Turkey - A Land of Myriad Colours

I was switching jobs and wanted to make the most of the break in between. Going on a holiday was my first option. Not just any holiday, but a solo trip. Being a mother of two young boys (a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old), a solo vacation is like a distant dream. But if it’s important to you, you make it happen! While Vietnam was on top of my list, the corona virus has just begun affecting countries and I eventually had to cancel out on all locations in the South East Asian region. This was in March 2020.

I heard of Turkey from a few friends and decided to go ahead with my booking before doing much research on what the country had to offer. One of the objectives of my travel this time was to limit my planning. By habit, I am one of those who plans until the last meal on the trip. This time around, I wanted it to be more spontaneous.

The Gorgeous Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Turkey is a vast country and requires several weeks to explore and enjoy. With just 10 days at hand, I didn’t want to give up. I picked three destinations within the country. Here’s how my solo holiday went.

Mixed responses to safety

Is it safe for female solo travellers? What about the frequent terror attacks? What about the violence at the borders? What about the refugee situation? There were so many questions I was confronted with when I spoke of my travel plans. Of course, I did my reading around the safety aspects. And now after my return, I can say that not for once did I feel my safety compromised in Turkey. It was safe in every aspect. And yes, Turkey didn’t have a single case of the virus while I was there.

Visa

With no fancy visas in my passport, I had to apply for the regular offline visa. With a travel agent’s help, you can get one in about 10-15 days. Yes, there is lot of documentation to be done including a ‘consent letter’ from my husband for my solo travel. I felt like a child in school seeking written consent from a parent.

Choosing your destinations

Ranked as one of the top destinations in the world, Turkey is a great mix of historical marvels, natural wonders and is a melting pot of cultures. There is something for everyone. Whether you want to soak in the Byzantine and Ottoman glories of Istanbul, sun bathe at some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, delve into history wandering through ruins such as Ephesus, or see some of the world's most surreal panoramas in Pamukkale and Cappadocia, this country will never fail to woo you. This is the toughest part if you are on a time-crunch. I picked Fethiye, Pammukale, Cappadocia and Istanbul and loved every place, each so different from the other.

The thermal pools of Pammukale

The ruins across Turkey

The stunning Turkish Coast

The valleys of Cappadocia

The Bosphorus

The Galata Tower and the Istanbul skyline

Weather in Turkey

I travelled at the end of winter, so it was chilly all the time with a few rainy days as well. For the average Indian, it was very cold. The temperature was anywhere between 2 degrees to 15 degrees depending on the region. I am not complaining because I loved being in warm clothes all day.

Istanbul on a rainy day

Food

Whether you are a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian, fear not, Turkey has you covered everywhere. While most people only speak of the kebaps and doners, there is so much more. From elaborate breakfasts to desserts you can’t get over, to the best of meats, Turkey will not disappoint you. Tea is an integral part and a non-tea drinker like me had about 5-6 cups a day.

There's always space for some bread

Looks like meat but it's not

Mezze for all

Any time is tea time in Turkey

Accommodation

The options are so many, that you can pick whatever suits your budget. From resorts to boutique hotels to hostels, Turkey offers every kind of hotel in every destination. I preferred hostels as a solo traveller. Hostels are great meeting grounds of like-minded people travelling on a budget and want to make the most of their time. I coined a new word – ‘check-in’ friends. They are people who check in at a similar time as you so you can plan different activities together. In all the places I stayed at, I made friends from different countries and going around the place with them on some days made my holiday a lot more exciting and made visits memorable. But if you choose hostels, be ready for dormitories and other shared facilities. They are clean, safe and are very light on the pocket.

 

All tucked up in a cozy cave

I love hostels

Transportation

Turkey is well connected with various travel options. Between cities, you have bus and flight options, both costing almost the same. So, it narrows down to the time you wish to spend. I opted for flights most of the time because I didn’t have too much time and buses would mean that I would be travelling overnight for 10-14 hours. All cities have public buses that ply between the airport and the city and they go by different names. Smaller cities have minibuses called Dolmus and taxis for commute. Istanbul has city buses, taxis and trams. You will however need to buy a transport card that’s easily available in the city.

