Köyceğiz – Peaceful, Beautiful, lakeside views.

Posted on August 27, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

Back in June we were due to land at Dalaman late at night and needed to find a nearby cheap hotel for the night where we could just sleep before driving onto Denizli the next morning. Berkay was quite happy to drive around at midnight trying to find a hotel, atypical Turkish laid back attitude, however I kept bugging him to find one, so when we were sat at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen airport awaiting our connecting flight, he contacted his friend who suggested we stay at a hotel they’d been to in Köyceğiz, so after a very last minute booking, that’s what we did!

Köyceğiz is about 25 minutes from Dalaman airport, and it was around 1 am when we arrived and checked in at the Kaunos Hotel. After a day of travelling and having the stop over at Istanbul, we just fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!

I woke up really early just after the sun had risen, and when I looked out of the balcony window I was greeted by this stunning view, the sky had a slight pink tinge and that early morning glow still lingered.

After getting ready and sorting out our bags we headed downstairs for breakfast which was a simple Turkish breakfast buffet. I had a brief look at the pool area which was really nice and peaceful but we didn’t have time to swim as we were driving to Denizli later that morning.

I insisted we have a little walk along the promenade after breakfast so I could take some photos of the beautiful Köyceğiz lake. Since it’s a lake and not the sea, its very calm and the surrounding mountains and clouds reflect perfectly on the still water, it’s quite clear so you can see to the bottom in the shallow places. The lake is the source of the Dalyan river, which meets the sea at Iztuzu Beach. Apparently, the lake was formed 7500 years ago, as a result of several earthquakes. A major fault line runs through it, and this is were the sulphuric hot springs that you visit at the nearby mud baths come from too.

There is no beach here, but a nice long promenade to walk along and take in the views. It was so peaceful we didn’t see any other people walking around, only a few street animals, some people having a rest on a bench, and a lonely boat moored up.

Köyceğiz is very quiet, there are a few basic hotels and cafes, a market on a Monday, and boat trips across the river, some of those going to the mud baths. Because the hotels are basic, they are very cheap, we paid less than 100tl for the night for both of us and there wasn’t any complaints from us! It’s got a real authentic Turkish feel and hasn’t been at all ruined by tourism, it’s a bit of a hidden gem for a relaxing few hours away from the hustle and bustle of nearby resorts like Dalyan, Sarigerme, etc.

Panoramic views of Fethiye

Posted on August 11, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

If you want beautiful, panoramic views of Fethiye, a good place to head to is ‘Aşıklar Tepesi’ – roughly translated to ‘hill of lovers’. You can reach it by car, up a very steep winding hill road, or via foot, up 163 steps from a backstreet below.

Whenever we rent a car, we usually drive up and pull over for a while so that we can take in the views, and on our last trip we did that twice.

The view at the top is just stunning. The boat yard, harbour and amphitheatre to the left, the main bay, marina and town in the centre, and Calis in the distance to the right. All the buildings, especially the more traditional houses with white walls and red/orange roofs look good from high above too. You can see various mountain ranges in the far distance and the trees growing on the hillside just frame the view perfectly.

There are wooden seating areas hanging over the edge, some of them are very rustic and wobbly and I’m always a bit afraid of them breaking! There used to be a little cafe up there but it’s been gone for a few years now and it still looks a bit of a mess really. You’ll also find piles and piles of sunflower seed shells on the floor, since it’s a popular place for locals to come and sit with a packet of them, a beer and their friends. You can sit here for ages, watching the boats sail in and out, but it’s equally as spectacular at night with the whole of Fethiye lit up down below.

On the last day of our holiday back in June, Berkay’s family came to visit for the day since it was Bayram/Eid, so we took them up to the look out point and sat at a table with a couple of bottles of coke and some ice creams. His step-mum was too scared to stand too close to the edge so she took this photo of the rest of us instead, Berkay’s dad, brother, his brother’s fiancee and us.

The Denizli Teleferik – Cable Car

Posted on February 20, 2018 by livingtheturkishdream

The Denzli teleferik (cable car) was something I didn’t even know existed until last year. Whilst visiting Berkay’s family in the city last May, we took a slight detour with his younger cousin who came along for the adventure!

