Chronicle by Manuel Herrara
With the usual expectation in summer trips, we met in the port of Barcelona, all the members of the group, except for two lucky Valencians, were a week ahead of us, through Greece.
Those of us who live in Barcelona were, on this occasion, very lucky… We are next to the boarding.
After the presentations and the delivery of the shirts and the road book, we got to know each other.
In the middle of the afternoon, we proceed to board, today different, because the co-pilots and companions did not enter the hold of the ship, doing so through the gangway.
The journey to Civitavechia (Italy, very close to Rome) begins. The sea was very good and so was the boat.
The next day we disembarked in Italy, as soon as we left we took the highway and almost without stopping the whole trip we arrived at a coastal town called Martina Franca, where we spent the night.
Early we left for the port of Brindisi (in the south of Italy), being with enough time and without problems we passed all the police controls and we were in the queue for boarding. The ship is there with a huge Turkish flag at the stern.
After a while we board, they give us the keys to the cabins, it is a smaller boat than the Italian one, but it is empty, that is, practically for us, so the crossing was very comfortable.
We pass the Strait of Corinth, where the first hundreds of photos were taken, there are places where the ship passes less than half a meter from the excavated walls.
Some of us don’t get up so early.
Near the arrival in Turkey, the ship began to move for a while, but thanks to the recommendation of some wise sailor, we took the usual pills and that’s it.
In the afternoon we arrived at the port of Cesme, where we were provided with the corresponding visas and started the trip by road towards Izmir, and we continued the trip and arrived at night, in Kusadasi and slept in a magnificent hotel, some of them bathed in the very nice pool.
The two Valencian cars joined the rest of the group that night, they arrived happy to have a week’s advantage in Greece.
In the morning we start the route from the hotel to Pamukkale, by road, but first, we visit Ephesus, a magnificent ruin, yes, the Turkish authorities should hire a gardener because the herbs “eat” the ruins. There is no doubt that it was an extraordinary place and you can see the Greco-Roman traces of the place. The theatre is very well preserved.
In the middle of the morning, we continued the route, by road, until we reached Pamukkale, at sunset, to say something, it was more than forty degrees, fortunately the pool and the cool beers did well for the group.
When the sun went down a little we headed towards the “cotton castle”, entering from the north to visit some beautiful ruins, Hierapolis, where, according to history, the rich Romans went to be cured by the benefits of the waters of Pamukkale, but some stayed “forever”.
We arrived at the small lagoons with water, right at dusk, and the landscape is extraordinary, this time the water did not fill them all, but the place is worth it, it certainly looks like cotton, hundreds of other photos were taken there.
We had dinner at the hotel and attended a Turkish wedding that they were celebrating there, it would not be the last.
The next morning we started the route in two groups, to find the first mountain tracks, when we reached the point of separation from the asphalt we started the route towards the heights.
We tried to navigate the landmarks, but we had mistakes of half a kilometer so we did the route in parallel, but in the same direction, we did some extra turns, but we managed to see incredible places. The entire route ran close to two thousand meters high. We could see some valleys, truly beautiful, protected by the mountain range of the maritime Taurus.
That night we arrived in Antalya, the hotel, it was something extraordinary, three days awaited us, in the area. It is a very touristy area, but with a high level.
The hotel is a very modern place and with an out of the ordinary design, the whole hotel is white and red, the breakfast or dinner buffet, is magnificent, certainly, it is a different hotel and well worth staying there.
We get up early to see the ruins of Termessos, to get there you have to do a good walk, also uphill, but it is worth seeing the theater built in that place. In the middle of the morning we set off, along tracks to the south, where Myra was waiting for us in the evening. We made a good detour because, halfway through, the locals told us that part of the track had disappeared due to the floods.
We arrived in Myra at dusk, it is true that it is an incredible place, not only because of its Lycian tombs and the tomb of St. Nicholas, but because of its very well preserved theater, they really are magnificent ruins.
A long journey awaits us along the beautiful Turkish coast, this time on asphalt, we are more than a hundred kilometers from the hotel in Antalya.
The next day, rest to visit Antalya, some took an interesting and fun cruise along the coast on a sailboat, others saw Olympus and Cimera with their eternal fire, but it was hot, very hot, others enjoyed the hotel and its pool, etc. It’s a vacation.
We woke up early and said goodbye to the fantastic hotel, leaving for Aspendos, we arrived at the opening of the enclosure and visited, especially the incredible and well preserved theater, it is the most interesting in the country, in fact it is currently used for shows and theatrical performances.
We leave for Beskonak, which is the gateway to the Kuprululu National Park, a wooded and very beautiful extension, which has been carved out by the river of the same name, giving rise to a spectacular canyon. We did this route alternating asphalt with high mountain tracks, truly beautiful and spectacular, climbing mountains, reaching valleys of singular interest.
After a good day and some heat we arrived at the Dedeman hotel in Konya and some of us relaxed in the pools and massage areas and jacuzzi, etc.