 

The ferry at Istanbul

Cash and spending

While I carried enough cash, I found that most places accepted cards as well. A travel card was truly handy in my case. I chose to ignore the transaction fee because I didn’t want to carry too much cash around. I travelled light and that included my wallet too.

Fethiye

Picturize turquoise waters, calm seas where you can float all day, pretty walkways covered with umbrellas, a gorgeous looking harbour with snow-capped mountains in the background. Well, that’s Fethiye for you. A small town located on the beautiful Turkish coast closer to Greece, this was my favourite destination. Life is slow here. Most tourists head to Antalya or Bodrum for its beaches and nightlife. I picked the quieter alternative and I don’t regret it.

The Tlos Ruins

The calm and clear waters of Butterfly Beach

Swimming into the cave

Ölüdeniz (popular by the name of Blue Lagoon) is situated 14 kms south of Fethiye and is famous for its beach resorts. A typical beach, there are several activities you can choose from. You can choose from boat tours, paragliding, water sports, scuba-diving and much more. But being an off-season, I found myself at the beach with about 10 other people. There were no activities either. Fethiye is strict about their tourist season and maintains quiet times otherwise. I opted for a private boat tour where I toured a few islands on a speed boat.

The luxury of having a private speedboat to yourself

The abandoned town at Kayaköy

If you like exploring the ruins, a visit to the ghost town of Kayaköy should not be missed. Completely abandoned since 1923, Kayaköy was once home to around 10,000 people. Yakaköy is another place to visit for ruins. Being a little far away from town, very few people visit these ruins.

The Fethiye fish market is an attraction by itself. Pick from the fresh fish at the market and have it cooked right there at one of the restaurants. I went there twice during my three-day stay. The town closes early, so its ideal with simple travellers like me who like quiet evenings. 

A seafood lover's paradise

Click here to read my detailed blog on Fethiye

Pammukale and Hierapolis

The calcite travertine hot springs of Pammukale (translates to cotton castles in Turkish) is a geological wonder that is a must-visit when you are in Turkey. The surreal, brilliant white terraces are made of several warm pools rich in minerals. Pammukale is also home to some remarkably well-preserved ruins of the widespread Greek-Roman city of Hierapolis. With such a unique combination of natural and man-made wonders, it’s no surprise that this is a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Hierapolis ruins

Pammukale

The hard-to-resist thermal pools

I chose to travel to Pammukale from Fethiye which is a 4-hour journey by road through Denizli. Again, with picture-perfect sceneries throughout the journey, I could go back to Turkey just for this experience. While I did my visit in a day, I strongly recommend you stay a night at least to avoid rushing through this beautiful site.

Cappadocia

Straight out of a fairytale, Cappadocia is almost dreamlike with its fairy chimneys, cave dwellings, underground cities, and balloons drifting across the landscape. Cappadocia was originally a lake, which filled with volcanic ash creating a huge volume of tufa, a soft volcanic stone that has eroded to form the fantastic chimneys and columns. While there are small hamlets around, Göreme is the most popular town and is sure to leave you mesmerized. The town offers several cave-dwelling options and I picked one cozy little cave hotel for my stay of two nights. I took a hot air balloon ride on my first day at Cappadocia. The favourable wind conditions and the chilly weather made it perfect for a fascinating and memorable ride. That was the only day the weather was good in that week and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Cappadocia - beyond words

Hills and valleys all around

And yay...that's my balloon

8 floors underground

Tour operators in Göreme offer several tours (Red, Green and Blue) that span the entire region. You can also do these tours on your own. But being a solo traveller, it was economical to just go with one of the readily available day tours. The green tour that I opted for covered visits to the Göreme panoramic viewpoint, the pigeon valley, the Onyx Jewelry Factory, Derinkuyu Underground City, Ortahisar Panaroma, Mustafapaşa Old Greek Village, Keshlik Monastery, Taşkınpaşa Medrese, Sobessos Ancient City and the Soğanlı Valley. At 40 Euros, this was a good deal as most places were far from town and the travel was comfortable in a Mercedes minibus. The lunch in the valley along with some awesome fellow travellers was the icing on the cake.