Built in 2015, the cable car was made to help more people appreciate and spend time in the beautiful nature surrounding the area. It’s not too far from the city centre, and takes you 1400m above ground.

Turkey isn’t really known for it’s health and safety, so I admit that I was a little nervous when we parked the car and I realised just how high up this thing was going to take me, that was, if the steps from the car park up to the lower cable car station didn’t kill me first! ~~I’m So unfit.~~

It was nice inside, very modern with really nice toilets, something that always excites me. You have no idea how many petrol stations I’ve had to rely on for a semi-decent toilet while visiting places! We queued up and bought our tickets, which were very cheap, 6tl each for a return trip, or free for kids under 6 years old. Imagine how much you’d pay for a similar trip to this in the UK? It certainly wouldn’t be less than £1.20!

It was quite busy but we didn’t have to wait long, less than a minute and we were ushered into one of the little cars, and set off on our journey!

There are 24 of the cars, one comes along every 30 seconds, and up to 800 people an hour can travel on the teleferik.

The journey from bottom to top takes 7 minutes and provides you with lovely views, you can even spot Pamukkale in the very far distance. Unfortunately the day we went it was very misty and cloudy so my photos aren’t great, they really don’t do it justice!

When you reach the top there is a cafe/restaurant with a look out point where you can enjoy the view with a tea. Alternatively, a free shuttle bus service to a park area called Bağbaşı Yaylası further back in the mountain runs every few minutes (or you can walk to it instead). We joined the queue for the dolmus-type bus, it was only a 5 minute journey and then we arrived at the park.

The park has bungalow cabins to rent overnight, tents you can stay in, play areas, a cafe, little shop huts, a kebab restaurant and a newer activity park built in the forest trees with climbing and rope obstacles. It was nice to walk around and would be great for kids, but we only stayed about 20 minutes then walked back to the bus to head back to the cable car.

We made a brief stop at the look-out point for more photos, then back on the cable car for the journey down which was just as pleasant as the journey up!

It’s a shame it wasn’t a sunnier day as it would make the photos look better, although I’ve recently seen photos of the area in the snow and how amazing the view was then – I guess the cable car runs in all seasons, other than strong winds.

Apparently 1.5 million people had visited the Denizli Teleferik in the 2 years since it opened, quite an impressive number. I hope it continues to be successful as I loved it and really want to go on it again. It’s location is also handy for those visiting Pamukkale to take a slight detour to it.

For those of us who are regulars to Fethiye, you have probably heard about the plans to install a similar cable car going up to Babadağ mountain, and after going on this one I am so excited to have a go on that when it opens! I believe work has already started to build it. From what I could see of the one in Denizli, it hadn’t affected the nature around the area too much, something that is always a worry when it comes to major work on the forest areas. I only hope that the price of the Fethiye one will be similar, and not significantly more expensive to take advantage of the high tourism in the area. I can see it being very popular with both tourists and locals in Fethiye and it will definitely be something to add to my bucket list!

A quiet afternoon in Calis..

Posted on June 12, 2016 by livingtheturkishdream

Berkay works nights in summer so he sleeps most of the day and often wakes up mid-afternoon and goes for a stroll around Calis – he likes to send me lots of photos to make me jealous, which they certainly do!

The clear sky, the blue sea and the beautiful long promenade full of shops, bars and restaurants – they all look just as wonderful as ever, but definitely a lot quieter than usual.

There seems to be a lot less tourists visiting this year, which is sad to see. When I was there in April it appeared to be fairly ‘busy’ for the time of year, but numbers should be increasing the further into the season we get, and that doesn’t appear to be happening. Since it opened a month ago, the hotel Berkay works in hasn’t had more than 30 customers in per night, and it’s been more like 15 on average! For whatever reasons, fear of terrorism, negative media representation or perhaps just the price of flights, a lot of resorts seem to be quieter than normal and we can only hope that things improve once the school holidays start in the UK as July and August are always the months with highest tourist numbers.

