Pt2 - 6: THE WHITE TERRACES, AND THAT'S A WRAP FOR TURKEY...

This morning’s two hundred and thirty seven kilometre drive from Fethiye took a lazy 4 hours and factored in a little scenic detour through the mountain villages of Altinyalya and Gölisar. We could tell by the way everyone stopped and watched the car go by they’re not used to strangers in these here parts; they’re probably still talking about those dumb tourists who drove through one year. Snow lay on the peaks all around and the countryside, though ruggedly beautiful, is a season behind at this altitude and has not yet stirred to spring. Bare poplars, ramshackle buildings, families in their horse-drawn carts meandering along the roadside, orchards of sticks just beginning to bud; we could’ve been passing through a film set of pre-revolutionary Russia.

We’re now installed in room 213 of the Lycus River Thermal Springs Hotel in Pamukkale. It’s about five kilometres out of town in a precinct of upmarket touristeleries. By Turkish standards the A$120/night tariff is stratospheric, but all things considered you’d be hard pressed to find better value in Oz. The room is air-conditioned, has a fridge and a bathroom with an actual bath and instantaneous gas hot water and a hairdryer that looks like a vacuum cleaner. The Lycus also boasts a ridgy didge thermal pool 12 meters in diameter, a jacuzzi and a small but fully equipped Turkish bath, and they throw in both breakfast and dinner. This afternoon we tried the thermal pool, the jacuzzi and the hamam in that order, but we’re not sure we got it right so we’re going to have to do it all again tomorrow.

We both picked up a nasty bug in Istanbul which has been getting steadily worse, resolving into a hacking cough neither of us can shake. Tess is particularly debilitated. We hadn’t planned it but we’re hoping a couple of days taking the curative waters here will make a difference. I slipped in to town this arvo where the chemist dispensed some antibiotics over the counter so fingers and toes crossed they’ll also have some effect in the next few days.

*

The sky is again sullen and the white lime terraces look more like dirty dishwater when we arrive. There are few people here at this hour, so we’re able to clamber over them at leisure. By the time we’re ready to leave the cloud has burned off and they are indeed the blinding white of postcard fame. There is a nascent warmth in the air too, as though summer is about to explode.

We’ve had to make the unhappy call and cancel Cappadocia. We’ve run out of Turkey time and besides, by all reports Cappadocia is literally frozen solid at the moment so it doesn’t feel quite so bad bypassing it. Barring any mishap, we plan to be on Samos in a couple of days; we’re definitely in the mood for warmer climes.

*

 

We broke the run from Pamukkale back to Selçuk with a stopover in Aphrodisias, which was notable for two things; the stadium, which was poorly preserved but the first we’ve seen, and the film crew shooting a Turkish swords and sandals epic in the ruins. We’ve seen TV crews shooting docos in museums but never a live action flick. The actors hammed it up in costume for the tourists while they waited for their call, all good fun.

Aphrodisias to Selçuk took just two hours on the expressway, the perfect conditions for Turkish drivers to go troppo. It was an orgy of flashing headlights, blaring horns and overtaking full bore into oncoming traffic. I can truly say I drove Turkey and survived.

Tomorrow we sail for Samos on the 8:30 ferry.

*

Closing out the Quirky Turkey file:

·       The cops have loud hailers in their cars to harangue the population at 200 decibels. In Fethiye on the Thursday before Bayram they cruised the streets yelling, “Billywilly wiglu innit can ve stikyü anna wop boppa loo bop a wop bam boom!!” The tone suggested they weren’t wishing everybody a happy holiday. It came across more like, “Any of you worthless worms play up this weekend and you’ll be in shit so deep you’ll need a snorkel!”

·       With rare exceptions the bathrooms in Turkish hotels are designed to become swimming pools after a shower, so you need to wear gumboots to take a piss in the middle of the night. The toilets are placed so you have to sit sideways and rest your chin on the basin with the cold water tap in your right eye and the dunny roll holder up your left nostril.

·       There is nothing the Turks can’t make tea out of.

·       Rolling cigarettes is as much a party trick here as it was in the Middle East. I could make a living on three performances a day using the jumbo lighter I bought in Aswan for an encore.

·       Every town has an Atatürk Cad (street) and the Ghazi’s statue somewhere prominent. Every home and business is decorated with his portrait and the great man’s likeness adorns all currency.

·       Most Turkish people are genuinely charming, friendly, helpful and good humoured. This is not the land of Midnight Express.

·         Of all the countries we will travel on this adventure Turkey is the only one on anything approaching the continental scale of Australia. There are vast tracts of wilderness, a wildly diverse landscape of natural beauty, unique landforms and climatic variations, rare historical sites and fabulous food to keep the dedicated traveller in the country for many months. We’ve barely scratched the surface and haven’t seen anywhere near enough of it. Time pressures have robbed us of the opportunity to visit The Black Sea, Cappadocia, the famous bird reserves and the eastern parts of the country, and poor weather has cheated us of the full splendour of the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. I will return one day to see it all.

Coming up: Country #5...