The Lycian Way // day 12 // Gökçeören - Gedikefe Ovası

The Lycian Way day 12.
Distance: 29.0 (203.4km), time spent: 9:49 (81:45).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 842m / 497m / 1045m.
Weather: Clear and blue sky.

Yesterday, Serkan and I decided to walk together from Gökçeören. How far we will go, I do not know, that is an open question. In the guidebook, this stage ends in Çukurbağ. I have had some problems sleeping in the nights here, but this night I slept very well. More joyful is it that I now do not feel anything of the stomach problems I had earlier.

On the way out of Gökçeören, the trail goes along the path and then down to the valley bottom at the end of the picture.

The days of rain and thunder seems to be over when we are leaving, above us the sky has forgotten the clouds. We have luckily not gone very far, we are still within the borders of the village when I find out that I have forgotten my cell phone back at the guesthouse and that we have to turn back to retrieve it. The first thing that we encounter after leaving Gökçeören is some kilometres on a forest track.

Serkan on the forest track after leaving Gökçeören.

Though it is comfortable walking on the forest track, it is not the most exciting. That the most interesting about the walk was a man humping by on a nearly wreck of a motorcycle says it all. At Hacioğlan (the village itself lies hidden higher up) we are at ways end. Hanging on a tree is a note with Wait written on it, what we shall wait for is however not good to know. We can see Sasha and Alice's tent further into the woods, but it is probably not they who has hung up the note telling us to wait for them. Hacioğlan is a remote area down here, even though you can see a large road higher up further ahead.

Moss on the way to hide a waymark on a stone.

There is a sense of being on a pure transport leg (are you not always that?) today, the trail has not managed to follow up the exciting landscape of yesterday. Fortunately, it does get better in the ascent from Hacioğlan where Serkan and I gets our reward in the form of the view of the white mountain Akdağ. The white colour is in stark contrast to the blue sky and the green ridge the mountain juts out from, you could have taken it for snow.

The path up from Hacioğlan.

The trail leads up to a rocky pass below Eren Tepe. And disappears. The writer of the blog Hike the Lycian Way are not far away from the truth when they write that it almost is necessary with a GPS on this trail. After scrutinizing the most obvious exits from the rocky field, we find the path in the end, without the aid of the red and white blazes leading us on the right way. Other hikers have obvious experienced the same problem and tried to help by building cairns where the path goes.

The white mountain of Akdağ.

It does not get easier after the pass, forestry works makes us play detectives or perhaps more to the point Indians (they supposedly were excellent pathfinders). That the trail is hard to find is probably not the reason why a farm with a reasonably large house is abandoned, inside there are signs that the cabin is used sporadically by passers-by walkers and vagrants. We pass several makeshift camps that appear to have received some hard battering in the previous bad weather, but it is also possible that they just are abandoned and that no one has cared about tidying up after themselves.

A rocky field below Eren Tepe. The trail is visible, before it disappears in the rocks.

At the top of a ridge, we find the ruins of Phellos. From here, there are good views of the surrounding area, but it must have been cumbersome getting to and from the place. I am most impressed by the big square tomb with the three sealed doors in the front, which unfortunately has been broken open. The next big tomb shares the same fate and sight, by looking inside you can see that the grave-robbers has carved further into the rooms behind. Hidden around in the trees at the top of the ridge, you will find remains of the buildings at the place. I catch myself yet again forgetting to read about the ruins when I am at the place, this time I missed the bas-relief of a life-sized bull.

From the inside of an abandoned farm, now more used as an abode for vagrants.

From the ruins, we can look down to where the trail goes towards Kaş. The town itself we cannot see, it lies out of sight beneath the cliffs in the horizon. A huge plain just before the cliffs looks suitable as a place to stop for the day, but I am still in doubt whether the temperature is good enough to sleep in my tent. We climb down from the ruins to Çukurbağ where a flock of goats meet us. Due to the uncertainty of how warm it will be during the night, we look a little around for accommodations here; we find nothing and continue walking in the direction of Kaş.

