Spring In Fethiye

Spring has sprung,
The grass has grun,
And I know where the birdie is!

The bird is on the wing,
But that’s absurd,
The wing is on the bird!

Well, I don’t know who wrote that but every spring it comes to mind !
What a sad person I must be !

Any way I have been out and about and took some great photos of Fethiye waking up to the spring rays of sunshine. The wild flowers are blooming and insects are humming.

The falcons or eagles are also “on the wing”. I managed to get a couple of pictures of them as the soared above my house.

I took the following shots on the road above the Fethiye quay. In fact you can see the boats in the background in one of the pictures.

On that road just opposite the Horizon Hotel, I scrambled up onto the forested area and took these pictures of wild flowers.

The first one is my favorite picture , the graceful lines of this slender plant are marvelous.

Notice the fallen pine cones - how splendid they look next to the blooming wild flowers!

And here is some moss covering that was so bright green and fresh, it looked good enough to eat !

The Lycian Way

Turkey’s First Long Distance Walk is along the Lycian Way and has been reported by the Sunday Times as one of the world’s top ten walks. To complete the full tour takes about five-six weeks !

Lycia is the historical name of the Tekke Peninsula, which juts into the Mediterranean on Turkey’s southern coast. The mountains rise steeply from the forested shoreline and tiny bays, giving stunningly beautiful views.

The walking route passes many antique sites where once a bustling village or small town existed. Many of theses old stone buildings were in fact built by Greek residents who lived in the south west of Turkey up until 1922 when there was a forced population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
The Trekking Route.

The Lycian way is a 509 km route-marked footpath around the coast of Lycia in south western Turkey. It runs from Fethiye to Antalia. The route has been graded as medium to hard due to the fact that the route often decends down to one of the delightful bays and then rises again to head inland. The easiest region is the one that starts near Fethiye. The route gradually gets more difficult as it progresses towards Antalia.

As you ascend out of Fethiye, by diverting slightly by a few hundred meters, you are rewarded by spectacular views of the gulf of Fethiye and the islands and bays.

The best season for trekking is either in spring or autumn; February-May or September-November.
Although the Lycian Way can be walked in summer, plenty of water and sun hats are needed as the temperatures can exceed 40 C in the shade !

The route mainly follows footpaths and goat or mule trails and the rocky limestone makes the ground pretty hard so good walking shoes or boots are recommended.

Many parts of the Lycian Way pass close enough to towns or villages that have available accommodation, these are: Patara, Kalkan, Kas, Myra, Finike, Adrasan, Olympos, Cirali and Tekirova.
Some nights you may be able to stay in a village house, or camp out.
There are plenty of camping places dotted all along the route - most with drinking water. These are not “campsites” as such but just suitable areas where you can pitch a tent without needing any permission.

The forest are littered with hundreds of Lycian sites of temples.
Here is the base of one such ruin.

Some of the highlights of the Lycian Way are:
• Spectacular walks on the slopes of Baba Dagi, beneath the flight path of the paragliders.
• Stunning descent to Faralya, above the cliffs of Butterfly Valley.
• The 12km long beach at Patara.
• Incredible views over the coast from above Kas and Kalkan.
• The castle, harbour and sunken ruins at Ucagiz.
• The church of the Angel Gabriel in the hills above Myra.
• A breath-taking ridge top walk to Finike.
• Staying at the lighthouse at Cape Gelidonia.
• Climbing the flaming Mount Olympos - 2388m.
• Splashing in the canyon at Goynuk.
• And the ruins of hidden Lycian cities.
• The friendliness of the villagers and the quaint tumble-down houses in deserted corners.
• The deep wooded valleys contrasting with the white rocks, and the blue Mediterranean sea