A glimpse of the peaceful Kabak Valley

It was an interesting day yesterday visiting the ghost town of Kayakoy.  It’s my fourth day at Faralya and seemed like I’m the only one left at George House and the family that owned the place is planning to visit a relative which will leave me virtually alone.  So I decided to head down to Kabak Valley for a daytrip.  The owner offered to drop me to there which was very nice of him.  That’s the beauty of small towns and remote villages in Turkey, you’ll get to experience their hospitality.  I think I’ve mentioned this previously – the more remote the area is, the more people are hospitable and friendly.

The distance from Faralya to Kabak is about 8 kilometers and I was dropped right at the transport depot at the center of the neighborhood.  It’s where the minibuses coming from Fethiye and Oludeniz terminates and the jeepneys that goes to the valley down below are also waiting for passengers.

Like Faralya, this valley of few houses and campsite accommodations, is a hamlet in the village of Uzunyurt and is not yet classified as a “village” as the population is trivially a couple of hundreds.  Kabak is also along the route of the Lycian Way trail.

Main road and center of Kabak.

The local residents live along the main road above the valley and most of the houses have terraces with a panoramic view of the mediterranean sea.  There are no amenities whatsoever except for the two mini stores selling basic commodities and couple of local restaurants along the main road.

Grapes are dangling above the terraces of some houses and some oddly shaped pumpkins.  Noticeable is the bounty of fruit-bearing trees around the place like pomegranate, citrus, olives and other varieties that I'm not familiar with.   

I was tempted to pick some grapes but hesitated for a while, I'm not used to picking fruits at someone else's property.  A group of local tourists who may have been passing by got off their jeepney and plucked some, and so did I.  I sat quietly at the corner of the terrace with no one minding me, no one there in fact, it was quiet, just some kids playing football along the dirt road who were unmindful anyway, or perhaps it's a culture thing.

The ambiance is so calm that I waited for some time, getting the vibe of the place.  I was a bit cautious as the tranquility evokes some kind of unusual character to it, almost enigmatic, the thought about some remote enchanted places entered my mind and this might be one of those.

I went to the only open store cum restaurant at the end of the road, bought a bottle of water and asked if they serve any meal.  It’s not much to choose from and my tummy is starting to groan.  I ordered some vegetable salad – steamed cauliflowers and broccoli - with yogurt and a basket of bread.  Climbed up the stairs on the upper balcony and devour on my healthy lunch whilst enjoying the vista of the rugged mountains and the glimmering cerulean ocean in the distance.  In places like this, it is hard to strike a conversation with locals especially for a foreigner like me who have inadequate knowledge of the local language.

Healthy lunch at Kabak.

After lunch, I walked down one of the path that leads to the beautiful campsite of the Olive Garden Resort with its lonely swimming pool surrounded by corn shrubs and green grass perched on the side of the valley.  I encountered just a couple of foreign visitors staying at one of the wooden bungalows and a staff who is oblivious of some passing tourist like me.  I descended further down at the back along some dried grassy path to have a peek of the beach cove beneath.  It was a stunning sight.  Even the small beach below is void of any tourist. 

There are other campsites dotting the sides and foot of the mountain near the beach.  Kabak is probably one of the remotest unexploited destinations I have ever been in this country. This place is very laidback and probably the main activity is hiking and doing nothing but soak up with the bounty of nature.

Olive Garden campsite.

It’s getting late in the afternoon so I hiked back to the main road and waited for the arrival of the minibus coming from Oludeniz right where I took my lunch.

I arrived at my accommodation in Faralya and found that the place is empty.  I have to pack my bags, get a restful night and leave early in the morning to the town of Fethiye.

One of the restaurant, and the red jeepney heading down the valley.