Three Nights Overlooking a Picture-Perfect Harbour with a Mountain Backdrop

Fethiye

Jule 2 - 5, 2008

(Amber)

So after a day of travel which included swimming in blue waters of the Mediterrean and frolicking around in the sun, we arrived in Fethiye around 4pm. We arrived at our hostel, checked in, and went to check out the town. It was quickly clear that this is one of the most scenic we've visited. It's a small and orderly town set on the sea with a mountain backdrop. You can't get much better than that.

Fethiye is a city that sits on the Mediterrean Sea and has a population of about 68,000. Modern day Fethiye is located on the ancient city of Telmessos, ruins of which can be seen in the city, e.g. Hellenistic theater. Fethiye was formerly known as Makri. Greeks deported from the area under the terms of the 1923 exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey founded the town of Nea Makri 'new Makri' in Greece.

Along the water, there are more beautiful boats than I've ever seen in one place. Many are more than 100 years old and a true testament to the art of boat-making. On land, there are outdoor cafes, markets, and tea shops......with cobbled streets and sidewalks of pavers. Nothing is over-the-top or garish. It's all peaceful and incredibly beautiful.

(Matt)

I would actually go a step further and say that Fethiye, overall, is the more picturesque town that we have been in on the whole trip. It is just perfect. The water is hypnotically blue, and the mountains around the town and the bay are spectacular. The town, complete with a Hellenistic theatre, is precious and laid back. There is an amazing fleet of beautiful yachts and little fishing boats in the marinas throughout the harbor. And, importantly, cruise ships do not stop here. This is critical to maintain a seaside city's charm. After a couple of days, I was looking carefully at the real estate listings. Fethiye is excellent.

(Amber)

There are ruins from the Hellenistic periods scattered throughout the scene and grapevines bulging with fruit overhanging the walkways. The bougainvilleas are pink, peach, and white and have more blooms than you can imagine. And the peaches, pomegranates, and olives are falling off of trees by the truckloads throughout town.

Healthy and happy looking dogs roam through town and play in the water (remember my theory on judging a place by the state of its dogs?), and children play endlessly in pretty little playgrounds set up all along the harbor. Turkey is really the first place we've seen that has many, many public places for children to play and people to exercise. The children here probably don't know it...but they are particularly lucky. Their playscapes have a view of the bright blue sea and mountains. If only they could see backdrop at the playscape of my childhood. Ha! In short, it's amazing here.

Matt and I spent our first morning walking around the dry docks and watching the incredible boats be repaired and even some being built from scratch. Matt was a shipwright in another life, we're sure, so he was in heaven. It was incredible to watch these artisans work....and the backdrop was world-class. Not too many tourists stroll through this area, so we got a lot of excited attention. They probably can't imagine why anyone would be so interested in their daily work.

(Matt)

From our balcony at the hostel, which overlooks the harbor, I spotted the dry dock right away, and we went straight there to see the boats on the first day. Most of the shipwrights waved to us as we photographed their work. One shipyard owner saw us taking pictures of the boats in his yard over the fence, and he came out and told us (in Turkish and hand signals) to come into the dry dock and walk around freely and photograph what we wanted. I am kind of obsessed with dry dock and boats in general. So this outing was one of my favorites of Fethiye, though all of was great.

(Amber)

It's the heat of summer, so during the day, we have taken refuge around the small pool at our hostel that overlooks the bay. We've had it to ourselves for the most part, which has been a nice and totally unexpected perk. After a heat-of-the-day swim and nap around the pool, we've showered and headed back into town for long walks along the harbour, dinner, and people watching. We've also taken to backgammon and strong, sweet, hot tea drinking....both basically religions in Turkey.

Food - Staples here are lamb, chicken, fish, and meatballs (adana). All are either served on a plate with rice and veggies, on French bread, or served in a wrap. Everything has been good. I think the issue is that it's a bit repetitive (the things listed above really dominate every menu) and not all that different from what I make at home. For example, last night I had grilled chicken, rice, and veggies. It was good, but I told Matt that it reminded me of a "Tuesday night after work and we're almost out of groceries" dinner.....not the thrilling fare you expect in world-renowned Turkey.

That being said, we've had some incredible lamb, great lentil soups, baklava that could make you cancel your flight home and just die here, great coffees and teas, and locally grown fruit that will actually always come to our minds as we look back on our wonderful time in Turkey. I know this is true. When we think of Turkey, we'll always immediately think of the sweetest and ripest tomatoes, cucumbers, cherries, watermelons, olives, plums, and....peaches. Ahhh...peaches.

We also went to a fish market yesterday and had a great whole sea bass. You go to this market, choose your fish from one of several fish mongers who are set up in the middle, and then take it to an open-air restaurant on the side and pay about $4 for them to cook it and serve it to you with bread, salad, and tea. It took them a really long time to cook it, but when we got it, it was quickly clear that it was worth the wait. They served it with a lemon, olive, and garlic sauce, and it was so tender that it just fell off the skin and bones.

My job this week has been to work on my farmer's tan. It doesn't pay well, but I think it's an admirable pursuit. It's the first time (with the exception of the Red Sea) that we've been somewhere where tank tops are totally acceptable, so I thought it was time to accept the challenge.

One thing I experienced before we got on the boat...and most women will feel for me on this one. I needed a swimsuit. The one piece, appropriate (and even risque!) in the places we've been traveling, is unheard of along the Mediterranean and throughout Europe. I had a 2 piece but lost it in Zanzibar. Long story short.....I had to.....gasp.....find a 2 piece in a foreign country. But that's not all. There was no mirror, so I couldn't make the awful decision on my own. I had 3 choices. I tried them on, and Matt had to peak in a decide for me. Devastating. No woman should go through it. Guys won't understand. But a foreign, mirror-less, husband-involved swimsuit shopping experience is every woman's nightmare. I lived to tell it though. That which doesn't kill me......

After three full days and nights here, we board a gulet for a 4 day sail around the Mediterranean. There will be between 10 and 16 passengers, and we'll make stops in some world-class bays for swimming, fishing, and snorkeling before landing in Olympos, where we'll stay in a treehouse for a few days before moving on. We are really excited. Next post when we're back on dry land next week!

For photos, click here: http://share.shutterfly.com/ action/welcome?sid= 8AatmbZk0ZtFIG8