Phellos, a big square tomb with the mountain of Asas Dağı in the background.

The sun is dangerously on its way down when we come to a place called Eflatun, where there is accommodation. The place seems nice, though the price is high. Since I consider staying, Serkan is continuing alone. Shortly afterwards, I follow after him, I wonder what it is that I am doing. Serkan has been a nice walking companion, so I feel that it would be unkind to leave him alone in the evening. I walk faster than him, luckily, so I catches up with him. He looks a little bit surprised when I appear.

View from Phellos. The huge plain of Gedikefe Ovası is visible in the upper right of the picture, Kaş lies beneath the cliffs beyond.

We arrive at the huge plain that we could see above from Phellos, which is marked on the map as Gedikefe Ovası. High up on the mountain ridge behind us, we can see Phellos that we came down from. For a while, I wonder if it will be difficult finding a good place for our tents on the plain, there are stones everywhere. However, we are fortunate and finds a great place next to a large tree. Where it clearly has been people camping before, the ground has been cleared of rocks. The tents are pitched and we go searching for firewood.

Our campsite with the fire at Gedikefe Ovası.

I do not regret that I choose not to stay at Eflatun, when darkness has arrived, we have made a nice fire. Around us, there are sounds in the dark, twigs breaking and howls in the distant. Serkan has to remind me that I have to be careful when I am moving stones here; there could be scorpions underneath them. For dinner, I cook noodles, not standard food down here, but it is easy and light food to bring with you in the backpack. Sitting outside beneath the clear starry sky in front of the fire was the absolute highlight on a day that otherwise offered a nice, but not the most exciting walk.

<- GökçeörenKaş ->

The Lycian Way // day 11 // Bezirgan - Gökçeören

The Lycian Way day 11.
Distance: 20.0km (174.4km), time spent: 7:49 (71:56).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 736m / 842m / 976m.
Weather: Rainy clouds in the horizon, nice weather rest of the day.

After shaking off the plaster from the night and eating breakfast, I am on the way again. The future is not bright for the goats in the area, today is an official holiday and it is to be celebrated with the proper dinner. The hosts at the place are already slaughtering a goat when I am leaving. It is not bright in the horizon behind me either; it seems that Kalkan can be expecting more rain. Bezirgan says farewell with a rainbow in the hills behind.

View over Bezirgan, with a rainbow above the hills to the west.

The seven kilometres to Sarıbelen is not entirely positive. I do become a little frustrated when a lot of time is lost trying to locate the route instead of being able to enjoy what it has to offer. At the pass of Yumrutepe, I go back and forth a couple of times before I finally find where the trail is going. Going steeply down, the path takes me through what looks like a garbage dump. On the way up again, the trail goes cold and it is only by a lucky guess that I find myself back on the trail and the houses of Sarıbelen.

A signpost above Sarıbelen, notice the ads for accommodation in Gökçeören, I was to pass several of these makeshift signs on the path.

The store in Bezirgan was closed when I left. A common denominator in the area seems to be that the houses of the villages are scattered around, Sarıbelen included, finding the store here takes some time. The assortment is not big, but the hospitality is, the owner of the shop offers me tea. Above me, the sky is blue with scattered clouds.

Sculptures of stone permeates the landscape above Sarıbelen, down in the valley floor (barely visible in the picture) there is a charcoal burner's ring of stone.

It is an all-new story after Sarıbelen; I quickly forget paths through garbage and disappearing waymarks. After climbing up from the village, I find myself on an outcrop with a view of a mystical landscape consisting of strange stone formations. Oval blocks of stone in different shapes permeates the vegetation. I am looking forward to walking between them, but unfortunately, the trail does not go where I want to go. It meanders around towards the coast again; the descent from Yumrutepe to Sarıbelen appears in my line of sight for a moment.

