Antalya we love ya

We disembarked from our bus at the otogar on the outskirts of Antalya, sleepy and disoriented. We knew our reserved apartment was near Konyaalti Beach, but Konyaalti beach is 7 km long so that didn't narrow it down much. Without speaking Turkish (although we have learned to count up to 999 -dokuz yuz doksen dokuz) it was difficult to ascertain the correct local bus, so we set out on foot and found a promising bus stop where we waited and hoped for the best. After countless buses (50? 100?) and no divine inspiration  as to the correct one, we finally hopped on one  that said Konyaalti on it and figured it would at least take us to the approximate location. We rode west through the city with the morning commuters, with Paul checking the map on his phone periodically, and got off once the bus started to turn back east. After a Turkish breakfast (olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, salami and bread) at the büfe on the corner we started to walk, and walk, and walk. Everyone was cranky when we finally arrived at the apartment after 45 minutes of trudging with the backpacks, but our moods lifted once we went inside and saw the lovely rooms,

then skyrocketed when we went downstairs and saw the indoor pool (glassed in with full daylight shining indoors), gym, sauna

and even our own hammam.

It was within our budget too - only $50 a night, priced low because summer hasn't officially arrived (hurray for travelling in the shoulder season) and also because it was about 10 km from the centre and admittedly in a rather soul-less location - blocks of similar looking apartment complexes

aimed primarily at foreign tourists who come to stay for weeks or months at a time. Despite those drawbacks we loved it, because the two bedroom apartment itself was so insane, we only had to walk  two blocks for delicious bakeries for our baklava and other treats, a lovely deli for Turkish ravioli, cheese and olives, and countless mini market stores for bread, fruit, Turkish yogurt and vegetables. 

 The beach was close too

and while the western location was a disadvantage for access to the historic centre, it was ideally situated for our hikes in the national park west of Antalya.

Our love-confusion relationship with the buses continued for the rest of our time in Antalya.

Our first two days in Antalya we took three wrong buses. All were going in the correct direction, and all had been recommended to us as the right bus by locals (including tourism office staff). But each ejected us at stops that were a 2-3 km walk from our actual destination. The pricing was another enigma - sometimes a long bus ride would cost as little as 4 liras ($2) in total for our entire family, another time a much shorter one at a seemingly off peak time would cost 10. For a bus ride between towns the same journey would cost 40 lira one way and then 20 lira the way back. We stopped trying to figure it out, trying to use our turkish numbers to understand and then count out the fare but sometimes the driver would just pluck the money out of Paul's wallet with a smile to reassure us it was no problem. Our second day we eventually found our way downtown through a combination of buses and explored a bit, enjoying the parks, scenic viewpoints,

historic centre and the beautiful marina.

Though the kids would have been content to just stay at the apartment the whole time, alternating between swimming, sauna, gym, playground, kittens and the odd walk to the beach, Paul and I wanted to venture out to do some of the Lycian way hikes. One day we caught a dolmus to the highway turnoff to Goynük Valley, and the 2k walk to the park entrance was beautiful,

with the river at our side, wisteria draped over the pansiyons with their groves of orange and lemon trees, complete with chickens and peacocks traipsing around.

Once we got to the park it was a fairly steep uphill walk,

the kids were enticed by the rock pools at the start of the walk but we pressed on until we reached the summit, where there was an even more beautiful pool we all swam in.

Paul went off on the rocks to do a little exploration and when he returned he said we had to come with him to the higher pool and see the canyon at the top of the river. We trekked over the rocks and through the water in our bathing suits, leaving our clothes, shoes and phones (i.e. cameras) behind and came to the most beautiful looking canyon entrance

(since we had no cameras I couldn't take a picture so have found one of the canyon online - that's  exactly how it looked). The water was freezing but the path was too compelling to ignore, so Tom got on Paul's back and the five of us immersed ourselves and swam into the canyon. The current got strong so Paul turned back with Tom but the rest of us continued on, swimming in the icy water with the canyon walls rising steeply above us. Just when we were about ready to turn back I spotted a sunbeam shining onto the water at the next bend, so we pushed ahead and came around the bend to a shallows. I know paradise is an overused word (e.g. we had used it carelessly to describe our apartment when we first saw it) but this really was - there were sandbanks for us to emerge onto and sit and gaze at the curved rock walls with bright sunlight shining through and green foliage overhanging the canyon. We were completely alone and it felt so magical. That swim and its conclusion in the sunny embankment was one of the most amazing travel experiences of my life. The walk back from the summit was entertaining as well, first with an encounter with a bulldozer clearing a path (or perhaps a pad for a restaurant - Turkish cafes regularly pop up in the middle of nowhere) high above the river. I had just admonished Tom for throwing a pebble over the side, telling him it could hit someone hiking below. We then saw the bulldozer scoop up a massive boulder from the path, move its bucket over the edge, and then unceremoniously dumped the boulder down into the canyon, where it thunderously crashed moments later.

We finished off the day's adventures getting a lift back to the bus stop with four young Turkish guys, who insisted on piling the five of us plus them into their tiny car so the kids wouldn't have to walk.

Another lovely hike started with a ferry ride to Kemer, a small but popular coastal town, 

 

followed by another clueless wait for a bus that did eventually come,

and then a hike up and down the mountains, ending up in a small beach at the ruins of Phaselis. Though the ruins were extensive they were off the beaten path 

so we were able to wander amongst the ruins without hordes of other people.

 

The day before we left Antalya we slept in and decided to enjoy our apartment, reading, writing and figuring out various online tools for our photos and journals, until we went completely stir crazy and bolted from the apartment for a walk around town. We walked along the coast

and reached Konyaalti Park, a huge park whose every square inch of the park had some kind of activity. There were playgrounds, skateboard and scooter runs, fitness parcours, and then an entire cafe section, filled with locals puffing on nargiles, eating, drinking çay and kahve, and playing board games and cards. Paul and I left the kids at the playground to go sit amongst the melée of people and enjoy a Turkish coffee on our own (the kids ended up joining us after a treasured fifteen minutes of peace!). While we noticed the lack of greenery and tranquility of the Toronto parks, I loved the way small private enterprise and public space intermingled to create a vibrant community. 

Our final morning in Antalya we packed up as quickly as we could and headed downstairs to the swim area. As we sat in the sauna, after having laid on the marble in our hammam, ready for our final dip in the pool, the kids and I felt unable to leave. The siren song of our luxury surroundings was powerful, but Paul reminded us there was still much to see and we didn't come to Turkey just to hang out in a condo with a pool. Now having arrived in çirali, sitting writing the blog on the balcony of our bungalow, surrounded by mountains and the beach, it's clear he was right.