Middle East - Anthony Ham [488]
ÇıRALı
Çıralı, to put it crudely, is just two dirt roads lined with pensions. To put it another way, it’s a delightful beach community for nature lovers and post-backpackers. There are about 60 pensions here, some near the path up to the Chimaera and others close to the beach and the Olympos ruins.
Olympia Treehouse & Camping ( 8257 311; campsite/tree house per person incl breakfast TL10/20) Offering a tree-house experience without being in Olympos (and sans party atmosphere), this is a pleasant, peaceful place set by the beach amid fruit trees. Boat and snorkelling excursions can be organised.
Orange Motel ( 825 7327; www.orangemotel.net; s/d TL50/90; ) Another smart and affordable choice right on the beach. The garden is hung with hammocks and the stairs leading to the agreeable rooms are wrought in iron design. The evening meal is about as wild as it gets in Çıralı; nonguests often drop by for a taste of what’s cooking.
Hotel Canada ( 825 7233; www.hotelcanada.com; s/d TL80/100; ) This is a beautiful place to stay, offering pretty much the quintessential Çıralı experience – warmth, friendliness and steady relaxation among hammocks and citrus trees. It’s ideal for families and children. Carrie and Saban are impeccable hosts.
Arcadia Hotel ( 825 7340; www.arcadiaholiday.com; d with half board TL200; ) The Canadian-Turkish owners of these four luxury bungalows have established a lovely escape amid verdant gardens at the northern end of the beach, across the road from Myland Nature (also recommended). The place is well laid out and well managed, and the restaurant is of a high standard.
Getting There & Away
Buses and minibuses plying the Fethiye–Antalya road will drop you at a roadside restaurant from where hourly minibuses go on to Çıralı and Olympos (TL2.75, 20 minutes). From October to April they wait until enough passengers arrive, which can sometimes take a while.
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ANTALYA
0242 / pop 603,200
Once seen by travellers as the gateway to the ‘Turkish Riviera’, Antalya is generating a buzz among culture-vultures. Situated directly on the Gulf of Antalya (Antalya Körfezi), the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean is both stylishly modern and classically beautiful. It boasts the creatively preserved Roman-Ottoman quarter of Kaleiçi, a pristine Roman harbour, plus stirring ruins in the surrounding Bey Mountains (Beydağları). The city’s restaurants and boutique hotels rival those throughout the country, the archaeological museum is world class, there are a number of chic Med-carpet clubs, and the opera and ballet season at the Aspendos amphitheatre continues to draw attention.
Orientation & Information
The otogar is 4km north of the centre on the D650 highway to Burdur. The city centre is at Kale Kapısı, a major intersection marked by a clock tower. To get into Kaleiçi, head south down the hill from the clock tower or cut in from Hadrian’s Gate (Hadriyanüs Kapısı), just off Atatürk Caddesi.
There are several post offices within walking distance of Kaleiçi and a small tourist office ( /fax 241 1747; Yavuz Ozcan Parkı; 8am-7pm). Natural Internet Café ( 8am-11pm; Kaleiçi), next to Cumhuriyet Meydanı, is the city’s most atmospheric café.
Sights & Activities
Around the harbour is the lovely historic district called Kaleiçi, whose walls once repelled raiders. It’s a charming hill full of twisting alleys, atmosphere-laden courtyards, souvenir shops and lavishly restored mansions, while cliffside vantage points on either side of the harbour provide stunning views over a beautiful marina and the soaring Bey Mountains.
Heading down from the clock tower you will pass the Yivli Minare (Grooved Minaret), which rises above an old church that was converted into a mosque. In the southern reaches of Kaleiçi, the quirky Kesik Minare (Cut Minaret) is built on the site of a ruined Roman temple.
Just off Atatürk