An experience to remember

On day 2, I decided to do a little walking tour by myself. I walked a couple of kilometres to the Open Air Museum that Göreme is famous for. The rock-cut churches in this valley date to the 11^th and the 12^th century and have some beautiful depictions on the walls and ceilings. However, with the photographic restrictions, I managed only a few external pictures.

The Open Air Museum

Churches at the museum

Avanos

With some time at hand before I headed to Istanbul, I decided to make a quick trip to Avanos – a pottery town bordering Göreme. The Red River quietly flows through this small yet picturesque town. With several pottery workshops dotting the town roads, I learnt a little about the different ceramic and pottery work of the region. But what I enjoyed most was my super-quiet time watching the river. It's so unlike me to sit for more than an hour staring at the river.

 

Never miss a chance to visit one of these

The Red River at Avanos

I could stay here all day

Istanbul

Istanbul with its mix of culture, history, and modern luxuries is a paradise of a different kind. This city attracts a huge number of tourists all year round and is built for memorable travel experiences. The city has so much to offer for travellers of every kind. You can spend weeks and months here and still have lots left to do. So, you can imagine my 3 days in Istanbul were just a ‘touch and go’. With my hostel in the Sultan Ahmet area, most of the famous landmarks were within walking distance. 

The Blue Mosque

The Basilica Cisterns

The Hagia Sophia

While in Istanbul, you cannot skip a visit to the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, the Galata Bridge, the Basilica Cisterns, and the Grand Bazaar. I covered these on day 1 of my stay which gave me more time to explore the rest of the city. 

The historical attractions are a great way to see the journey Turkey has been through various empires. It’s marvelous how these monuments have stood strong through time and one can spend hours marveling at their architecture and be mesmerized in their stories. Like most European cities, Istanbul also has many walking tours to choose from. You can choose various paths depending on your interests. And they work well for solo travelers and backpackers. And guess what? Many of them are ‘free’ (more like you pay what you feel like). I picked one for food and I loved it. I wish I had taken one of the historical places as well.  

Inside the Hagia Sophia

As you know, Istanbul stretches on either sides of the Bosphorus and is the only city divided between two continents – Asia and Europe. Both sides have a different vibe and I suggest you take time to visit and stay on both sides of the city. For my food tour, I visited the Asian side – Kadikoy and along with Can, my guide, I explored all the street food of Istanbul. This was the highlight of my stay in Istanbul and I wouldn’t mind going back just for this. For a foodie like me, I enjoyed walking through the narrow alleys trying out local delicacies in places that are popular with locals.

The Galata Tower by night

I love markets and chose to spend an entire day going to the bazaars in Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar is a must-visit with hundreds of shops selling everything from apparel to sweets and dry fruits to jewellery to artefacts. It reminded me of the souks in Dubai. While I hate shopping (yes, I really do), I love walking in markets interacting with traders and understanding what the place has to offer. I bought my stock of souvenirs here. The Spice Bazaar is another place to shop for edible treasures of Turkey. Try out the different varieties of Turkish delight or teas, I am sure you’ll have lots to carry home. I went twice to the Spice Bazaar which is just beside the Galata Bridge in Eminönü, simply meaning that I loved the place.

The truly grand Grand Bazaar

The Spice Bazaar

The Eminönü pier and the Galata Bridge are always bustling with life at any time of the day or night. My hostel-mate Alex and I spent a lovely evening just watching the sunset on the Galata Bridge. With several eateries lining the water edge, locals spending hours with their fishing rods and the silent traffic moving past, passenger ferries coming in every 15 minutes, there is never a dull moment here. The views of the city from the bridge are just breathtaking and so picture perfect.  

On the Bosphorus

Stairway to the Galata tower

My initial plan was to spend 5 days in Istanbul but with flight cancellations due to the virus scare, I had to cut short my holiday. I am glad I chose a time when there were not many tourists which meant public transport was not crowded, I got pictures without photo bombers and I didn’t have to wait in long queues at the places I visited. The weather was cold with the warmest being 7 degrees, perfect for outdoors and walking tours.

With so much more left to do, Istanbul goes back into my list of places to visit again. Turkey was the best place considering it was safe for a female solo traveller and was safe from the Coronavirus while I was there.