On his walk, Berkay walked all the way from the start of the promenade, outside the lovely sea front apartments we stayed in in April, to the main part where all the restaurants are. He then walked down the road where the canal runs, to where the water taxis go back and forth to Fethiye – these 30minute mini-boat trips always go down a treat, it makes a nice change from the dolmus and is much more relaxing.

I love how the multi-coloured umbrellas look on the beach, they really stand out against the blue of the sky, I wonder if they were inspired by the famous floating multicoloured umbrellas in Fethiye? It is sad to see it so empty though, the beach should be full of sunbathers, not only a handful.

I really hope that the season picks up and everyone visiting the area makes the trip to Calis and sees how peaceful and beautiful it is. It’s always a lot quieter than the other main resorts in the area, not as loud as Oludeniz and Hisaronu, but just a short dolmus ride away. It’s really beautiful with a lot of picture perfect scenery, a huge array of delicious restaurants and who could forget those amazing sunsets.

You just can’t beat it, even if I am biased!

A sunset silhouette..

Posted on January 19, 2015 by livingtheturkishdream

Taking a stroll along Fethiye promenade is always a pleasant experience but there’s no better time than at sunset.

On the evening of Berkays birthday back in December we went to Mancero restaurant and got off the bus far earlier than we needed to so that we could take a long walk and admire the views on the way, it was a little chilly but we didn’t mind.

The sun had already set but the sky was still lit up with a red and orange glow. Of course my camera was firmly in my hand ready to point and shoot… I spotted some people fishing along the pavement and thought they would look good as silhouettes against the red of the sky and the beautiful horizon in the distance.

This is the resulting photograph… and it’s totally unedited – it really did look that beautiful and I captured the scene perfectly on camera.

You just can’t beat a good Fethiye sunset.

Winter Sunsets in Calis..

Posted on December 7, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

Winter is the best time for beautiful sunsets here in Calis, the sun goes down right on the horizon over the sea rather than behind the mountains as it does in summer.

I hadn’t had a chance to watch the sunset for a few weeks, so last weekend while Berkay was working I took myself off to the beach just before sundown and sat alone armed with my camera. It was so peaceful, there was hardly anyone around apart from 2 people fishing, myself and a couple of roaming dogs.

I wasn’t disappointed by the sunset I witnessed, it was a little cloudy but as I always say, cloudy days make the best sunsets – the way the sun reflects off the clouds and turns the whole sky an orange-red is beautiful.

A remarkable case of being in the right place at the right time meant this boat appeared to float right along the horizon as the sun set, creating an even more magical, peaceful scene. I think its one of the best sunset photos I have ever taken!

It’s really strange to think that 5 months ago I’d go and sit and watch the sun go down around 8.45pm and now it sets at least 4 hours earlier than that – it’s a reminder of how quickly the time passes.

I posted these photos on my blog Facebook page last week, but realised that anyone who doesn’t have access to that will not have seen them so I decided to post them here too. Please don’t forget to go over and like my page so you don’t miss out, I post photo’s there almost daily. www.facebook.com/livingtheturkishdream

Yuvarlakçay, swings & Fethiye at twilight…

Posted on October 11, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

Two weeks ago we rented a car for the 5th time this summer and went on another little adventure! (We have actually rented a car again since, I’m very behind with my posts!)

I’d seen a lot of people posting photos from a lovely looking place called ‘Yesil Vadi restaurant‘ in Yuvarlakçay near Köyceğiz. It has thousands of ‘likes’ on Facebook so I was interested to see what the fuss was about! One thing that I was particularly looking forward to was the swing over the water that I’d seen people posing on.

