Rhodes & the Turquoise Coast

From Istanbul I decided to travel to the tourist resort of Marmaris in southwest Turkey, along the Turquoise Coast to the southern city of Antalya, then back to Istanbul again, all by coach in the space of 7 or 8 days. My holiday would include a day-trip to the Greek island of Rhodes, just an hour by catamaran from Marmaris.

The bus from Istanbul crossed the Marmara by ferry, then bypassed Bursa and continued straight down to Denizli and Mugla before turning off for Marmaris. It took 13 hours.

Marmaris is reminiscent of Torremolinos or Fuengerola on Spain's Costa del Sol, only cheaper and visually a little more spectacular. But it's purely a tourist resort, full of English holidaymakers even in early April. Even  the locals insist on speaking English to you.

I stayed three days in Marmaris. It was sunny the whole time, with temperatures in the low twenties. Not warm enough to swim, and many of the local tourist services remained closed. But with its abundance of beach-side bars, restaurants and clubs, there was plenty of atmosphere.

The small bay of Marmaris is virtually enclosed by a pensinsula on one side and towering hills on the other. It all made for a spectacular view, both by day and by night.

On the third day I made the catamaran trip to the Greek Island of Rhodes. This was not cheap, 80ytl (about 40 euro) return - the same as my coach tickets to Istanbul and back - and the old city of Rhodes was a tourist village with exorbitant prices to suit.

Fortunately, just out of the old city, I found a little old lady who sold pure Greek coffee for 1€ a large cup and cheese and cream pies for less, all the while chatting away in flawless English about the unrivalled quality of Greek coffee, and offering her none-too-flattering views on the old enemy on the mainland.

The old city of Rhodes has a unique skyline, dominated by the giant stone fortress, with only the spires of the churches and minarets of the mosques rising above it. It is a labrynth of dusty walls, with the 14th century Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes its centre-piece. Many additional walls were added after Byzantium fell to the Ottomans, creating such an effective set of barriers that the small band of St John's Knights were able to stave off the great Fatih Mehmet, conquerer of Constantinople. Not until the mid-16th century, when the Ottoman Empire had reached its zenith under Suleyman the Magnificent, could the Turks force the knights to surrender (they moved on to Malta, where they would eventually do battle with the Turks again...)

As for me, I moved on to Antalya to encounter the Turks again. I have considered a night or two in Fethiye, Kash or Olympos, but they all looked kind of dead (from the bus window), which is not surprising for this time of year. I guess Marmaris was a hard act to follow.

So I spent all day on the bus taking in the breathtaking views of soaring mountains, turquoise sea, green peninsulas and uninhabited islands. Between Fethiye and Antalya much of the journey was conducted at breakneck speed along cliff edges far above the sea and its rocky shores. I felt decidedly queezy at times!

Antalya was a pleasant surprise. If Marmaris was reminiscent of Torremolinas or Fuengerola, Antalya was a little like Malaga. The helpful locals directed me straight to a comfortable and cheap hostel (2 beds, Tv and ensuite shower for 25ytl a night) with the sea on one side and a busy shopping district on the other.

The morning after arriving I found a cafe on the cliffs overlooking the wide bay, with the towering peaks of the Taurus Mountains on the other side, and sat there for a couple of hours drinking coffees at two Turkish lira a large cup. Nice way to start the day. Temperatures again in the low twenties, with plenty of sunshine. I even spied a school of dolphin down in the pristine waters.