We land in Antalya, with our destination Olympos...oranges, pomegrantes, quince,and bougainvillea as tall as a 6 story building!

Antalya is a resort town on the southern coast of Turkey.  It stretches pretty much as far as you can see.  We arrived late at night on July 4 and took a taxi to the White Garden Pansiyon in the old town centre (note: airports are pretty far out of town).  We were only there for the night and breakfast.  However, it was a very enjoyable experience, and I for one, want to go back and spend time in Antalya seeing the sites there. 

Breakfast was a large buffet ("bufe"), with the biggest figs I've ever seen.

The old town centre: surrounded by thick rock walls

Modern Antalya: we've entered the world of solar power.  Every building roof is covered with solar panels and satelite dishes.

From the White Garden Pansiyon, we walked to the tram station and figured out how to ride it. Every place has it's own card or token system, and in this city, the gentlemen selling the card had a bit of fun with me.  Once we got to the bus station, we caught a bus to the drop off for Olympos (an hour and 15 minutes) and then caught another bus down the hill (10 minutes).

Everything we'd read online, or pictures we'd seen, were all about the beach away from the crowds in Antalya, the rustic treehouse accomodations, and the nearby natural flames.  Oh, yeah, and in the jungle there are some ruins if you want to see them. 

Beach

The beach itself was hot, and the water surprisingly cool.  I had to get out to warm up frequently, and Hannah piled hot rocks on top of me to help.  I fell asleep at one point, and got a good giggle when I saw this picture.  I didn't realize how many rocks she'd put on!

Yep, everything they said it would be.  The beach is open 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., and costs 7.50 TL for 10 visits.  Most people start showing up at about 1:00 p.m.

"Rustic Treehouses"

More like houses made out of trees, on stilts. and they have a different definition of rustic than we do.  Air conditioned, with our own bathroom - really nice.  You can, of course, rent a dorm style room to share with others, and use the shared bathrooms. It's a pretty communal area, and very low-key.

Chimera fire rocks

Imagine going camping and never taking fuel for a fire to cook on or warm by because small flames naturally come out of the ground.  Enter the Chimera fire rocks.  The phenomenon is neat to see.  The many people grilling on them...not so much.  A family offered Hannah company and a hot dog, which she loved.  (Note: it's a healthy hike to the site, including 800 slippery, worn steps, in the middle of the night.  "Lamp" (aka flashlight or headlamp) required!

Oh, and by the way, there are ruins in case you want to go into the jungle and see them...

We'd like to rewrite this. How about "Ruins galore!"  All along the path you walk to the Olympos beach.  In the jungle.  Up the mountain.  Beautiful ruins everywhere, dating back to 4 A.D..  We walked and hiked and climbed and had second breakfast in the crumbling Genovese Castle we had all to ourselves.  Heaven.  I will add more pictures to this post later.  I need to eat breakfast. We're in Cappadocia now, and woke up at 4:30 a.m. to catch a shuttle to the sunrise hot air balloon ride.  Beautiful, and all is well!