We headed off and were driving for what seemed like forever. It took around 1.5 hours to get there, and the last stretch of the journey was the worst, going through winding, bumpy dirt track roads into a forest area. Eventually we came to a few sign posts directing us to different restaurants, the way the restaurants were all signposted, copying each others names and design and no real evidence as to which was the ‘original’ reminded me of the Yakapark area near Saklikent, with all the restaurants in close proximity and some being better than others… We followed the signpost and entry sign into ‘Yesil Vadi Yuvarlakçay restaurant’ and sat down at a table near the water – it looked pretty, but I wasn’t too impressed. The swing looked nothing like ones I’d seen people having fun on in photos. We asked for a menu and intended to eat lunch there, but after discussing the food with the staff, decided to go elsewhere. We got back in the car and drove to another signposted restaurant just a couple of minute’s drive away. Again we sat down at a table next to the water and asked for the menu, we were unimpressed and found it expensive so we got up and walked back to the car again. By this point we were bored of driving around wasting time and were very hungry, so we stopped at one final restaurant and stuck with it. I didn’t even look at the name as we were getting so stressed and bothered! Undoubtedly though, this was the best restaurant we had been to out of the 3 we visited in that short space of time. We chose a space, one of those traditional Turkish type seating areas where you remove your shoes, sit on a floor cushion and eat from a low table – I love eating this way even if it does give me pins and needles more often than not! We had a nice view and it was so relaxing listening to and watching the flow of water whilst sitting under the refreshing shade of the trees that surrounded us.

We ordered some lunch, Berkay had köfte (meatballs) and I had chicken saute – although it was unlike any other chicken saute I’d had before, but it was nice regardless. While we were eating I noticed some people having a lot of fun on a swing on the other side of the water and this got me very excited, this is what I’d been wanting to try all along!

After sitting for a while and watching, we crossed a bridge to the other side of the river and stood staring at the swing, trying to pluck up the courage to have a go. It looked terrifying, the swing was literally an old branch tied with roop and hooked over a strong tree branch above. As you swing, you soar a few meters above the freezing cold flowing river below. I was scared of falling in or that it wouldn’t hold my weight, so I made Berkay go first to test it. He sat down, walked backwards and swung out with a massive smile on his face. It looked so much fun, so I decided it was safe to give it a go myself and I absolutely loved it, even though I did let off a little scream the first time! I love swings anyway, I’m a big kid, I find it so relaxing, so swinging over this water surrounded by all the beautiful trees was amazing and great fun.

As we were heading back to the car we noticed another part of the restaurant, there was a large area of water away from the flow of the river, it was more like a pool, again totally surrounded by large beautiful trees. We noticed a family were playing on another swing, this time it looked stronger and ‘safer’, with a wider piece of wood to sit on. We stood watching for a while then the family went back to sit down and freed the swing up for us to use. I made Berkay go first again, and he made it look so much fun I thought I’d have another go too. The first few swings went well… until I tried to stop it. My foot slipped down the muddy bank and although my bum was half off the swing, I was still clinging onto the sides for dear life, obviously the swing didn’t stop so it swung out over the water again and I fell off. I could hear the family watching gasping before it happened, I think they were quite concerned… then it turned to giggles and laughter as I actually fell into the freezing water, Berkay was standing on the side in fits of giggles, all he thought to do was take photos of me! Thankfully I saw the funny side and luckily I had taken all my valuables out of my pockets, so I was also in fits of giggles, even though it was highly embarrassing. I got out and tried to walk away pretending like nothing had happened, although my soaking wet denim shorts dripping all the way back to the car proved otherwise…

We decided we’d had enough excitement for a while, and drove back towards Fethiye. We went to Hisaronu, as I’d heard via Facebook that one of the hotel’s with a waterpark attached was advertising free entry for the rest of the season, so we thought it’d be rude not to take advantage! We went to this waterpark back in June and had a great time, although it was very busy. This time it wasn’t busy at all and it seemed a lot different than before, there were no lifeguards and no staff supervising the slides which made me a little nervous, people tend to act like loons on unsupervised waterslides! Thankfully it wasn’t busy so there weren’t many nutters… apart from Berkay perhaps. This photo is of him WALKING down a waterslide because he got stuck, he literally had to walk from top to bottom, THREE times! I found it absoultely hilarious, while I had no issue sliding down on my bum at a good speed, there he was just taking a casual walk down it. Brilliant. We only stayed for an hour, but we had a good time, we’re thankful that some places do deals like this every so often as it means we get to go to places we wouldn’t usually because of how much they cost.

