June 17, 2013, by Kiran
Turkish Delights
Apart from managing to break two pairs of shoes while on holiday (don’t wear heeled sandals to walk around ruins in!), getting a few pesky mosquito bites and effectively adopting three children, I had a great time in Turkey on my end of university, end of an era graduation trip. (I realise the last time I wrote about a trip abroad I ended up with quite a long blog entry and so this time I will try to give you just the highlights!)
The Resort
A private beach, three all inclusive restaurants, two pools, water slides, an intriguing green light, strange glue like ice cream and a friendly cat pretty much sum up the highlights of the hotel. There was also a Spa and after treating myself to a massage I discovered I am more ticklish than I originally thought; I came out feeling hyper instead of relaxed!
The Markets
Our first trip into the city of Fethiye and we were off to haggle in the markets. I ended up buying quite a lot of Turkish Delight (if anyone would like to claim some of these authentic sweets please let me know or I will have to eat them myself!)
On our way into the markets we saw the statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, which we established after some time of looking for the English translation of the information! While Atatürk’s stance and clothing are supposed to symbolise his military days as well as his run as a reformist leader, the little girl represents the future of Turkey.
On a Boat
As it was our housemate James’ 21st birthday while we were in Turkey, we splashed out (literally) and hired a speedboat to take us to Oludeniz (which translates to Blue Lagoon.) A bumpy ride, a visit to a few caves along the way and we arrived in the scorching heat.
A bite to eat, a dip in the clear blue sea, a look at the nature reserve (which was basically a few chicks and occasional cat) and it was back on the boat. Obviously we looked like worthy sea captains because on the way back we were each given the chance to steer the boat and the good news is we all survived.
Kaunos (On another Boat)
Day trip to Dalyan to visit the ancient ruins of Kaunos and yes the only way to get around was by boat. To be fair Kaunos did used to be an important sea port so I suppose it was only fair that we took to the water again…on another private boat. Cruising down the riverbank we saw the six Lycian tombs, the burial ground for kings and queens of the time. The most photographed sight in the region, we didn’t want to break tradition and so here is a photo of the impressive architecture just for you:
Tombs were built on cliff tops/generally high above land because Lycains believed a winged creature would carry people into the after world. It would make it an easier journey for this bird like being if Lycains had already made an effort to be high up in the first place I suppose! We couldn’t walk around these then but we did make a stop off to explore the ruins of the city including the remains of the amphitheatre, which is still occasionally used for performances:
Us trying to put on our own performance (It got scatters of applause!)
On an unrelated note, we also saw some sea turtles while on the boat and sampled a Turkish delicacy of fresh blue crabs. It’s what all the turtles these days are eating!
If you’re not sick of them, I would definitely recommend going on a graduation trip with the housemates before you have to leave university…even if it’s just to Brighton! The Turkish backdrop may have helped but it really was a lovely way to celebrate the end of our uni lives together.
p.s. Speaking of Turkish backdrops, any avid readers of this blog (anyone at all?!) will remember that in a previous blog I promised to replicate one of the most popular images of freedom. With a little help from Turkey, here I am delivering that promise:
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