very practical that some campsites provide a washing machine. We make use of this service today. Another option would be to take our laundry to one of the countless laundries that can be found in almost every small town. In addition to doing the laundry, we enjoy the nice and warm weather and treat ourselves to a beer since a long time :-).

January 29^th 2022

Kuşadası – Pamukkale, Turkey

Miles: 140

Miles total: 6’630

Before we start the 140 miles (220km) to Pamukkale, we make a short detour to the nearby town of Kuşadası. Here we pay a visit to the Vodafone store to convert our temporary tourist SIM card to a permanent one. Since we are now the proud owners of a Turkish identity card, this is surprisingly easy and quick. Spontaneously we also have the battery of our Ukrainian iPhone replaced in a cell phone repair shop (price 17$). After a delicious lunch in a "buffet restaurant", our favorite places, we finally start the long drive. At first, it's going fast, we're on a highway that fortunately bypasses the city of Aydin. At some point, however, the highway is finished and we continue on a busy main road.

We drive through a wide flat valley where obviously many citrus fruits and olives are cultivated. The fruits are for sale at this time of year at the countless stalls along the road: oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruits and olives. Unfortunately, we are already covered with fruit. Further east we notice large steaming chimneys in the midst of the plantations, huge green or silver pipes lead over long distances to the plants. These are geothermal power plants that use the hot springs that are common in this region to generate electricity and heat. Some of the waste water is used to heat greenhouses. The further we drive towards our destination, the closer the snow comes! On the horizon, we see high snow mountains and the nearby hills also have a white cap. We knew that it had been and still is very cold in this region the last few days, but we really didn't expect snow. In the city of Denizli we make a short stop at a grocery store. The parking lot is snow-covered and muddy, but otherwise there is only some snow in the shade. We continue, we are approaching Pamukkale and can already see the big cotton castle from afar! We drive through the village, next to us, several hundred yards (meters) away, the white mountain. We are already very impressed! Our place to stay is just outside the village, from where we have a beautiful view of the snowy mountains on the horizon and the nearby sight.

January 30^th 2022

Pamukkale – Geyre, Turkey

Miles: 70

Miles total: 6’700

Now the time has come, we visit one of the main attractions of Turkey. The excitement increases. The Iveco drives us along a large white hill to the entrance of the famous Pamukkale terraces. We are both fascinated by the natural spectacle.

 Calcareous thermal springs have formed calcite travertines over a large area over thousands of years. Since it is now winter, the terraces are also covered in snow, a wonderful sight. We walk the path forward and discover the entrance to the bathing pool. The 40°F (5°C) outside temperature does not make it easy for us to take off our shoes and socks. Nevertheless, we start barefoot. We give each other hands, just in case one slips, both sit in the water :-). The approx. 85°F (30°C) warm water just feels fantastic in the wintry environment. We enjoy it and think it's great and beautiful, although the knowledge slumbers in the back of our minds that these uppermost terraces were artificially created decades ago. The natural pools may no longer be entered today. However, this was not always the case! Until 1996, hordes of tourists gave the terraces a fairground vibe, the water was contaminated with oils and chemicals from their sunscreens, and trampling was allowed everywhere. In addition, large hotel complexes were built above the terraces in the 1960s, which diverted the thermal water and let used water back over the terraces. Even a road was built through the sinter terraces! All these sinful deeds almost destroyed the natural wonder! The once brilliant white terraces turned into a desolate gray landscape. Only the massive intervention of environmental activists, as well as the threat of UNESCO to revoke the status as a world heritage site, was able to stop the madness. Access to the natural pools was finally banned in 1996 and the last hotel complex was demolished in 2000. Things have recovered somewhat since then. Nevertheless, the vast majority of pools are no longer filled with calcareous water. Depending on the day, the water is directed into different pools via a sophisticated irrigation system. We don't know why there isn't enough water for everyone. On Sunday, unfortunately, the clearly visible pools are all empty. After some searching you can still find a few of the natural pools filled with thermal water.

Now back to the artificial pools. We sit with delight at the edge of the brook and our feet are bathed in thermal water. Our feet haven't been as clean as they are now for a long time :-). While Maryse walks a few steps further to take photos, I continue to sit by the small stream. Two young women with headscarves approach and look at my feet. Now one woman puts her hand into the water and, to my astonishment, fishes her mobile phone out of the small stream :-).

