If there weren't any sights to see you really wouldn't want to stay in Demre. It's not very nice and my hotel was grim.
Leaving the place this morning my mood was not improved by what was definitely the worstbreakfast I 'd had in Turkey, truly minimal. Escaping the place then involved a 3km road side slog. I was so desperate to finish it, I almost missed the first highlight of the day, Andriake.
Andriake was the port for the ancient city of Myra, and unlike the other two I've visited has been given the full visitor centre treatment. The huge granary, built by the Roman emperor Hadrian, is so well preserved that it's now used as a museum for artifacts from the Demre area. Unfortunately it was closed perhaps because again I was the only visitor.
There was lots to see. There was a quay, complete withlifesize models of a galley and quay side equipment, numerous Roman baths, the remains of 2 Byzantine churches and a synagogue. My favourite bit however were the murex workshops. Again on a huge scale this involved a series of box like rooms, constructed from massive slabs of limestone, and forming a courtyard. They were used to make Tyrian purple dye from sea snails, incredibly valuable and the defining colour of imperial Rome.
After Andriake it's a short walk to the coast proper. After passing through a shipyard, wheregulets were being made ready for the summer, I was once again on a coastal path. A lovely path but quite hard going with lots of false trails created by goats. Swinging round a huge bay the views were brilliant.
On the western side of thebay there are lots of tiny islands, stepping stones to a larger, but still uninhabited island Kekova.
Leaving the coast, the path then crosses a flat headland and after passing greenhouses descends through moregulet shipyards to Kale, home to the sunken city of Simena.
Once again the path takes me round another hugebay but this time with a small town, Üçagiz in the middle. It's a lovely place, a tiny port with a few restaurants and pensions. It's now mid afternoon and I stop for a ice-cream. About a km latter I realise that I have left my walking poles so have to go back - it's getting late and I'm getting short of time.
The weather had been mixed and for the first time on this trip I'd been wearing waterproofs. It had now improved and at the end of the bay the afternoon light really set of the seascape .
The route then crosses another flat expanse behind a headland, red soil and sticky. It was very atmospheric. I was surrounded by shrubs full of goats being called up by men, women and children. I could hear them but not see them and in the fading light the blend of human voices the bleats of goats was just a little unnerving.
The route then descended through rocks down to an east facing bay. It was almost dark and the wind was whistling in over the sea. From here, and behind yet another headland itwas just a km to my destination, 'The Purple House'.
The Purple House is an eco-pension and judging by the reviews not everyone's cup of tea. I thought it was excellent and after a shower (warm water in a bucket), a vegetarian meal I was in bed by 8 and starting my best nights sleep oftrip .
If you're interested in thegpx trail for this route follow the link to my Viewranger page
Leaving the place this morning my mood was not improved by what was definitely the worst
There was lots to see. There was a quay, complete with
After Andriake it's a short walk to the coast proper. After passing through a shipyard, where
On the western side of the
Leaving the coast, the path then crosses a flat headland and after passing greenhouses descends through more
Once again the path takes me round another huge
The weather had been mixed and for the first time on this trip I'd been wearing waterproofs. It had now improved and at the end of the bay the afternoon light really set of the seascape
The route then crosses another flat expanse behind a headland, red soil and sticky. It was very atmospheric. I was surrounded by shrubs full of goats being called up by men, women and children. I could hear them but not see them and in the fading light the blend of human voices the bleats of goats was just a little unnerving.
The route then descended through rocks down to an east facing bay. It was almost dark and the wind was whistling in over the sea. From here, and behind yet another headland it
The Purple House is an eco-pension and judging by the reviews not everyone's cup of tea. I thought it was excellent and after a shower (warm water in a bucket), a vegetarian meal I was in bed by 8 and starting my best nights sleep of
If you're interested in the
This is the best area on the Lycian Coast. Kalekoy is a wonderful base to branch out of! Out of Andriake, you missed Sura, the little valley coming in from the north where there was an old oracle.
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