October 18 – 22, 2022
Go Figure
I don’t know what I was preoccupied with when I made the Pansiyon reservation for Cirali, near Olympos, Türkiye. It was slowly becoming apparent that I hadn’t been paying close enough attention.
The day before we were to leave Kas, I checked our Cirali booking and was alarmed to see we were paying 25% more compared to our other stays in Turkey. The place didn’t look like anything special. I must have made a math error when figuring the per night cost. Ugh.
Those Views
We had stunning views of the coastline as we traveled from Kas to Cirali via bus. The road hugged the very edge of the cliff along the shoreline for much of the drive.
The contrasting colors of the red rock, turquoise, and deep blue hues of the sea, with the bright white foam as waves crashed on the rocks was striking.
The Bus Ride
After almost a three hour ride, the bus from Kas dropped us off on the side of the highway, at an intersection with a narrow road heading off to our right.
We had read that there’d be a dolmus (minibus) every hour at that very intersection. It would take us west, down the mountain towards the coast to Cirali, our destination.
After opening the luggage hold on the side of the bus and giving us our packs, our bus driver pointed towards a dolmus parked about 100 feet away on the side of the intersecting road.
Giving a nod and a smile, he said one word,”Cirali”, (which sounds like Cheer-all-ah) and left us literally in the dirt.
The Cirali Dolmus
It was 2:37 pm. The dolmus had been scheduled to leave at 2:30, but had waited for the bus from Kas to arrive. What luck. So nice that we wouldn’t have to wait an hour for our ride.
We hopped on board and the dolmus driver immediately took-off at a fast clip down the winding road, through lush vegetation. The driver could probably do this run from the highway to the small town and back in his sleep, but I was crossing my fingers that he was wide awake.
The road had several switchbacks, as well as many twists and turns. He was driving about twice as fast as I felt comfortable with. Having dealt with this exact scenario on many past travels in many locations around the world, I just sat back, took a deep, slow breath, and hung on.
The End
I wondered, if we crashed here, in this isolated jungle in southern Turkiye, how our loved ones would even know where the heck to look for us.
Steve has a fancy watch that will notify designated individuals if he has a crash or a fall, but come to find out it’s only set to notify me, and that wouldn’t do much good in this instance. We might want to update that.
After about 15 minutes, we made it down the steep and winding road, and entered the village unscathed.
The Hippie Place
The morning we left our Pansiyon in Kas, our friendly host, Ercan, asked us where we were heading.
Steve said, “Olympos”.
“Ohhhh, hippie place”, Ercan said in broken English.
I’d read that Cirali and Olympos were off the beaten path, and that sounded like a welcome change of pace to us. In fact, the only accommodations in Olympos are campsites or treehouses. We chose to stay in Cirali, the adjacent village, in a Pansiyon, with windows and screens.
If you google “Olympos Beach”, the first thing that comes up, dated 2022, is:
You will see a crowd, mostly hippies, along the Olympos beach lying and sunbathing.
We did’t see any hippies telling untruths on the beach. I suppose it’s a translation issue.
The Beach
Cirali and Olympos share the same 400 meter long beach. The southern end is Cirali beach, and the northern end is Olympos beach. To get to one village or the other, one can easily walk 10-15 minutes up or down the beach.
The Village
Cirali is located in a small plain surrounded by Yanar Mountain, Tahtalı Mountain, Omurga Mountain, and Masa Mountain. The mountains are full of pine trees and glorious.
As we rounded our final corner before entering town, the road flattened out and we saw a few single story buildings lining the road. The driver slightly slowed as we passed through this busy part of the village.
There were a few casual restaurants with all outdoor seating, a smoothie stall, an ice cream hut, and other small shops. It was like driving through a very small town with one main drag.
We saw a tall, skinny man with wild, bushy hair in a tie-dyed shirt getting out of the front seat of his Volkswagen camper-van. How perfect. Then we passed a tatted guy with a long pony-tail walking his baby in a stroller.
We also spotted lots of bicycles, mostly the beach cruiser variety. Bicycles are the main mode of transportation here, and outnumber the cars 3 to 1.