And off we go, put on socks and shoes and head towards the archaeological site of Hierapolis just next door. Already the Greeks and later the Romans used the thermal springs of Pamukkale for bathing and pleasure 2000 years ago. The former Roman town was unfortunately destroyed by an earthquake in 1334. As the sun smiles at us, we enjoy walking in the ruins, past the amphitheater and the Temple of Apollo and imagine what life was like 2000 years ago.

It is now late afternoon and like early in the morning we see various hot air balloons rising.

We leave beautiful Pamukkale and drive another 60miles (100km). Normally we take it easy and would just look for a place to sleep. But since the weather forecast in this area again predicts below freezing temperatures and snow, we drive to the next destination, Afrodisia. Both of us have moderate motivation to visit another 2000-year-old site, but it is on the way back to shore anyways. Arriving at the parking lot, we see a number of police cars, but they simply belong to the police station. This immediately gives you a safe feeling for the night :-).

January 31^st 2022

Geyre – Akyaka, Turkey

Miles: 100

Miles total: 6’800

And the next ancient site is on the agenda. Afrodisia is not nearly as well known as e.g. Ephesus, but we have the area almost to ourselves. 

Afrodisia was already a place of pilgrimage 2,600 years ago and reached a population of 150,000 in the 3rd century. For us it is always amazing what kind of cities there were a long time ago! In addition to the usual columns, beautiful temples and the amphitheater, the stadium is a highlight here. Despite the many visits to historical sites lately, we are very impressed. With a length of 890ft (270m), it is one of the largest and best-preserved stadiums.

At the exit of the area we quickly pop into the museum. Countless valuable statues, frescoes and other relics found on the site are waiting for us. However, to us archeology buffoons, many objects look similar. Soon we continue and after a short drive we are at an altitude of 4000ft (1200m), everything is only white and from time to time we even have to avoid the snow on the side of the road.

As so often, our stomachs start to growl around lunchtime and we end up in a soup restaurant. Here are a few things that we often experience that are different from ours. We order two soups and two pide (Turkish pizza). First comes the salad and a basket full of bread. That's just part of it, one way or another :-). When you're done, you don't get the check at the table, you go to the cash register to pay. And at the end, you hold out your hands and get a squirt of lemon hand perfume to make your hands smell nice again :-).

The road now stretches forever through pine forests and over hills until it finally goes almost 1000 meters steeply downhill to the coast. After a bit of searching we find a great place to sleep, as usual right by the sea.

February 2^nd 2022

Akyaka – Hisarönü, Turkey

Miles: 40

Miles total: 6’840

It's the middle of the night and we're lying awake in bed. The heavy rain thunders down on the camper and the roof windows amplify the sound of the big drops so much that it is difficult to fall asleep again. We feel a little helpless. The same thoughts go through our heads at regular intervals: Is a window leaking? What do we do when there is hail? And then thunder comes again, making the camper vibrate. Everything seems fine in the morning and apart from the well-known leak from the bathroom window, everything is dry. During breakfast the thunderstorm continues with heavy rain.

Finally, we have done everything (washing dishes, cleaning up, everything fixed) and can start driving. In the nearby, extremely touristy and not very attractive town of Marmaris, we have lunch before we head for a campsite to be able to do the usual things like water, toilet, electricity etc. in a simple way.

February 3^rd 2022

Hisarönü, Turkey

February 4^th 2022

Hisarönü – Knidos, Turkey

Miles: 60

Miles total: 6’900

Before we set off, we empty our toilet and our waste water, and fill our 80-gallon (300L) water tank ¾ for the next few days. We drive off to the long and narrow Datça peninsula, which stretches over 60 miles (100km) into the Aegean Sea. According to the travel guide, a beautiful spot on earth with a fascinating rocky coast, villages and countless secluded bays. Despite the narrow strip of land, the road goes up and down over countless hills.