 Note: Turkey was not any holiday for me. It was God’s precious gift to me to experience His marvellous creation, meet wonderful people, and experience so many great things. And through it all He kept me safe to tell of His wondrous ways. Amidst all the chaos in the world around about the virus, He still gave me a holiday I’ll never forget. Yes, you might find it strange that I am talking to you about God on a holiday. But yes, what good is any experience or talent, if it does not give glory to the creator.

The Turquoise Paradise – Fethiye

If you were a child who grew up in the ’90s, you probably had a treasure of picture postcards of countries you never visited and destinations you didn’t know existed. Traveling to Turkey was like looking into those cards, one at a time and seeing each of them come alive in front of me. Waters in different shades of blue, lush green mountains, snow-capped mountains, decorated streets, ships docked along the harbour and sunsets by the beach. You get the idea, don’t you?

Turquoise paradise

The Turkish turquoise coast attracts scores of tourists from the world over. Amongst the many popular destinations along the coast, Fethiye, a natural harbour in the Turkish Riviera is among the prettiest towns to stop by. I found it as a perfect and balanced destination compared to the crowded city of Antalya and the very active town of Bodrum. I was on a solo holiday, so I wanted some peace and quietness. Actually, lots of it!

Fethiye is a quaint town that gives you a taste of slow life. The people are polite (as in the rest of Turkey as well) and a little more sophisticated and seemingly rich in this part of the country.

Getting there

The closest airport to Fethiye is Dalaman which is approximately 1.5 hours away. There are daily flights to Dalaman from many cities in Turkey, but most come via Istanbul. I took an evening flight from Istanbul and was in Dalaman in about 2 hours. There are two airport shuttle buses – Muttaş and Havaş available to ferry passengers from the airport to Fethiye and is the most cost-effective means of travel here. The buses have stops at prominent locations and the fare to Fethiye was 23 TL. The last stop is the Fethiye Otogar (bus station) and you can take a Dolmus or taxi to your hotel from here.

Taxis are another option and could work well for groups or if you want to reach your hotel directly.

You can also reach Fethiye by buses from most Turkish cities. I heard from other travelers that this is a good option too if you have more time in hand.

Accommodation

As a backpacker and solo traveler, hostels are my preference. There are several options from beach resorts to luxury hotels to guest houses available in Fethiye depending on where you would like to stay. I wanted to stay around the harbour and Sakura Hostels was perfect for me. Extremely clean, modern, affordable, comfortable and great hosts…what more do you need? The terrace was overlooking the harbour whereas the balcony opened to the mountainside. With an affordable breakfast option, this place gets my 5 stars.

The ladies dorm that comes with a clean shared restroom

Truly, this is all the space you need

The colourful Turkish breakfast spread at the hostel

Turkish tea - çay

The view from the hostel

The good thing about hostels is that you are bound to make friends. And if you find good fellow travelers, you can also visit places together and share meals. I found two very good friends in Fethiye – a Japanese young traveller and a Dutch psychiatric nurse. My Japanese friend even accompanied me on my first day at Fethiye.

Best time to visit

June to November is when Turkey comes alive to welcome tourists. Be ready for a half-show or no-show of attractions and things-to-do outside these months. I picked the end of winters when it was cold and with drizzles on and off. It did not deter my travel plans in any way. I still made the most of what was available with my muffler, cap and jackets.

Getting around

The Dolmus - the government-run minibusses are affordable, comfortable and the best way to get around town and all the nearby places. Taxis are also available if you don’t mind spending more. I prefer public transport as its eco-friendly as well.

Places to visit

Fethiye Marina

A hop, skip and jump from my hostel landed me at the marina, quite literally. I landed there on a rainy day during the off-season period, so all the boats and ferries were docked making it a beautiful sight. I call them ‘boats’ because I can’t differentiate between a luxury yacht, a speed boat or a water taxi. They all looked great. There are several restaurants along the harbour but most were closed owing to the low inflow of tourists and the cold weather. No regrets, the lazy harbour is a great photo backdrop.