The next morning we visit Konya, a city that is considered to be the cradle of Islam. Except for the door of the National Museum and which is known for the Dancing Dervishes, it is a modern place with a more European air than expected.
We leave at noon to visit, in the middle of the route, Sultahnhani’s caravansarai, located in a strategic and deserted place, but widely used by the camels of the Silk Road.
We leave, after the visit, towards Cappadocia, where the visit of the underground city of Derinkuyu awaits us, it is a strange, unique place, an underground city many meters deep.
We went down about eight floors, as far as the authorities allow, but according to what they tell us it is a small percentage. It is incredible how the ancient inhabitants of the place lived.
We quickly left for Sunset Point, to take the obligatory photos at dusk, it is certainly a very touristy place, but Cappadocia is famous in the world.
We arrive at the hotel at night, tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us to tour Cappadocia with our ATVs.
In the morning, very early and in the company of Bayran, a well-known local, we start to visit Cappadocia and emblematic places such as Urgup, Aktepe, Cavusin Goreme, etc. Of course, we were able to access places where buses can’t, that’s the advantage of traveling in 4×4. All morning we visited the area and very interesting places.
At noon we had a typical meal at the Ortahisar restaurant and some went to the hotel to rest and others to visit the Goreme open-air museum. It is a must-see, the polychrome and very well preserved hermitages make visitors enjoy, the mixture between art and nature has made this site an emblematic place.
Early we left the hotel, part of the group, who had planned to fly in a balloon through Cappadocia, they could not do it due to weather difficulties, heading for Ankara, passing first through Hacibektas, which is a mausoleum where the founder of the sect of the Dancing Dervishes is buried, it is a very well built and preserved place, it is curious, but they allowed us to visit the sarcophagus, which is a place of pilgrimage for Islamists.
We continue towards Hattussas, the oldest ruins in Turkey, in fact, they are from the eighteenth century BC.
Before arriving in Hattussas and due to a mechanical breakdown of one of the cars, the group is divided in two, some by tracks and visiting ruins and others by road visiting original restaurants, we arrive in Ankara. Chaotic city where traffic is hellish.
We stayed in a modern 5* hotel. Those of us who arrived early took a walk through the city’s Bazaar.
The next day we made a route to Afyon, but first visiting the archaeological site of King Midas. The walk around the ruins is very nice, it takes a couple of hours, but they are worth it.
The buildings are very interesting and the mixture with the nature of the place, make this enclave a unique place.
We arrived in Afyon to a typical Turkish hotel, in fact, we were the only tourists staying. The pool of thirty-five degrees Celsius was used for a long time by us.
Very close to the hotel there is a paradise for lovers of cheap clothes, all brands have outlets there, in fact, most of us buy.
The hotel dinner consisted of many Turkish dishes.
We leave the hotel, refuel the cars and leave for Bergamo. A long route, full of curves that took us into the forests of the area. We practically didn’t visit anything, in fact we ate at a roadside restaurant where the menu, minimal, had to be improved by our provisions, especially the wine.
In the afternoon we arrive at the last hotel of the trip, located near Bergamo, as the ruins close at 5 pm, we do not arrive on time. We took advantage of the hotel pool and visited the city of Bergamo, taking a walk before dinner, which was enlivened by live music, as they celebrated the dance of some newlyweds.
The next day we visit Bergamo, a mythical city, where the ruins that remain (most of them are in Berlin) give an idea of the emblematic place chosen for its construction. The walk through the place is very interesting, there are very tall columns in the original places and the theater built on the side of a mountain is still well preserved.
A while later, we arrived in Izmir, the old Izmir, it is a chaotic city in traffic, it took us a while to park the 4x4s, in fact we left them in the parking lot of a hotel.
We visited the city and above all, the artistic and artisanal bazaars. Until the time to arrive in Cesme to board.
At 7 p.m. is the appointment at the embarkation place, we prepare the embarkations and make the obligatory queue, on this occasion, the boat is overflowing, full, in fact we tried to change some cabins for some superior ones and it was impossible.
The crossing is long and all the places on the boat are quite full, not like on the way out the boat seemed ours. The disembarkation in Brindisi is slower than expected, but the Turks do not seem to be logistical specialists.
As soon as we get off the boat we head north, as we have just enough time to connect with the Ferry to Barcelona, we have more than six hundred kilometers left and just the right hours.
We finally arrived, as usual we have to wait, but the boat is very good and empty, which provides us with comfort and availability of all the stays for us and some carriers who save the road from Rome to Barcelona.
In the evening we had the farewell party, where the drinks had a certain relaxing effect on some, in fact, there was dancing until very late, it was a very pleasant time.
The next morning, the sea got angry and the waves were big, not even the biodramine took away the dizziness of some who did not appear until they reached Barcelona.
We disembarked and said goodbye to the group, in fact it took us a while because we made friends and honestly, it was a very fun, sensible group of good friends.
We will have a very good memory of the people.