The landscape with bushes and rocks and the coast are fantastic and after about half of the 60 miles (100km) we end up in the only larger town on the peninsula, in Datça. We enjoy lunch at a buffet restaurant, buy some food and move on. Maryse has picked out a few places to stay overnight. However, it is not very easy. Camping is forbidden on one, we don't like the other and on the third we have to back down despite our off-road capable Iveco. We drive on and on to the tip of the peninsula, to the archaeological site of Knidos.

February 5^th 2022

Knidos, Turkey

After visiting four archaeological sites in Turkey, we actually had enough of it. Somehow everything is a bit similar... But since we are here in the parking lot of Knidos, of course we go there anyway :-). We are particularly impressed by the location of the former port city, which lies at the extreme tip of the peninsula, surrounded by turquoise water, in the middle of a beautiful hilly landscape and rugged cliffs. 

Not much remains of the ancient city itself, none of the buildings are really recognizable. Via a small path we follow the promising signposts "Grand Theater" and "Acropolis", further up the hill. At some point, we stand in front of the remains of the theatre: only a small part of a wall made of large blocks of stone can still be seen.

The signpost to the Acropolis points further up the hill, and so we scramble up the slope, the path getting lost in the low bushes. There is no longer a signpost to be seen anywhere. But now we're overcome by the ambition to walk to the crest of the hill, Acropolis or not. Without a path, according to the motto "just follow the goat poo" we fight our way up :-). The prickly bushes prick us nasty through our pants. Then, finally done, and it was worth it! 

The view of the coast is fantastic, and the laid out remains of the ancient buildings look impressive from the top. On the way back, we discover the walls of the Acropolis, here too only a few walls remain. Plagued by hunger, we stab back down into the bay and steer straight into the overpriced restaurant. Spinach, eggplant with yoghurt, bread and fries.

February 6^th 2022

Knidos – Datça Halbinsel, Turkey

Miles: 10

Miles total: 6’910

Yesterday we didn't visit the lighthouse because of the unexpectedly long hike. So, we now pay a second time the entrance fee at the gate. At just over one $, this is ok :-). And we manage to get lost again and come across bushes to the lighthouse. The view is nice, but not as great as the day before from the opposite side.

After the beautiful walk, we are amazed that the parking lot has been transformed into a small campsite and that there are no less than six camper vans there, and this in the off-season. The day before yesterday we were completely alone when we arrived. We look at each other and it becomes clear that we are moving on.

February 7^th 2022

Datça Halbinsel, Turkey

Summer and sunshine :-). Main occupation of the day: Writing reports for the website. Of course, a short walk in the area is also a must, and so we end up on the hill above us at some antenna station.

February 8^th 2022

Datça Halbinsel – Göcek, Turkey

Miles: 110

Miles total: 7’020

We still enjoy the sunrise, but the deep gray clouds bring the rain and we leave one of the most beautiful camping spots of our trip. Yes, almost three weeks ago we wrote the same thing in Çeşme, but the fact is that there are many wonderful places to stay here in Turkey :-). We need more than three hours for the 120 miles (190km) and are happy to have arrived at the campsite. Hardly there, there's a tea offered, that’s wonderful in the cold and wet weather!

February 9^th 2022

Göcek – Yeşilüzümlü, Turkey

Miles: 50

Miles total: 7’070

The five puppies, who are only two months old, greet us at the campsite in the morning, soo cute. The campsite supervisor takes us to his hobby farm and we see the sheep and two young lambs. Maryse gets these two little ones in her arms right away :-).

Shortly thereafter, the lovely man hands us two bags full of lemons, oranges and grapefruit from his trees. Our vitamin C requirement is thus covered for the next few days ;-). Finally, he offers us one of the sweet puppies, but we decline this offer with a heavy heart.

But now let's go, we're driving towards our next house and animal sitting. For the next 8 days, we will live in an emigrants' quarters and look after three dogs and two cats. In order, not to frighten the house owner, we go to a barber to shave ;-). Although our destination is only 8 miles (14km) from the coastal town of Fethiye, we climb 2030 feet (620m) in altitude. We crawl up the last extremely steep passage in the quarter in reduction gear. 

We say hello to the five animals and go for a walk with the lovely owner Lisa and the three dogs. In the evening, we get to know a few more emigrants and enjoy dinner in the restaurant with various people.