View over the coast. In the horizon, the Patara beach returns back in sight, in addition to Yalı Burun with the two isles and I can just barely see the houses of Kalkan.

And then the coast and the Mediterranean reappears below me again, Kalkan, Patara (for the last time), Yalı Burun, blue ocean. For the first time in a long time, I again feel excited by discovering what lies around the next corner, a feeling that has largely been absent in the last days (though they have been nice days). I have this feeling that it is when the trail climbs higher up that it really is coming into its own. Going further, the view changes focus to what is awaiting me later. I can see the Greek island of Castellorizon (Meis), which lies outside Kaş, which still is hidden behind the mountainsides.

A sloping plain above the coast, the trail passes over the plain past the ruins of a house.

Not far away from the remains of a house, three dogs are following me with fierce eyes. I take a small detour around them, are they still guarding their old residence, I wonder. The trail has taken a detour around the mystical stone formations; I come down to a huge ova (plain between hills) on the other side of them. There is a mountain farm in the end of the plain. If the path had gone through the stone sculptures, I would have missed the view of the coast. I spend some time trying to find a stone sarcophagus, which is supposed to lie around 200 metres from the path, without luck. At the farm, I make a heavy sneeze, which causes the goats inside a fencing to try to escape in a mad frenzy.

Goats in a fencing at a farm, faint of heart, one sneeze and there was a big tumult.

It has been some rainy days lately and out on the big plain there are some huge pools of water that still has not sunk down into the ground. Apart from that, there is little that gives away that is has rained. The landscape looks dry, arid and isolated. In the spring it is another world here, with the barren ground replaced by lush and green vegetation, now it reminds me more of Mars. I pass by several large holes in the ground, wells, with stones stacked in a circle around them. Potential pitfalls in the dark. A dead rat lies floating in one of them, the water is not tempting.

Passing above a large ova used as a pasture for the goats in the area. There are still some big water pools at the plain after the rain. The holes in the ground are wells.

There has been few ruins today, maybe this area was too isolated in the old days as well, but in the shade of some trees there are some tangible relics from ancient times suddenly appearing among the undergrowth. The nature has run its course and they are about to disappear into oblivion.

A well on one of the plains the trail passes over. You have to watch yourself so you do not fall down into one of these if you walk here in the dark.

Gökçeören is a small village where the houses, as in Bezirgan and Sarıbelen, appears to be enjoying themselves better with some distance to the next house. The owner of Yeşil Pansiyon, Hüseyin Yılmaz, is standing and waiting for me at the entrance to the village and takes hold of me just before another person calls to me from a nearby house. Another guy in a window is pointing to the nearby house, I get confused. Hüseyin wants to drive me up to the guesthouse, but I have to walk there (the purist in me denies me to take a car before after finishing my walk).

Gökçeören with its red-roofed houses.

Sasha and Alice are in the guesthouse, but they have just stopped for a break and are going further to find a place to camp. They had stayed in their tent just below Yumrutepe tonight. Basically, I am a little bit sceptical about this kind of aggressive way of acquiring guests, but the room is nice and I am here anyway now. I stay. The guesthouse is located right next to the village mosque, where a huge plane tree is at the space in front of it. Another hiker is also coming to the guesthouse, Serkan from Istanbul, who has some days off work and uses them to hike a part of the trail.

The mosque in Gökçeören with the amazing plane tree next to it.

I want to have more days like these. After I finished the boring walk between Yumrutepe and Sarıbelen, it was an altogether magnificent walk. Then again, the hostess at the Pause Pansiyon in Sarıbelen warned me that it was pretty.

<- BezirganGedikefe Ovası ->

The Lycian Way // day 10 // Kalkan - Bezirgan

The Lycian Way day 10.
Distance: 9.0km (154.4km), time spent: 6:13 (64:07).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 66m / 736m / 792m.
Weather: Overcast, then a sudden deluge and calm again, before partly nice in the afternoon and evening.

