A long day out to Olympos tour

Bekir collects us from the hotel after breakfast and we set off down the coast towards Kas. Travelling along the winding coast road we pass Kaputas beach and all the islands lying just off shore, every turn a new beautiful view.
At Kas we take the mountain road and look back over a superb panorama of the town itself. Travelling over the mountain we see the wide expanse of the stunning Turkish countryside, and Bekir suggests a stop at Myra for a drink. Dropping down again towards the coast we pass through a wide expanse of greenhouses.

We drive along a dusty road, passed the many greenhouses and arrive at Myra early before to many tourist coaches have arrived. After a sit down and a drink we set off through the many stalls to see the ruins of the amphitheatre and the many Lycian tombs. When we think of the age of these remains we marvel how sharp are the carvings on the stones. Then we take it in turns to sit on the theatre seats and others to stand where the stage was and are surprised by the quality of the acoustics.
A quick check of the guidebook tells us how close we are to Demre the possible birthplace of Father Christmas. Back in the taxi, Bekir drives us across to visit the Church of St Nicholas. We discover the story of why he became the patron saint of children and why we he comes down the chimney to leave xmas presents. Also we see many tourists from Russia who are visiting the church of their patron saint also.

Next we head off out of town again along the coast road and yet more beautiful views. Then we turn of the road into what looks like a car park with a sign 11 km to Olympos, we all think this sounds like a long walk! But out of the back of the car park a small road heads off down the hill, winding down through the trees. We are suddenly in another world with the many wooden houses amongst the trees, apparently a favourite spot for Australian and NZ tourists to Turkey. Here we stop for lunch of freshly made pancakes sat in an otterman. After lunch we drive down to the Olympos site, but do we have time to see the lake and the ruins and to see the Chimarea.

We decide not so we leave the Olmpos site for another day and head off to see the fires on the mountain, just a couple of km away. But that is by foot, by road Bekir has to retrace the road back up the hill to the main road and then 50m along and turn off back down the hill. We stop in the car park and then, in our good shoes, we head off up the mountain over dirt and rocky steps. It’s a steady climb requiring a few stops along the way, but at the end it is worth it to see the natural fires burning out of the mountain side. Back down the mountain and a sit down and a drink, then off on the long journey back to Kalkan. As we travel along the coast we break the journey for a cup of Cay sat by the boats in the town of Finike. Then on along the coast watching the sunset and back to our hotel.