Walks amongst the ruins in Antalya, Turkey

For my first (and hopefully only!) foray into medical tourism, I decided at the last minute to travel from Britain to Antalya, Turkey for a dental treatment. As the entire treatment would require around one week, I had time for to enjoy some of the local parks and archeological ruins the city and province of Antalya offered. With three extra days added afterwards, I also ventured farther afield south along the Lycian coast to the village of Çıralı. (For those readers who are not geography majors, the crescent-shaped province of Antalya is located in southwestern Turkey along the Mediterranean Sea, centered on it’s eponymous capital city of 1.4 million people. Tourism is the dominant industry). The late April seasonal addition of a daily British Airways flight direct from London Gatwick to Antalya made this trip simpler and more cost effective.

Enjoy some of the archeology and landscapes I captured on my “off days.”

Hadrian’s Gate, Antalya, the entrance our small tour group took into the old town.

View with flowers from Kecili Park, Antalya

Coastal view near my hotel, east of the old town in Antalya

Another coastal view near my hotel. These lovely flowers, sadly, are invasive lantanas.

Mehmet Manavoglu Park, about a 5 minute walk from my Antalya hotel.

Poolside view at the Hotel Akra Antalya. It is arguably the best resort hotel in Antalya and less than 10 minutes’ walk from the dentist.

Perge stadium. I joined a tour group to the ancient cities of Perge, Aspendos, and Side, an all-day trip with Solymos Travel that included a set lunch of some local fish.

Colonnaded street in Perge. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to wander around after the “official” tour.

The Theatre of Aspendos, the best preserved of antiquity.

The Acropolis in Aspendos. I was the only one to walk up here from the Theatre, but again we had sufficient time to explore on our own.

Temple of Apollo detail, Side. Side is mostly a sea-side touristy (though in a nice way) town that appeals to a predominantly German clientele. The history was interesting, nonetheless.

Side archeological complex aerial view, a photo I grabbed off the internet

Manavgat Waterfall, north of Side. Beautiful, but mostly an Instragram spot.

After four visits to the dentist, all was sorted and I got a private transfer down the coast about 70km to the chill beach town of Çıralı for three nights. Along the East Lycian Way, the Ancient City of Olympos (Olympus), Antalya, is just to the south.

Map of the East Lycian way and other park trails and sights. Çıralı and Olympos are circled in red on the left.

Olympos beach with Acropolis hill and castle. Venetians, Genoese, and Rhodians all built fortifications along this coast.

Olympos River estuary. Innumerable frogs were in full throat on the two mornings I visited.

A rather depleted Olympos river and bathhouse ruins, in the Ancient city of Olympos. Some nice photos and a short history of the city can be found on this site.

Ancient Olympos Necropolis church. The visitor center is on the far right.

A small portion of the Bishop’s Palace, Olympos

Detail of “building with mosaics”, Olympos. Remnants of the floor mosaics are now in a museum in Antalya.

Çıralı beach and town view from Olympos hillside

An arch on the south side of Olympos. The area south of the river was much overgrown and the focus of my 2nd day’s walk.

West Theatre entrance from the inside, Olympos

Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) with baby below Çıralı castle. The vulnerable *Caretta caretta* (loggerhead sea turtle) also nests here from mid-May to the autumn.

Çıralı mosque. I spent a long morning on a circular hike around the village and into the surrounding hills. Tourism has displaced some of the traditional agriculture, though much still remains.

Canada Bungalow porch view, Çıralı. It was a fine choice for my short stay, though a bit out of town. My recommendation is the Azur Hotel, though there are numerous accommodation options amongst the pines and orchards.

Tomorrow I begin my travels to Cusco, Peru for a 9 day trek to the Incan ruins of Choquequirao and Machu Picchu. This is the trek that was cancelled last year and I was fortunate that KE Adventures decided to run it this year with only 3 clients. Stay tuned for more archeology and hikes next month!

The Vagabond Hiker

PS The dental treatment I had in Antalya went wonderfully and the cost savings more than paid for the short vacation to Turkey.

Walks amongst the ruins in Antalya, Turkey

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