It’s a secluded town, with a beachy, laid-back, non-rushed, life’s good, unkempt surfer-dude, no worries kind of vibe. It certainly wasn’t anything we had ever expected we’d encounter in Turkey. We had no idea.
Where Are You Going?
After passing through the heart of Cirali, we saw the view of the expansive beach on our right, and countless lovely, sleepy looking Pansiyons on our left.
The driver asked us the name of our Pansiyon. We told him Caretta Caretta, and he continued driving.
We kept going and going and going. I was getting concerned. We had passed the village, and now had passed many Pansiyons. Where the heck had I booked us?
I pulled out my phone and opened google maps to plot our hotel location. There it was, the red teardrop icon. We had several more blocks to go, then had to head away from the beach towards the mountains. Things weren’t looking good.
After a few more minutes driving, the dolmus pulled in at a small market.
The End of the Line
“That way to Caretta Caretta”, the dolmus driver said, pointing to the right side of the market, down a brick lane. The lane was lined with a 15 foot hedge on both sides, creating a long tunnel that looked like it had no end.
We got out. Thankfully it was only a six or seven minute walk, past the market, down the lane, around a few turns, out into the countryside. It looked like we were heading away from all civilization.
Then we arrived at Caretta Caretta, our pansiyon.
Garden Delights
We entered and followed a paver garden path through the grounds. The walkway was covered in a pleasantly haphazard menagerie of roses, orchids, and many other flowers, as well as lime (or lemon), olive, and pomegranate trees.
It was somewhat overgrown, like a wild country garden, and quite beautiful. We passed several wooden bungalows each with picket-fence front porches and comfortable chairs for reading and relaxing.
We came to the small reception sign with an arrow pointing us left, up two stairs and onto a covered deck full of sturdy wooden tables and chairs.
We’re Causing a Ruckus
Once on the deck, we looked directly into a room marked “office”. The office was vacant. A couple of youngish women, maybe in their early 20’s, showed up behind us, looking on and whispering to each other. One disappeared and brought back an older woman, who it turns out is the mother of the owner.
The mother looked like she was straight out of the old country. No one spoke a lick of English, and we could tell our presence was causing a stir.
It was obvious they weren’t sure what to do with us. I knew there was someone there that spoke English. I had been texting with her about our arrival time earlier that day.
Next, a man showed up, who also spoke not a word of English. He left and quickly returned with two tall glasses of ice cold, fresh pomegranate juice, which said much more than any words ever could. We finally felt welcomed and took a seat. What a treat.
Katerina Arrives
Another 10 or 15 minutes passed and we finally met Katerina, who, along with her husband, owns the Caretta Caretta Pansiyon. All the various hotel employees looked very relieved. She was gracious and welcoming, and apologized for making us wait.
After giving us the rundown about breakfast and room service, she asked if we smoke cigarettes. It seemed like an odd question, since the majority of people here, both locals and tourists, smoke. We answered in the negative and she was glad to hear that.
She informed us that the Pansiyon is a non-smoking facility. No smoking allowed anywhere in or on the premises.
Stroke of Luck
This was shocking, in the best way possible. I just published a blog post a few days prior (Kas, Turkiye post) about how constant cigarette smoke is making me crazy. This was very welcome news.
What? No smoke will be blown in my face or my general vicinity before, during, or after breakfast? No smoke will come wafting through my open room window on a perfect, mild day?
I hadn’t known this was a non-smoking Pansiyon when I booked. I didn’t know such a thing existed in Turkiye.
Finally it became clear. This was the perfect Pansiyon for us, after all.
Caretta Caretta
Staying at Caretta Caretta has been like a breath of fresh air, excuse the pun. The Pansiyon is like a little hippie oasis with a mix of non-smoking digital nomads, including the obligatory man with a man-bun, and lots of families with small kids. There’s a cat with three kittens, as well as a rooster and hens running loose all over the property.
The Sun’s Up
We wake to roosters crowing, which we don’t mind at all. It’s kind of nostalgic, since we had rooster and hens for ten plus years a few years back.