The quiet Fethiye Harbour

One of the restaurants along the harbour

Çalış Beach

Ever visited a beach that was empty despite being the most popular one, Çalış Beach was that on my trip. Being winter and with all the shops and hotels closed, there were just a few locals around. A beach full of pebbles, I was like a child picking the smooth and shiny ones until I realized it would add to my overall baggage. Needless to say, my pockets were full. Then, the most disappointing task of letting go of some. While I picked these for my son back home as souvenirs, it reminded me of my childhood and how I had loved collecting pebbles. The waters were cold and hence swimming was ruled out. It was around sunset time and with rainy clouds above us, the beach wore a dark look – beautiful nevertheless. 

Anybody here?

The beautiful pebbles almost fit to be jewelry

Çalış Beach is about 6.5 kms from the Fethiye Otogar and can be reached in 15 minutes by the Dolmus. It was deserted in early March but can get very crowded in the summers.

The beach under a cloudy sky

Fethiye Fish Market

Yes, a fish market! Why would someone want to visit a smelly fish market on a holiday? The Fethiye Fish Market is an attraction and a crowd-puller for tourists and locals alike all year around. You can find fresh fish (and not smelly at all) here and a huge variety to choose from. If you are a seafood lover, you will want to make this home. From sea bass to mackerels to large shrimps, what’s special is that you get to pick fish of your choice and walk up to any restaurant at the market and ask them to cook it for you. 

My eyes popped out at the freshness of the fish here

Pick your choice

Eat all you can

Restaurants offer appetizers or meze while your fish is getting ready. Turkish mezes are traditionally little appetizers that appear on the table before the main course. This is especially true if you go to a fish restaurant. Mezzes include Hummus, Salads, pickled vegetables and fish, loaves of bread and other hot and cold starters. The displays are very inviting, but I chose to go easy on the starters and wanted to do justice to the fish.

Turkish Meze

More Meze

Pay for what you eat

Absolutely fresh and delicately flavoured, the fish was a super hit. I went back to the market twice during my trip to Fethiye. And I usually don’t repeat places unless they are exceptionally good. The restaurants charge 10TL to cook the fish and the appetizers are charged separately based on what you pick. The fish is charged based on the price of the day and the quantity you buy.

Dolma - Stuffed vine leaves

A crab based starter

Prawns in a spicy sauce

Grilled fish

Baklava - a sweet and rich pastry

 The men in Turkey were extremely good looking, the ones in Fethiye being the best. They looked like stars out of a Hollywood movie. The owner at the restaurant I visited was so good looking, he was the topic of our conversation throughout lunch. In the end, we couldn’t figure if we liked him more or the fish.

Ruins of Tlos

When the weatherman predicts rain, the beach is ruled out. Fethiye has quite a few options for a rainy day and visiting ruins is one of them. The Tlos ruins are located about 35kms away from town. Now in ruins, Tlos once served as the bustling urban center of ancient Lycia. While it may look like a short visit at first given the size of the site, it will take you a good 3-4 hours to make the best of your visit. Even if you are not interested in history, the city walls, ampitheatre, public baths and market street all overlooked by the fortress and Lycian tombs are sure to send you back in time. 

The ruins of Tlos

The entrance to the ruins

The great bath

A tomb on the site dating back to 350-320 BC is associated with Bellerophon of the Lycian royalty. In 168 BC the city started minting coins in Lycian style. In 43 AD the Lycian region became a Roman state, in which Tlos was a metropolis. Many ancient roads from the neighbouring cities met in Tlos.

Hisarönü

Hisarönü is a tourist town dotted with resorts, hotels, restaurants and great pubs. For the Indian, it is the equivalent to Baga or Calangute in Goa, but cleaner. Being a transit point and a great place to stay, I felt it was important to mention it in my blog. But guess what? All shutters were down owing to the off-season. Even at 11am, there was no life in the town setting the right mood for my visit to Fethiye’s famous ghost village.

The empty streets

Why bother giving a name

Mr Perfect's place

Kayaköy

Kayaköy village, which is 13 km (8 miles) from Fethiye, was built over a Greek town, with a history going back to the Lycians. During the Byzantine period, it was called Levissi. The ancient city has 3500 houses, chapels, churches, schools, a hospital, and a library, most of which were built when it was a Greek settlement. In recent years, only two churches, a school, and a few houses were restored and the whole area was made a museum. It was occupied by the Greeks till the 1920s. After the Republic of Turkey was founded, the Greeks living in this area were swapped with the Turks living in the western Thrace. It was abandoned during the population swap so now it looks like a ghost town with lots of partially destroyed houses, churches, and schools.