The nights sees most of the actions here apparently, yet again there were some incredible thunderclaps outside, like something tore or broke apart at the same time. It is raining heavily in the morning, so I sleep long. At the breakfast, Melike, who I met yesterday, does not share the same optimism as I do. I have a belief that the weather will turn towards the better, but decides that the walk for today will be a short one. The equipment I left behind in Kalkan is now back in my backpack, so it has returned to its normal weight.

In the morning, when leaving Gül Pansiyon in Kalkan. Rain clouds over the town and bay. In the horizon Çatal Adalar.

On the way out of Kalkan, I meet two German girls, Lisa and Hanna, who has travelled down here to walk for some days on the Lycian Way. This is their first day and we keep company in the uncertainty of where the trail goes. Fortunately, we are able to locate the new path after it has been rerouted, and hence do not have to walk for the two kilometres along a busy road as it did before. Instead, we are treated with a more pleasant walk in the hills above Kalkan, passing by cultivated and now dry plains, and a fenced in tennis court of all things (that obvious belongs to a fancy house high above us).

Hanna and Lisa with her broken shoe. It is not funny to have to stop on the first day, but the German girls took it by a smile.

The clouds are grey and heavy above us and we are expecting it to start raining any time, but it keeps being on hold. Instead, the sole on Lisa's right shoe breaks loose and it is game over for them for now. And on the first day of their walk as well. What is it with Germans and broken shoes? They will have to return to Kalkan to find a new pair of shoes for Lisa; we are fortunately not far away from where the path crosses the Kalkan-Elmalı road. We say farewell at a bus stop in Sarnıçbası. It was a short, but pleasant acquaintance.

Deluge on the climb up to Bezirgan. The rain came abruptly. Sarnıçbası below.

After Sarnıçbası, the real fun of the walk begin, from here on and up I walk on an old mule path that winds up along the mountainside. Where the path goes is clear and I can see two other hikers higher up. Not long after I begin the ascent, the rain comes at last, abruptly and in amounts. So much and so quickly that there is no point in stopping to put on my waterproofs, the shorts I am walking in is soaked in an instance. Though my pants are soaked, the climb up is enjoyable.

A soaked hiker on the old kaldirim going up into the mountains from Sarnıçbası after the deluge. Despite the rain and walking in a soaked pants, the ascent was enjoyable.

The old mule path winding up along the mountainside.

The rain does not last long, it was as if the clouds let go of all the water they contained at the same time. I overtake the two other hikers, which turns out to be a German couple that also stayed at the guesthouse in Gelemiş, Sasha and Alice. In the view, there are now everything from rain, to clouds and blue sky. From further up on the old kaldirim, I can again see the Patara beach; you almost never becomes done with it. Kalkan is barely visible.

View over Kalkan, Çatal Adalar, Eren Tepe and the ocean from the climb to Bezirgan. On the small plain below there was a small and dilapidated farm that has seen its better days.

Above, the mountain disappears into the clouds and the trail follows its lead. The climb up has been quite steep, but it has been rewarding and on the top the clouds leaves me behind on a moor that seems desolate. The truth is entirely different, but I enjoy the small time I spend with the sensation that it is so. Beneath a dispersing layer of clouds, I walk down to the huge and open plain that houses the village of Bezirgan.

Clouds lying like a veil over the mountain, with the path disappearing into it, passing by an old cistern.

At the entrance to the village there are several ambars standing in rows and lines, these are small houses used to store corn and harvested food. Just like the horreos in Spain, only different culture different looks. Calling Bezirgan a village is at first sight a little moot, the houses are spread out on the large plain.

Ambars in Bezirgan, these are used to store corn and other harvests.

This was where I had in mind walking to today, but where I can find a place to stay among the scattered houses I am unsure of. It is also tempting to continue walking. Why stop? Today was a nice walk, it is still time left of the day and the weather is relatively fine. To Saribelen there are seven kilometres. From the mosque, the call for prayer is sounded, I sit outside and relax, the villagers are gathering inside the walls.

