The Lycian Coast, Turkey

Fethiye is a resort town at the start of the Lycian Coast on the Mediterranean Sea. We quickly realised that it was going to be a sleepy place for our visit. With winter approaching many restaurants, tour companies and guesthouses had already closed down. It was a bit strange to be in a dormant resort town - it lacked atmosphere and felt like a bit of a ghost town. On the other hand, the prices were lower and it wasn’t too crowded. With so many activities closed, we were happy to have just a day in Fethiye.

The Fish Market in Fethiye

Ancient rock tombs in Fethiye

We decided to head to a beach nearby called Kabak. Our intention was to go for a walk, but we got no further than the restaurant and beach (it was even warm enough to swim).

The next day we headed to the remote village of Olympos. It’s an old hippy hangout by the sea, now a backpackers’ haven with room for around 6000 visitors. There isn’t much information on intercity transport in Turkey online, but we were pleased to find that it runs like clockwork once you’re here, with dolmuşes (minibusses) connecting even the smallest of places.

Unlike Fethiye, Olympos had a really cool feel during the off-season. Our accommodation was great, although the description of the rooms as ‘tree houses’ was perhaps a bit of a stretch. With just 20 people in a 200 bed hostel, we felt like we got to know most of the guests and the atmosphere was really chilled. The hostel provided a delicious breakfast and dinner and there was a campfire every night.

A unique attraction at Olympos is Mount Chimaera – a hillside where fires have been burning for thousands of years, fuelled by natural gas deposits. Some think that this site was the inspiration for the myth of the Chimaera, the fire breathing creature of Greek mythology.

A bunch of us from the hostel walked to the flames together one night. Over the flames we toasted marshmallows and some dubious looking sausages.

So far, we haven’t found Turkey as ‘Turkish’ as we expected. We think that’s partly because we’ve been in beachside resort towns, which can seem fairly generic worldwide. Maybe it’s also because we had too many Istanbul stereotypes in our heads. We’ve enjoyed our time here and are feeling really relaxed after our few days on the Lycian Coast, but it will be nice to see some more unique parts of Turkey soon. A few of us from the hostel are travelling on together to Cappadocia, an area with dramatic rock formations at the centre of Turkey.

Written by Craig Drayton and Sally Robertson