It was around 4pm at this point and we wanted to go for a BBQ so we went home to get our picnic things and also stopped by the hotel to pick up Boncuk! She hates being in cars, so it was quite an experience for her. She wouldn’t get in at first, she sat down outside the door and wouldn’t come inside, when she eventually did she kept trying to climb on my lap! I tried to explain to her that dogs are supposed to like sitting in cars with their heads out of the window and ears flapping in the wind, so she settled for having her two front paws on my knees and her head sticking out of the window (don’t worry, I had her lead her and was holding on tightly)… how worried does her little face look? Bless her!

We arrived at Aksazlar bay, parked the car and unpacked. Boncuk had never been on a BBQ picnic with us before so she was very confused! We hooked her lead under the foot of the bench so that she’d be safe. Normal dogs would sniff the ground, maybe lay down and have a sleep or dig a hole in the dirt right? Not Boncuk, nope, she climbed up onto the bench seat and would not get down. She wondered what on earth was going on and sat on the bench watching everything we were doing, wondering what smelt so good! I can’t believe how good she was, I thought she’d be barking and jumping around all over the place, but she was a very well behaved doggy, so she got some of our leftovers and chicken bones. We had chicken wings and our favourite aubergine salad, which I’ve previously written a recipe post for. Click HERE for that.

By the time we had finished it was starting to get dark, we packed up the car and decided to take the long way back to Fethiye by driving along the road along the cliff edge, going past Letoonia and overlooking the many bays below. Driving high up and so close to the cliff edge was terrifying, especially as it got darker as there are no street lights, but it offered brilliant views across to Fethiye and out to sea. We just missed the sunset but caught the sky at twilight, which looked stunning.

We’re so lucky that we’ve been able to rent a car so often this year, we borrow it from our friend and get a great deal, we pay 50tl a day and it runs on LPG rather than diesel or petrol so it’s very cheap to run. I love being able to explore a little and take photos of beautiful places – I took over 500 photos on this day alone!

Ölüdeniz from above!

Posted on September 23, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

Two weeks ago we decided to go for a long walk up part of the mountain overlooking Ölüdeniz . The path we took forms part of the ‘Lycian Way’ – a 540km long walking trail between Ölüdeniz and Antalya.

We got on the dolmus near the otogar in Fethiye, and what an experience that was. I’d never seen a dolmus so full! 3 drove past us completely full to the brim before we managed to squeeze (literally) onto the next one. It was a horrible journey – far too many people which made me feel quite claustrophobic, I’m so glad the Calis-Fethiye dolmus’ are rarely like that! We got off the bus on the road down to Ölüdeniz near Montana Pine resort and crossed the road.

This was the part of the walk that I struggled with most and this wasn’t even part of the trail! It was fairly steep uphill and not shady at all which made it quite difficult. I’d hate to be staying there, although Berkay used to work there (I swear there’s not many places he hasn’t worked…) and says they have a free shuttle bus, presumably for that reason! We reached Montana Pine resort hotel around 5-10 minutes later and saw the archway signifying the start of the ‘Lycian Way’.

We followed the road and had our first glimpse of the sea through the beautiful pine trees that cover the area. After a while the road split into two, one which headed down to another hotel, and one which was a more narrow road leading through the trees along the mountain side. It became more shady here which was a real bonus, and being quite high up from ground level meant temperatures were very slightly cooler too.

Every so often we’d get another glimpse of the sea and beach through the trees and realise how high up we were going, the further we walked, the further around the mountain we got and we were able to see more of the lagoon which looked beautiful. I kept stopping to take photos because everytime there was a break in the trees, we got an even better view! We stopped after around 15 minutes of walking and sat down to eat some of the watermelon we’d carried along with us (don’t ask!) It was actually really refreshing and juicy, just what we needed. Apparently we weren’t the only watermelon fans as lots of bees/wasps decided to come and join us for some as well. Ugh. I have a somewhat irrational fear of wasps/bees, I’ve never once been bitten but cannot cope with having one within a meter of me without wanting to cry! Needless to say, I didn’t sit down enjoying the watermelon for long and ended up standing flapping around instead, much to Berkay’s annoyance!

