Turkey - August 2009 - Part 1: Altinkum

With Morocco ‘shelved’ for now, we made a last minute change to our holiday plans and headed to Turkey. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with some of Matt’s family in Altinkum, near Bodrum on Turkey’s Aegean Coast.

Most would probably cringe at the thought of travelling to a place in Turkey where there is a ‘Little Britain’ café, prices are advertised in Pounds, all the pubs are decorated in Football memorabilia and chip butties are more the norm than pide or kebap… and I have to say, I have been one of those people who have criticised the way English people have effectively ‘taken over’ parts of the Spanish, Portugese, Turkish and other Southern European coastlines. But having now lived in the UK for a while and spent some time in what felt like a “English-fide” town in Turkey, I have come round a bit.

England isn’t like Australia where only a relatively short drive from any of the capital cities will get you to beachside towns with large resorts and generally good weather, and still be in the same country, same language, same food. I mean I love to get out and experience new cultures and cuisine, but that’s a very different holiday. Not the same as being able to spend a week catching up on the sun, sleep and relaxation that you’ve missed out on by being couped up in the office for the past 6 months.

We landed in Turkey, pasty white and exhausted… 5 days in Altinkum was exactly what we needed. The time flew, even though we really didn’t do too much! The apartment was walking distance from the beach and the shops and markets so generally we had lazy mornings, eventually get to the beach have wander round and then dinner in the evenings. Very nice and chilled out!

We did hire a car and take a day trip out to Pamukkale – couple of hours inland from Altinkum. An area of white cascading terraces, made of terratine which is deposited by the spring water that cascades down the side of the mountain. The area surrounding this was very brown, not a lot of vegetation, so it made the area even more of a contrast.
There was an area where you could swim in the hot springs, but it was SO packed and you had to pay extra for a wristband that allowed you into the water… Just sitting in the water on the terraces was great!

We had lunch in a village nearby. It was our first ‘proper’ Turkish meal… Kofte and Gozmele (savoury pancakes)… yum! And so cheap! It was also great to just sit there for a while and watch people go about their day. One group were having fun weighing themselves on scales used for weighing seeds/herbs. Some of them would have been worth quite a lot!

We also visited a circus while in Altinkum. A bit random, but well worth the £3 or so entrance fee. It was surprisingly fun (despite bad backs from the plastic stools!), particularly the girl doing the acrobatics hanging from ribbons off the roof.

In the end our time at Altinkum ended all too quickly, though we were ready to move on to the next leg of our Turkish holiday.