A lonely house in Bezirgan.

I do not get further than Bezirgan though, I choose to check out the accommodations here before I eventually decide upon continue walking or not. Due to the size of the area the village are scattered about, I spend so much time finding a place that I grew tired. I find a place that looks nice, Owlsland, but the price for the stay was 200 Turkish lira (it was a hotel according to the hostess, it did not resemble anything like one). Instead, I get a room in the home of one of the locals.

Dinner in Bezirgan, vegetarian, but tasty never the less.

My unofficial guesthouse is untidy, filthy, it smells of plaster in my room and the shower is ice cold. I kind of doubt that they have many visitors, even though the people living here are nice. On the other hand, the dinner they serve is very good. There are also no beer to be had here, since this is a conservative village, but I manage well without. I slowly hurry onwards on The Lycian Way.

<- KalkanGökçeören ->

The Lycian Way // day 9 // Gelemiş - Kalkan

The Lycian Way day 9.
Distance: 17.6km (145.4km), time spent: 5:45 (57:54).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 15m / 66m / 225m.
Weather: Overcast and sultry, thunder and lightning, then calm.

What a night, the earth was shaking in its foundations. I wake up by the sound of war and inferno outside. It is in the middle of the night, but outside it is completely bright, there are almost no pauses between the lightning flashes. The palm trees stays horizontal in the strong wind, rain is bombarding the window. I think that when I open the door in the morning, there will be nothing left of the building outside, as in the disaster movies from Hollywood. The power goes out during the night. I am extremely happy that I am not sleeping outside in my tent. There was thunder, there was lightning, and then the stars went out.

The ruins of Patara, the amphitheatre to the left and the government hall to the right.

Nothing of this is happening of course, the building is just as whole when I wake up in the morning. Things is just messier outside, though one of the persons at the guesthouse had to go out to secure things. It is raining lightly while I am eating breakfast, what the weather will be like today is a little bit uncertain. It does look lighter, but the forecast is for more thunder to come. The rain stops and I decide to make a go for it.

View of the Patara beach. The beach is 12km long and in the other end you can see the mountains I came down from, now four days ago.

I walk towards Kalkan as if I have the devil at my heels. It is for that reason that I do not use much time to clear out the mismatches between the map, the guidebook and the signposts. I choose to go where the signpost, which I passed yesterday, says the trail goes towards Kalkan. There are ruins on the top of the hills I pass by, below me the past of Patara get smaller and smaller, while it becomes more apparent how long the beach really is. Four days after I arrived at the beach, I finally leaves it.

View over Yalı Burun, dark clouds in the horizon.

There is another view that awaits me on the other side of the ridge after leaving Gelemiş; here it is a less populated area that goes towards Yalı Burun and the two isles of Çatal Adalar. I walk faster than I should; this is a pleasant part of the trail that I should spend more time savouring. The path is passing by some small houses, gardens and orchards; there is even a guesthouse here. Across the ocean, the horizon is dark.

The two isles outside Yalı Burun, Çatal Adalar (Yılan Adası and Siçan Adası).

I slow down my pace when I am getting closer to the tip of Yalı Burun with its two isles, the view here is too nice to bypass. The storm that I can see out on the ocean does not look to have moved any closer at the moment. However, it still linger as a shadow over my walk today, the deep rumblings of thunder is occasionally heard from far away. The houses of Kalkan are visible in the end of the bay, when I leave the headland behind me.

Kalkan in sight at the end of the bay.

A small wheezing sound makes me stop in my tracks, in my haste to reach Kalkan before the storm hits, I almost step on a tortoise. These small fellows are never in a hurry. Delikkemer is still just as impressive when I visit the site for the second time; the trail is passing only 5-10 metres away from where the trail goes the other way. I could almost see myself where I sat and ate lunch yesterday.

