Escape to Olympos

After a couple of days stopover in Antalya, finally I’ll be moving on to the feature destination during this travel bucket list of mine.  I did not regret stopping over at Antalya though because I did enjoy my stay at the old part of the city – in Kaleici – it has a certain charm deviating from the modern part of the city full of big tall and concrete structures.  

With my backpack, I jumped on to the new fast tramvay that goes to the main bus terminal in Antalya, hangout at the terminal café on the second level for a while just to gather some information on getting to my destination plus I was hungry.  I took the Bati Antalya minibus that goes to Kas on the way to Olympos. 

The minibus dropped me off at a roadside junction café along the main highway, it’s well coordinated, the guys at the café informed us to wait for the transportation that will take us to the town of Olympos down the valley.  I was chatting with an American fellow lone traveler heading the same direction as I was while we were sipping hot tea and nibbling on some snacks for almost half an hour when our ride, a dolmush (shared van) arrived.   It took almost half an hour before we reached the lines of pension houses and I was actually dropped off in front of the Orange Pension which I booked the night before.

By the way, this is the Lycian Olympos, not to be confused with the Mount Olympus of Greece, home of the 12 Olympian Gods of Greek Mythology.

The town of Olympos is pretty much a line of simple accommodations mostly wooden bungalows or cabins or tree houses surrounded by green covered mountains along the long and only street in the village that ends at the entrance of the ancient Lycian ruins and on to the beach.

My wooden cabin at Orange Pension.

My accommodation is a wood cabin which seemed to be the standard dwellings all over the village, it’s fitted with  airconditioning which came in handy during the cold night.  The cabin is surrounded by orange trees and it’s for the guests to pick for free, a lot of them are naturally falling off the trees and lying around the grounds.  There was a big heated common hall with several chairs and tables and a vast courtyard with comfortable Turkish-style lounges where guests can just sit and relax or dine in, a couple of hammocks too.

Olympos has a relaxed hippie vibe to it due to its natural surroundings and the lack of modern concrete structures.  You won’t find big grocery stores or fastfood joints, instead there are several small stores or market along the street that sells basic necessities and simple restaurants mostly within the pension houses.  No ATM machines, so be ready and take as much as you need during your stay.

Mountain climbing.

The street on the far end.

Bridge to a pension house?

There isn’t much in modern amenities, but basically it would suffice for a comfortable stay, and hey,  the pension house I was staying at have a good wifi internet connection, electricity is open the whole time, there’s hot showers albeit sporadic, a TV at the breakfast hall and a nice bonfire gathering in the evening.

And for some urgent work that was emailed to me from the office, I’m sulking at one corner tapping the keyboards of my laptop instead of hanging with the few guests gathering around the bonfire.  Why did I ever bring this machine with me.  If I’ve chosen to have left it in Istanbul, I wouldn’t be compelled to do some work.  It’s a good thing though, the wifi internet is working great, otherwise I’m sitting over there in front of the flames having a good night conversation with the other guests at the pension house.

But hey, this is a paid vacation whatever that meant, so I might as well put the pay into use.

Orange trees around every pension houses in Olympos.

Couple of weeks ago, I was in the isolated but relaxing far from the “developed world” small town of Siwa Oasis in Egypt and somehow, it’s in a parallel universe with Olympos although they are entirely of different context.  Siwa is a flat arid desert whereas Olympos is mountainous and beside a beach.  But in concept, they do share the same relaxing atmosphere.

It is still a cold month so the whole place is not yet crowded but I could imagine that during the summertime, this place might be packed with groups of adventurous travelers and local tourists who want to escape the bustling cities.  But I like a place when it isn’t overcrowded yet so it’s a good timing for me.

I will be walking around the ruins the next day and perhaps a swim at the beach so let me finish this home work (or office work) so I'll be having a good energizing night sleep tonight.