From the mountains to the sea; Turkey!! IZMIR

Izmir - (17th - 18th April)

Our last stop in Turkey was Izmir, a traditional working Turkish city, not aimed at tourists. The city is full of extremely cheap dining options and a lovely vibrancy.

 

 

The harbour stretches for a long distance, making for lovely walks morning or night. There are beautiful grassed areas and monuments, with plenty of beautiful cafes and restaurants

 

While in Izmir we had some beautiful weather and some rainy weather, however the rain cleard and we were able to get some beautiful pictures of the big bold clouds.

 

Although not many attractions or historical sights, we still thoroughly enjoyed our two days in Izmir, passing through on a departing flight.

 

From the mountains to the sea; Turkey!! KAS

Kaş (10th - 11th April)

 

We arrived into Kaş at around midday, with beautiful blue skies and the sun shining brightly. We were pleased to have an amazing view from our hotel room!

 

 The view from our hotel (Hotel Kayahan)

 

The marina here is absolutely stunning, you could spend hours admiring the view and gorgeous Mediterranean sea. We can only imagine how busy this small city would be in summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to it not being the peak tourist period while visiting, many boats were propped up being re painted and refurbished ready for the influx of tourists in a few months time.

 

 

The streets in Kaş are charming and quaint – with uniquely decorated buildings, bright pink bougainvillea and decorative cobblestone pavers.

 

 

 

While visiting, we had two days which were polar opposites in weather – the first day being a beautiful sunny 22 degree day, and the next being a windy and overcast 18 with very dark grey clouds, lingering all day! The picture below shows the threatening clouds...
 

 

 

 

Throughout the town, there are some beautiful little coves where swimming would be lovely in summer.

 

 

Turkey is in abundance with beautiful bright red poppies at the moment!! We also spotted many dandelions, even giant ones!

 

 

The journey from Kas to Fethiye was amazingly scenic with a lovely contrast of mountains, greenery and bright blue ocean.

From the mountains to the sea; Turkey!! ANTALYA

Antalya (7th - 9th April)

 

 

 

 

 

Our first seaside adventure on the trip! Antalya is rich with character, history and charm. We loved walking through the small streets filled with beautiful homes, hotels and shops.

 

 

A beautifully decorated Pension

We loved the character of this home, the beautiful trailing vines and the tile house number

 

 

 

The beautiful Umbrella Street, lined with restaurants

We passed Hadrian's gate, built in 130AD for Emperor Hadrian and Hidirlik Tower (a mausoleum built in the 1^st or 2^nd century).

 

 

Hadrian's Gate

 

Hidirlik Tower

 

The Marina is a gorgeous place to watch the world go by, and the weather was gorgeous when we were here. We took a 45 minute boat ride which went past a grotto, a waterfall and out into the deep Mediterranean. We only paid 10TL ($5AUD) per person (the captain initially tried to charge 50TL ($25AUD) per person but came down eventually!

The stunning Marina

 

Seating area at the Marina

Crystal clear ocean, viewed from a seating area at the marina

The beautiful mountains against the coast

The waterfalls viewed from the boat tour

 

The backdrop of this place is amazing, the mountains are extremely high and snow peaked, and seem to go on forever.

The view of the water, mosque and mountains at dawn

 

The beautiful mountains, now a lot clearer in the early morning sunshine

 

 

The coast is bordered by beautiful manicured gardens and various view points, all of which can be reached from different streets or roads in the city. There are many sculptures, parks, garden beds and cafe's in these areas, so you can spend hours just wandering the city and watching the world go by.

 

 

A sculpture of a man wearing a traditional tea serving contraption

 

The main shopping strips are lined with many cafe's, clothing stores, makeup and cosmetic stores and street sellers selling sunglasses, fake clothing and bags. We enjoyed having a drink and sweet here watching people go by. 

 

Muratpasa Tram station

 

 

Antalya Shopping centre

Fountain lit up at night, on the main shopping street

 

 

 

We absolutely loved Antalya.  It was a great mix of both traditional and modern Turkey with stunning coast lines, beautiful clean streets and fantastic food.