Approaching storm when I am above Yeşilköy Koyu.

The host at the Flower Pension warned me to take the path where the trail goes from Delikkemer to Kalkan in rain; I have also heard from others that this section is dangerous. I had hoped to reach there before it starts to rain, but shortly after I left Delikkemer, it begins. When I arrive at the section, I get somewhat perplexed. At the steep slope, the path goes straight down over jagged rocks, but for that reason the rocks provides a good grip for your hands. If you are concentrated, it is no problem, even in the rain.

The trail passes by Delikkemer again on the way to Kalkan, only a few metres away from where the trail goes in the opposite direction towards Gelemiş.

The thunderstorm arrives just before I come to the first houses of Kalkan, and it starts pouring down. The host at the guesthouse, Gül Pansiyon, thought it was tomorrow that I was coming. So, instead of a usual room, I have to make do with an apartment. At a reduced price, but more expensive than the room, though I get a washing machine and has a large living room to myself while the weather is roaring outside.

Above Yeşilköy Koyu, on a section of the trail that many had warned me against walking in rain. It sounds worse than it is, if you are concentrated if offers no problems.

Kalkan is the first town of a decent size you arrive at on the trail (Kaş being the next). The town is popular among tourists, but it still has a relatively relaxed atmosphere. The streets in the centre around the marina are small and nice. It is a break in the thunderstorm, but the wind blows quite fierce in its wake. I meet another hiker on the trail, Melike, a Turkish woman who did not walk today due to the weather. She was of the opinion that I had ran here, not quite the truth, but not so very far away from it either. I eat dinner at the same place as last time, Öz Adana, while there are some heavy flashes behind Eren Tepe.

A colourful staircase in Kalkan.

The walk today was done in too much haste, urged on by the approaching storm. I would like to have visited the area around Yalı Burun without this stress, because it was a nice walk, but I was glad I reached Kalkan before the worst of the weather arrived. A good day.

Kalkan, view from the terrace of the guesthouse.

<- GelemişBezirgan ->

The Lycian Way // day 8 // Üzümlü - Gelemiş

The Lycian Way day 8.
Distance: 21.7km (127.8km), time spent: 6:46 (52:09).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 306m / 15m / 426m.
Weather: Nice during the day, with clouds in the horizon, sultry in the afternoon and evening.

The merchant from Üzümlü keeps his word and drives me back up again in the morning. I find another advantage of going to Kalkan, since I will be returning here in two days, I can leave behind all the gear that I do not need on those two days. Slack-packing is what someone perhaps a little bit condescending calls it. I do not care much about that, for me it means that I can walk with a lighter backpack.

View towards Patara just after leaving Üzümlü.

The weather forecast for the afternoon is not good, but when I start to walk the sky is blue. Views towards that Patara beach in the west and Eren Tope to the south, which The Lycian Way goes around. I had hoped to see a tortoise or turtle while I was walking down here and just before I come to Akbel, a little fellow is suddenly appearing on the path. Terrific. I arrive at the junction in Akbel, which I will strike a good acquaintance with.

I encountered this funny little fellow just before arriving at Akbel, first time I have seen a tortoise (not in captivity).

From here, I follow the instructions in the guidebook, since the waymarks as usual disappears when you come to a place. In the book, I read that I shall walk west with the mosque on the left, so I do that and follows a road a long way down. After a while, alarm clocks begin ringing in my head and when I come to a cemetery, they are unbearable. By looking at the map, I can ascertain that I am outside Yesilköy and has left the trail long ago. Walking up again is not written on my wish list, so I make use of my thumb and get a hitch back up again with the first car passing by.

The wall of Delikkemer, which is about 500 metres long has almost stood rock solid since it was built for over 2000 years ago. The trail goes through the hole in the wall.