The dead town

The ruins are stunning, and you can choose to trek along the rocky pathways. I was visiting this place alone. For one, I am terrified of anything remotely ghostly, two I went there alone. The terrible decision if you know me. Nonetheless, I still went up the village (literally praying aloud, yes that’s me!), walked in and out of abandoned homes, walked into chapels and schools until I started feeling uncomfortable. There’s nothing wrong with the place and there’s nothing ghostly here. But I had fed myself enough thoughts to get me running down.

Hello? Anyone home?

The Church

Kayaköy can be reached by Dolmus from Fethiye. An hour or two is enough to visit the village. However, if you like trekking, this is the start point of the world-famous Lycian way. The Lycian Way is one of the world’s great long-distance hiking trails of 540 kms, regularly featuring in top-10 lists of must-visit places. I am told this trek takes about 29 days.

Ölüdeniz

Get ready to go click, click, click! That’s what Ölüdeniz makes you do. A couple of kilometres from Hisarönü, this resort town is a must-visit if you are in this region. As you drive through the lush green mountains, the turquoise beauty reveals itself. This is by far the most stunning beach I have seen. While I thought Thailand and the Andamans had great beaches of the ones I had been to, this one beat them all. Again, with just a few people around, I literally had the beach to myself. I had read so much of this place, but seeing the empty shore, I wondered if I had reached the right place. I spent an entire day here basking in the sun, thanking God for this marvellous creation of His.

The blue expanse

A sea amidst mountains

The blue cave

Making our way into the cave

50 shades of blue

The calm waters make it look like an infinity pool. Get into your swimwear and you could spend the entire day here. Ölüdeniz is known for paragliding. I had booked a flight too, but it was cancelled because of a local protest by paragliders and instead I opted for a solo boat tour of the surrounding islands. Pure luxury I must say, and I realized it only when I converted the currency back home. All I can say is, at 350 TL for 1.5 hours at sea, it was worth every pie. The famous blue lagoon is right here. If I ever come back here, I would like to stay at one of the star resorts on the shores of the lagoon.

Paragliding over mount Babadag

I could sit here all day

One of the best views ever

The calm seas

Butterfly Valley

Wait did I say Ölüdeniz was the best beach? Well, I would like to change that to Butterfly Beach. Imagine being on a beach that is inaccessible by road, no tourists around, only a café that’s closed with its owner guarding the place and my ‘boatman’. I literally had the beach to myself. Of course, my mind was racing with scenes from Bollywood having to land at a beach with two men. What if….. Well, Turkey was extremely safe and so I could tuck my fears away. To reach Butterfly Beach, you either must take a boat from Ölüdeniz or trek down the valley.

The absolutely beautiful Butterfly beach

The lodge that opens in the summers

The still waters

My ride for the day

Butterfly Valley is one of those off-beat places surrounded by steep, vertical rocks of up to 350m. There’s a waterfall at the end of the valley but I warned against going there alone. And yes, it gets its name because of the different butterfly species around.

During the season (April to November), there are several water taxis and boat tours available so you can make this tour at a much affordable price. The beach is not too big so even fifty people may seem like a large crowd.

Old Paspatur Market

This wasn’t really on my itinerary, but my hostel was located in this area and I found this place pretty. The Old Paspatur market is home to many stores covering apparel, jewellery, sweets and some great restaurants. What I liked best though are the cobblestoned pathways with umbrellas for shade. I did buy some honey, one of the specialties here. The market looked quite popular with the locals here. Do visit it if you are near the harbour or the fish market.

The umbrella covered street

While I had picturized the ruins of Turkey, I never expected the coastline to be so stunning. Fethiye was truly a gem and was the best part of my Turkish travel. Being a solo traveller, it was safe and the people were more than willing to help. Compared to the other Turkish cities I visited, I found this the most affordable too. The non-touristy feel of the place, the slow life and yet so much to experience….I loved Fethiye!