Pamukkale
…and cracking on towards East
5th July - 8th July | 2023
The next morning, the lovely breakfast waiter was surprised to see us and pampered us even more! I must admit, he is the best waiter I ever came across in all the hotels I have stayed at, even with my mum in the better ones!! This man is a pure example of hospitality and doing his job!!
After all packed up we headed to Pamukkale, where we had booked a room in a simple guesthouse. The ride there was a bit boring as it was basically straight and nothing really to see. The scenery changes to a lovely mountain road only on the last 100km. Unfortunately, it was today the hottest day so far - max 42ºC!!! So we had a lot of stops to have a cold drink and I wetted some of my clothes to keep me cool for a while cool-ish. We were so happy when we arrived at “Mustafa Motel & Pension” (google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Sag14gEJqnrXLDku5 ). It was a nice and clean place, and we even had a fantastic dinner. During dinner on the first-floor terrace, we saw that our bikes drew attention to people. It was the Portuguese registration (NOT Polish ;-) ) as it was Portuguese people on holidays. It was really nice to speak some Portuguese again before it gets rusty!
The next morning was a really early start (6am!) as the South Gate opens at 6h30; the other gates only by 8am. Unfortunately, there were no taxis around at that time of the day, so James and I walked the 30mins up to the South Gate. It was already sticky and hot at that time of the day, but at least the sun was still hiding behind the mountain! Due to the early hour, there were not many people around so it was very good for taking pictures. By 8h30 we were already back at the hotel and had our well-deserved delicious breakfast.
At 10h00 we were already on the bikes with the destination of Dalyan, along the coast. For lunch, we stopped in the Topgözü Valley which was really nice. The restaurant area is basically built on the river coming down the valley. Ramazan, the waiter, looked really well after us including extra french fries and tea! Even though it was another hot and sticky day, we didn't dare to go into the water as only 12ºC!!! Ramazan offered us to pitch up the tent in the parking space for free (of course, we would have to pay for breakfast), but as still early in the day and only another 40km to Dalyan we had to let the offer go.
In Dalyan, it was really difficult to find a camping place. The first one was closed, the next one right in the centre does only offer to stay in their tents (for lots of money!) and the 3rd one, we accepted, was still too expensive for what it offered, but it was already getting too late to search around more. It was a totally overgrown place and the toilets and kitchen area could do with some cleaning! It appeared to us that their main focus is more on events as they had a lovely restaurant, garden area and event place. I just wanted to peer into the event place and the next minute they switched on the lights, opened the roof and the DJ got the music going ;-) Surely a nice place for a great evening during their events, but not for camping!
Due to the heat, we try to get up by latest 7am to be on the bikes as soon as possible to make the most of the cooler mornings. We went to see the “Caunos Tombs of the Kings” across the river. It was impressive to see that and I wondered how they had created such a place back in the day! As we have to crack on a bit, we didn't search for a possibility to physically visit the place, but maybe one day we will come back. Also is their beach area famous for the breeding of the Caretta turtles.
After a cafe, we went up to a little lookout to have a better view of the bay of Iztuzu Plaji. After that, we got on the road towards Çirali. Partly the national road went over nice mountains or for kilometres along the coast, so it didn't get too boring. Before Demre we stopped at a roadside restaurant, and it turned out to be a very good choice! If you are ever in the area, try “Trysa Restaurant Camping” (google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/KUzpUhnPTh1QWzaG8 ) as they look very well after you and their food is delicious, not talking about being inexpensive. We also could have camped there for small money, but it was still early in the day, so we went to the area of Çiralis the last bit.
I had that marked as still an untouched area, but arriving only at the outskirts it looked like that information is not really anymore applicable. However, we found a lovely wild camping spot, just along a farm track. As we were not really sure about it, there was a woman with two little girls, so we asked her. Even though we didn't speak each other's language we got on well and of course, we could camp there. One of the girls was very brave and loved sitting on Schimmelchen.
We both slept like logs during the night, even though the music down in the village was still very loud. We managed to be on the bikes by 8am and we found on google maps a lovely twisty mountain road taking us up to Antalya. It was already 32ºC at this time of the day, and still very sticky, so you were in your own sweat as soon as you started to move!
This mountain road we found was really lovely and it was just one wow after the other due to the panorama after each bend! Being at 1200m brought a bit of refreshment, but not too long as once up there we already started to get down to Antalya, where it was then nearly 40ºC!
We started to get into the swing of riding the “Turkish style”, overtaking on the right side, or Kamikaze manoeuvres before traffic lights and at red traffic lights to go to the front at the hard shoulder. We made it a bit to a game that we nearly missed our turn back inland ;-) We were heading towards Akseki. Along the road, we stopped at a restaurant, but this time it was a bit of a run-down place and only had Gözleme, which was sufficient for me, but not for James ;-) Originally we planned to camp somewhere in the mountains, but as still in the day, we decided to ride the 160km to Konya, where we booked a hotel.
The national road took us up to 1800m and through stunning landscapes. The temperatures were really nice up there! Coming down to Konya we stayed at about 1000m altitude. Konya itself is a huge town, but not really beautiful (it is an industrial town). Unfortunately the same for our hotel, but it was nice to lie in a bed and have the comfort of a bathroom. We planned a bit the next stop in Cappadocia as the weather seems to make a turn for 48hrs. Find out in the next blog about our visit to Cappadocia and the weather ;-) In the meantime, relax and have a Çay ...
Places | Cities:
TURKEY:
Pamukkale, Dalyan, Çiralis, Antalya, Konya.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 11465 km
Information Border Crossings (in July 2023):
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Maintenance | Breakdown:
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Health issues:
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Special thanks to:
Turkey to be so versatile in landscape.