Turkey's Turquoise Coast

Fethiye stands on the site of ancient Telemessos which was a large port and famous for its myths, seers and sages. It was a member of the Lycian Federation and in mythology it took its name from the son of Apollo and a princess of Phoenicus. One of its seers, Aristander foretold the birth and career of Alexander the Great and later accompanied him on his campaigns.

It is considered the crown jewel of the Turquoise Coast and the cliff-side, rock cut Lycian tombs and grand sarcophagi are awe inspiring. We headed straight to Fethiye on Turkey’s Riviera and were very pleased and quite surprised by the European-like atmosphere and unique enchantment of our first encounter with the country of Turkey. We kind of expected something more third world like Morocco,
but found it to be more like Spain, France or Greece, yet it has its own special flavor and beauty.

The leading picture was the view out of our room in the charming and well priced Hotel Villa Daffodil (www.villadaffodil.com) where we spent our first two nights in Turkey. It was highly recommended by e-friends from Bootsnall forums as well as in my guide books on Turkey.

We took a fast ferry (large catamaran) from Rhodes to Marmaris Turkey which was very easy and only took an hour, then a quick taxi to the bus depot and approximately two hour ride in an air conditioned mini bus to Fethiye. Turkey is suppose to have the best busses in the world which include snack service and movies, but we missed the larger bus although the one we caught was more than adequate.

We soon fell under the spell of the famous Turkish hospitality that we had been hearing about. These people seem to know what good service is and what ever you want they all seem  more than willing and able to get it for you and that is part of what makes Turkey a delight. Factor that in with gorgeous scenery where ever you look, sunny weather, treasury of ancient civilizations, incredibly cheap prices
and one soon feels like a royal family on holiday instead of a budget round-the-world traveler.

We did not have anything booked ahead and found Turkey a very easy country to travel spontaneously like this (totally self planned), just booking as one goes as they all seem to know one another and take very good care of tourists. No doubt, some of this is due to money of course, but much of it is just the nature of the people as we found many people that were so generous to us for no reason what so ever accept a genuine caring, giving, warm way about them.

We have been wanting to do some sailing on our trip and had been told that this was the place to do it for great prices and gorgeous location. There are many, many options to choose from and we had our hotel help us book it as we wanted a four day, three night “blue cruise” gulet sailboat on a route from Fethiye to Olympos. Even in high season it was easy to book after we arrived (as we wanted to make sure that we could inspect our boat before committing).

Mozart particularly loved this spot because she met a little girl name Sarah in the pool who lived nearby and they immediately became fast friends. Her mother is English and her father is Turkish and she taught Mozart a few words and little song in Turkish. They giggled and endlessly jumped in and out of the pool with their relentless energy.

Her mom was a big help in pointing out great restaurants in the area as they have lived here a few years. She was a hairdresser and even gave me the great hint of using catchup as a natural way to get the green from all the chlorine out of Mozart’s blond hair from all the swimming. We might even connect again if she takes a trip to Spain this winter with family from England.

It was hot so the pool was the center of the action and we also met a family from northern California who were touring with a teen age son while visiting a daughter here who has been living in Istanbul teaching English. Mozart had fun assigning everybody names from the Odyssey and “adopted” this family too at the pool and at breakfast. All the rest of the guests were European with several of them from the U.K., so plenty of people to talk to.

Next to that window in that top picture with the great view of the harbor there was a small cubby hole type breakfast nook in our large room with three beds, that Mozart decided was her playroom. She was thrilled to be able to invite Sarah over for a “play date” and they entertained themselves for hours as I typed away working on the blog and such. Sarah even gave Mozart her favorite mirror when they departed which she cherishes.

Our Turkey tour was off to a grand start as we were revitalized by our stay at this pleasant traditional Ottoman designed guest house. The staff was very helpful, they coddled Mozart, hugged her and touched her hair as they are very fond of children and the blue eyed manager spoke perfect English. We started each morning with a magnificent view of the harbor and yummy breakfast. Welcome to Turkey where life is good!