Turkey is the second country I traveled since I moved here in the United Kingdom. Since it is summer I expect hot weather in this month. There are lot of things to do in Turkey. I decided to explore the southwester part of the country, which is famous as “Turkish Riviera”.
Antalya
On our first day, I mean first night since we arrived in Antalya around 8:30pm we spent the night in Lara. Well, I booked the rest of our days in the same hotel.
On the first day, we spent it roaming around the city. Our hotel location is in Lara, 40 mins bus ride from the city centre. Our first stop was the Duden Waterfall, which was the nearest. We we’re not able to go down the waterfalls unless you are willing to go there riding a boat. Though you can see the waterfall from a distance with great view. We got ripped off by the ice cream shop there, we paid 800 TL (Turkish Lira) for two cones of ice cream. But we enjoyed the ice cream vendor performance.
Next stop was the Hadrian’s Gate which was built during the Roman empire dated 130AD. There was not much to see, but I can say it was very well preserved even if it stands in the center of the city. It served as the main entrance to the old town where you can see loads of souveiner shops.
As we stroll around the old town, we ended up in Antalya main port. It was not the first time I’ve seen a port but them is quite unique and so vibrant. When we reached the dike, on the right side you can the the beautiful mountain side of the city and on the left side is a private resort filled tourist.
After this sight seeing in the city, we decided to go back to the hotel at 3pm. Bus fare was 65 TL.
Hierapolis-Pamukkale
On the second day, we went to Pamukkale. This day trip was booked a week before our travel. This include air balloon watching, cotton pool, hierapolis theatre, and cleopatra pool tour. Entrance free was not included in the package, so we have to pay around 1050 TL each.
We were picked up in our hotel exactly 2am early morning, looks like a small group travel because because we were only four inside the van. Travel time was approximately 3 to 4 hours. We arrived in Pammukale at 6am, since we did not booked the air balloon ride, we were left on the parking site where we can have a glimpse of the flying balloon. Due to weather condition, there was a delayed, air balloons flew at 7:30am.
We waited another hour for the rest to come back. By 9am, we went inside the Pamukkale main your site, we visited the Hierapolis ancient theatre first which was built by the Romans ages ago. You will notice it was beautifully preserve, but you need to hike up to see it. You can just sit and take photos on the top area. You cannot go down to the main theatre stage, that was totally restricted area. When I was sitting in the benches, it was like you were in some Roman movies.
Next, we got inside of cleopatra’s thermal pool. It was quite crowded. It was believed that Cleopatra used to bath there. According to the tour guide, the water in the pool is believed to be therapeutic. So magical that even if Turkey’s season changes, the water temperature remains the same. The water is potable to drink. I even tried it. It has a unique after taste. I’m even tempted to pour some water in my tumbler.
Lastly, we explored the cotton castle which was just a short walk from the thermal pool. I was mesmerised by its natural beauty. Since it was peak season, there were lots of tourist. We stayed there for half an hour, we need our feet rest for a bit after the hike. You can swim in the pool, but you need to take off your foot wear. There were guards in every corner, as there were areas that were not allowed to go.
Exactly, half past twelve, we went back to the exit where the van was waiting. lunch was included in the daytour. Food was delicious as always, it was a buffet.
We reach our hotel around 6pm.