We walked a little further and stepped off the main path towards an area on the right-hand side which had a few little sheep shacks made out of sticks.

We couldn’t see the beach at this point, so we climbed a few rocks and down the other side where this view greeted us. Wow

I think this may be the look-out point that is quite well known, but I could be wrong. We were standing on the mountain edge, surrounded by trees and rocks, one that seemed to have formed a bench – a perfect place to sit and admire the view. It was obviously a popular place to stop as there was litter around, cigarette packets, bottles, crisp packets – quite sad really. We had the entire place to ourselves and didn’t see anyone for miles, just us, bees, birds and butterflies. Lovely.

We had a breathtaking view of the lagoon from this angle too. The boats looked so beautiful on the other side and the mountains behind the lagoon made for an even more beautiful backdrop. I just couldn’t stop taking photos! It’s amazing how blue the sea really looks here, the colour of these photos isn’t altered in any way, the sea really is that colour.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Ölüdeniz , I have always thought it looks absolutely beautiful from above when I see people’s paragliding photos, but when you’re standing down on the ground, it’s not that special and I always felt a bit disappointed, so it was great to see it from above for myself for the first time. Very impressive.

I would have loved to have carried on walking a bit further up the mountain to get even better views, but we had limited time and Berkay had come off a night shift and was very tired, so after admiring the view from this point for a while, we headed back on the path down towards Montana Pine again. It was a much easier walk downhill, although it wasn’t particularly hard going up either, and it only took around 25 minutes to get back to the main road where we hopped on the dolmus (an empty one this time, thank goodness) and headed back to Fethiye.

It was a lovely walk and I really recommend it for the photo opportunities. You can go as high as you wish, but be mindful that the walk does get a lot harder the further up you go, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it in the height of summer. Now would be a perfect time to go as the days are getting a little cooler. I wouldn’t advise going after 4pm at the moment as once the sun goes down around 6.45pm it gets dark very quickly and there are no lights whatsoever along the path we took. If you’re in the area and feel like doing something different, definitely check it out. You most definitely will not be disappointed by the views!

I’m so glad we went. We’re always looking for things to do that are free, or cheap, and this only cost us the bus fare so it was perfect. Sometimes you just can’t beat a nice walk with amazing views like this, it’s so easy to take our surroundings for granted but when you see them from a whole new angle it’s a real eye-opener and a great reminder of how beautiful Turkey really is.

Fethiye – sometimes it’s the simple things!

Posted on August 31, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

There are so many things to see in the Fethiye area, the whole area is so diverse and it’s easy to overlook the small things. My favourite place of all is Fethiye town centre, there’s no doubt about it. It’s busy all year around and it doesn’t become a ghost town when the summer season is over and the tourists have gone home, life continues as normal and businesses stay open.

There is so much to see and sometimes even just taking a walk the long way around while doing daily errands can provide you with beautiful sights and surroundings.

On Friday we needed to pop into town to go to the bank, change some money and pay some bills. We waited til the late afternoon, the bank was empty and we were in and out so quickly we had some time to spare. We took the back road to the exchange office and walked under the much photographed multicoloured umbrellas. I love this idea. Fethiye is a beautiful area, and you could easily get carried away taking photos of the amazing views, who would have thought a few coloured umbrellas tied to some string would be so popular? They look amazing, and it certainly brightened up our trip to the bank to pay bills!

There are also lovely water features and topiary around the town. One display being opposite the exchange office we use. It’s an old boat with fake sand, stepping stones and sea creatures made from bushes – it’s pretty, well kept and makes for an interesting photo.