Back at the junction in Akbel, quite frustrated, I find out that I shall walk west with the mosque on the left, but walk to the left on a road before the mosque. I do not get less frustrated by that. The waymarks appears again. I walk off the frustration and when the trail crosses a road and enters a nice path, I am in a good mood again. Perhaps my frustration has caused the accumulation of clouds that now lies over the mountains behind me.

Delikkemer with the sealed siphonic pipe of rock on top of the wall.

Below Inçebel Tepe, The Lycian Way meanders around the hill and the Patara beach, which is taking a long time to be done with, reappears in the line of sight. From the valley below, the calls for prayer from the minarets begins to waft up towards me and it is such an extraordinary moment that I just have to stop and listen. The calls for prayer are like an a capella. First, one muezzin sings an adhan, then the next muezzin takes up the song and so it continues from minaret to minaret in the valley below. I can hear the song moving. I am in no way religious of me, but this is undeniably amazing, too bad you cannot take a picture of sounds.

A peaceful place for lunch between the olive tree groves next to Delikkemer, with views to the sea.

Yesterday the joy was great when I came to the small Roman bridge; today the joy is just as big when I come to Delikkemer. At first sight, it looks just like the usual old wall you have seen several of before, but this wall is a 2000 years old engineering piece of art. On the up to 12 metres tall wall, there is a sealed pipe of rock that works as a water siphoning system. The pipe is built up by sculpted stone blocks that each weighs about 800kg and around 1000 of them are used to cover the 500 metres that is required.

On the path below Eren Tepe with views back towards Üzümlü and the mountains behind, where the clouds now are spreading over the landscape. Delikkemer to the right in the picture.

The wall goes through a grove with olive trees and there lies a peaceful ambience over the place, so I find myself a place for lunch below it with views towards the sea. Quite possibly I sit and look towards where the trail will be returning towards Kalkan after going around the Yalı Burun promontory.

It is still nice weather after Delikkemer, but there are more and more clouds on the sky. The scenery is less exciting on the last part of the trail to Gelemiş. Nature and vegetation are in the process of occupying a medieval tower, beekeepers works in the middle of a swarm of bees, a big black snake slithers away from me on a forest track. The ocean is getting closer.

The ruins of a tomb just before Gelemiş, notice how precarious the stone block at the top is positioned.

Christina and Laura had recommended me to stay in the Flower Pension in Gelemiş and the path goes almost straight to the door, the recommendation seems solid. There is however no shortage of places to stay and restaurants here, I wonder how it must be during peak season here. A restaurant has a terrace with a sail on it and where the railings are formed like the railings of a ship.

Flower Pension in Gelemiş, the guesthouse I am staying at here.

Below Gelemiş lies Patara, both the beach and ruins. It is a little bit of a walk down there and on the way down the clouds on the sky are now starting to assume a dramatic colour. The ruins are impressive and are spread out over a large area. I see that I anyway will not have time to see everything there is to see there, so I pick out a few targets. Additionally, I want to get a swim in the pool at the guesthouse before it gets dark. And dim roars are resonating from the depths of the ocean.

Dramatic clouds drifts in from the sea over the wetlands and ruins in Patara.

I had hoped to get a good picture of the gate with three arches, but it is under maintenance and is covered by scaffolds. Of the remaining buildings, it is the reconstructed government hall that I find most impressive. I walk through what was the main street in Patara; it is hard to imagine how it must have been walking here in that time. Of the lighthouse, there is not much left standing, only a small foundation and something that looks like a finger pointing to the sky.

Dusk has arrived when I get my desired swim in the pool. I expect it to start raining and the first thunderclaps echoing over the sky all the time, but it stays quiet throughout the evening. The guests at the table next to me eats something that looks really delicious, so I play the copycat and order the same dish, lamb shish. The dinner tastes excellent. The day was almost excellent as well, tomorrow it is supposed to rain and when it rains, it usually includes some electrical activity.

From the ruins of Patara and what was the main street in the city.

<- ÜzümlüKalkan ->