Family Friendly
The owners are a young couple, probably in their mid-30’s, with a cute 16 month old daughter.
I had a nice chat with Katarina’s husband one morning. Turns out his sister is a Manager at a Costco in New Jersey. He kept mispronouncing Costco and seemed pleased to hear the correct pronunciation.
Another two employees are married and their daughter, maybe a year old, is on the premises all day too.
These two toddlers, and all the other children staying here, keep things casual, fun, and a little loud at times.
Riding Around
Being a fair distance from town hasn’t been a problem. The Pansiyon checks out bicycles to patrons for their use their entire stay.
Bicycle Time
Steve always brings his bicycling rear view mirror when we travel, just in case we get the chance to bicycle. Safety first!
This mirror allows him to see traffic coming up behind us, and affixes to his glasses. It got some stares and even some laughs as we rode around in town. But I will admit it’s super useful.
Riding to the beach takes under 5 minutes. Caretta Caretta has a section of sunbeds and umbrellas for our use at no charge, another perk!
We bicycled the back roads finding a beautiful Mosque with bright blue accents on the tip of its minaret and a gleaming silver dome.
One morning we bicycled down to the other end of town, towards Olympos, then walked an additional 15 minutes on the beach to reach the Ancient City of Olympos.
Ancient City of Olympos
The ancient ruins of Olympos sit on the Mediterranean coast. The site dates back to 300 B.C. It was one of six important Lycian cities. In 77 B.C. Olympos came under Roman rule.
The site is fascinating. The ruins are widely scattered amidst the thick greenery of wild grapevines, flowering oleander, bay trees, wild figs and pines. The archaeological site runs through a rocky gorge and is just inland from Olympos beach. The ruins are scattered along the course of a stream, the Akcay river, adding to the beautiful and tranquil setting.
Wins & Losses
Turkish Bedding
I know I’ve already ranted in another blog post about the Turkish bedding, but I simply must add some more detail. Everywhere we’ve slept for the past six weeks hasn’t had a top sheet. Ok, I can live with that.
My problem is that the blanket, or blankets (often they give us two separate, individual blankets, even if we are sharing one bed), is not big enough to be tucked in. You cannot tuck the end or the sides. No tucking.
The blanket is shaped like a rectangle that, when covering your body, barely covers your toes. It’s easily jostled through the night and is almost impossible to reconfigure in the dark.
I’ll pull up my blanket a bit, half asleep, and the lower half of my body is exposed. Or I’ll grab a handful of the covers after returning from the bathroom during the night and, come morning, I’ll have both Steve’s and my blankets. And poor Steve’s cold.
I can’t imagine that the Turkish people don’t have these same issues. Hasn’t it occurred to anyone to make the covers a bit bigger so they can tuck???
Maybe it’s just me, but I like my covers orderly and predictable. Something only a tuck will accomplish.
Sunbed Togetherness
As we always do, we got up to rearrange our sunbeds to either, a) get in the shade, or b) get more sun. But not this time. This time we were in for quite a surprise.
Our free sunbeds were chained together. This time, we had to move together or not at all. We made it work.
The Bonus Guy
We sat at VALENTİNA DOĞA EVLERİ restaurant, waiting for our dinner to be served. It was taking a very long time. Looked like there was just the owner and one cook. They were working very hard.
After about 30 minutes of waiting, the owner brought over a huge platter of white melon. He said, “Bonus for you”.
Another 15 minutes had gone by., The owner quickly walked by and set another platter on the edge of our table. This time it contained green leaves piled high on the plate, stems and all. It was not a salad.
Again, he said, “Bonus for you”.
It appeared they needed to buy time, so started grabbing anything in the kitchen, throwing it on a plate, and bringing it out as a “Bonus for us”. Too funny.
No Smoking!
I probably don’t need to say it, but the NO SMOKING Pansiyon was soooo wonderful! I feel so spoiled.
Can’t wait to hear about Antalya. Had a friend with a daughter that spent her summers there. Her husband was from Greece, in marble and has a water front home there!