In quite a contrast to the rest of this area of town, there is an ancient Lycian Sarcophagus just behind the marina area, next to the Nufus office/town hall. It looks like it doesn’t belong there, it’s very random. I’ve seen old photos of Fethiye from hundreds of years ago (1800’s!) and the sarcophagus can be seen surrounded by water, now obviously it is inland due to development – it’s interesting how things have changed and built around it while it just sits untouched. (Link to the old photo HERE)
We took the long route back to the bus station via the ‘new’ town square, which has actually been completed for nearly 2 years now! The most interesting and quirky parts of this area are the wonky buildings next to the main concrete square. They’ve been wonky for as long as I can remember, and after various earth tremors have become worse. The rows of houses on the other side of the road behind these are also slanted, they lean backwards. Apparently they have become more slanted in recent years after work to improve the pavements in the town took place – but I don’t know for sure about that. I can’t imagine they’re very safe to live in, I don’t think they’d meet the minimum safety requirements required for earthquake insurance etc..!
Aside from the wonky buildings, the park hosts a statue of Atarturk, (there are several of these in Fethiye and at least one in every town in the country) water fountains, flowers and pretty wooden benches. The fountains don’t seem to run on any kind of schedule, sometimes they’re on, sometimes they’re not, and sometimes it looks nicer than others, but it seems to be well-kept during the season and it is a lovely place to wander around and kill some time. There’s a playground for children which is often busy with passing tourists and locals, and yet more impressive topiary along the pathways. I love to watch the fountains here at night, they are all lit up and look beautiful. I’ve written a post about it previously – click HERE.

I love just walking through Fethiye, it has a real working town atmosphere. I love how there are elements of the old town mixed in amongst the new, modern, fit-for-tourism town – like the ancient sarcophagus sat surrounded by hotels and restaurants and the modest fishing boats sat in the harbour amongst the bigger daily tour boats which take hundreds of tourists out sunbathing and swimming around the islands everyday.

I think that’s what I love about Fethiye the most, it can be as quiet or as loud as you want – it’s so diverse with so many things to see, but sometimes it’s just the simple things that make your walk to pay the bills that little bit more fun, that are the best.

Calis from the hillside!

Posted on August 23, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

Two days ago we went for a long walk up to the furthest point of Calış beach and back again.

We walked from our house all the way to Koca Çalış and up a hill at the far end of the beach – the views were lovely and I saw Calış/Fethiye from a whole new angle!

The walk from our house to the end of the beach was around 2.6 km, so we walked over 5 km together – not easy in the 40oc heat! We waited til 6pm to leave because we’d melt into a puddle on the floor otherwise. I’d never been so far into Koca Çalış before, the furthest we’d really been was Sunset Beach Club/Surf Cafe. I definitely wouldn’t want to live there as it’s too far from anything else. We came across some pretty multi-coloured holiday apartments though which looked lovely, it’d certainly be more peaceful there!

We took Boncuk too, we love taking her on long walks. The downside to taking her with us is that a lot of stray dogs approached us. At one point we walked past a restaurant with a dog roaming loose and it spotted Boncuk and started growling and barking at her, setting off a chorus of at least 4 other dogs – it’s quite scary, although most of the animals are harmless, you never know (we had a bad experience when she was a puppy, and I’ve been bitten by a street dog myself which meant I had to have rabies injections – not fun!) Having so many dogs roaming free is something that puts me off walking her on my own most of the time and we always have to plan our routes so as to avoid places where we know there are a lot of strays.

The Koca Çalış end of the beach appeared to be very popular with local people – there were lots of people swimming and having BBQ picnics which smelt amazing! When we reached the end of the beach we found a track leading up the hill and decided to climb it. It wasn’t too steep or difficult to climb, although there were a lot of sharp thorns and bushes which scratched our legs quite badly, but the view at the top was worth it. We let Boncuk off her lead while climbing up the hill and she loved it.

The sun was just starting to go down as it was around 7.30 by this time, so it was fairly cool (by cool I mean around 35oc!!) but we were dripping with sweat from the walk – we tried to take a ‘selfie’ together with the view in the background but we just looked ridiculous!

I think it would be lovely to come and sit up there with a drink and a snack to watch the sunset, or even to just sit down and watch the stars at night – quite romantic! Berkay was also eyeing it up as a potential fishing spot!

We couldn’t stay and admire the view for too long as Berkay had to get back for work, but it was nice to see Calış from an alternative view point, and lovely views across to the mountains too. Such beautiful scenery.