Radventure 2011: Turkish Delight

We crossed the divide from Greece to Turkey on a ferry, with not a day left to spare on our Europe Visa and a few recommendations for destinations in Turkey. A little anxious at what was in store, we questioned if two and a half weeks was too long to spend in this less travelled land?

Our first few days were spent in Fethiye. Like many other tourists we used the town as not much more than a transit point, but managed to sneak in a few sights. We went to Karaköy which has been a (slightly spooky) deserted ghost town for 90 years after the Greek/Turkish population exchange. It's incredible how nature can reclaim the land in such a short space of time. We also went on a full day boat cruise to Butterfly Valley (in 1 hour we spotted a total of 2 butterflies), where we also went cave swimming and did a couple of strolls around some cool coastal ruins. Fethiye was also the start of the kebab journey in Turkey and we stumbled upon a delicious kebab stand (it had 5 herbs and spices but not as secret as the Colonels), which would not be surpassed the rest of the trip.

Looking down at the ghost town

From Fethiye we embarked upon a 4 day/3 night cruise of the very impressive Mediterranean Turkish coast line. Quite simply it was unforgettable! Our 4 days onboard this wooden güllet were filled with snorkelling, sun bathing, indulging in the delicious food cooked by our captain, reading, making many new friends, learning to play backgammon and 14 person games of cards. As the güllet sailed in and out of the bays with the wind behind its sails, our heartbeats dropped even further (if it's possible to be more chilled than we already are!). Each night we went to sleep on deck gazing up at the stars, counting shooting stars instead of sheep to send us to sleep. Definitely up there for a big highlight of the trip!

Big smiles at sunset

Our kickass gullet

Chillaxing on the boat

Soaking up the afternoon with Drach (Kool Kiwis)

With a "sweet" Kiwi couple in tow, our next stop was a small hippy town of Olympos a little further up the coast. We continued to relax here for a couple of days, enjoying the company of our new "bros", eating gozleme, looking for turtles and playing more cards/backgammon. By this stage we were as unwound as a yoyo doing a walk the dog.

Sunrise on the beach

The gozleme lady

As relaxed and at peace as we were the journey had to continue and in spectacular fashion it did with our arrival to the otherworldly Cappadocia. As we drove in and the sun was rising and the sky was filled with literally hundreds of brightly coloured hot air balloons. This region in the heart of Turkey is home, due to a unique geographical occurrence, to a society completely built within caves. The people's homes, shops, stables, churches, everything is painstakingly dug out. Some stand starkly upright called fairy chimneys and others are cities built completely underground, up to 8 stories deep! We were lucky enough to sleep in a genuine chimney which used to be an old pigeon room (don't worry Mum it's all clean now!).

Living in the caves

Looking back at Goreme valley

A 'fun' overnight bus that had wifi on board, but no toilet put us in Istanbul, the bridge between Asia and Europe. The city exudes energy and you can't help, but get a little caught up in it all. The skyscape is freckled with the tall reaching spires of the many mosques of this ancient city. The most impressive of these being Aya Sofia and the famed Blue Mosque. On our third day we managed to travel out to Gallipoli for an eye opening experience that gives you such respect for the courage of man and futility of war. Once back in the city we set our sights on a couple of goals, 1) find the best Turkish Delight and 2) find the best Baklava. Despite trying every single stands wares in the spice market we had to go to the shop of the inventor of the Turkish Delight before finding one that ticked all the boxes. However, with the Baklava, we followed the locals and found the sticky, sweet, scrumptious baklava that scares you of instant diabetes. A compulsory trip around the Grand Bazaar and we haggled for rugs we had no intention of buying just for the experience. Before we even knew it our time in Turkey was over and we were left thinking why we only planned two and a half weeks...