Trips & Tours: Aegean Adventures

Dalyan is a little town hugging the hills of Turkey’s south Aegean coast. It has a great range of restaurants and bars, is looked over by some amazing rock-tombs, has an ancient city, mud-baths and a 5km-long beach on its doorstep and is the perfect place from which to start your Aegean adventure.

We start with a boat trip and short walk to the ancient city of Caunos, right on Dalyan’s doorstep. Our route takes us through the reed-beds and along the pretty Dalyan River directly below the rock-cut tombs. After exploring the old theatre and other remains we head to the beach for a chance to swim before heading back into town and on to the mud-baths. Here we get covered in the gooey mud, said to be great for the skin, before heading back to our hotel.

A morning’s drive takes us through the Turkish countryside past villages where the 21st century seems not to have reached. The sound of the mosque echoes around, smoke curls from the chimneys of red-roofed houses and women in traditional baggy-trousers work in the fields. Pamukkale has been inhabited since prehistoric times but it was the Greeks who built a spa here to take advantage of the thermally heated waters gushing from the mountainside. Mineral-laden, thermal water cascades down the hillside pooling as it goes and over time has formed beautiful white terraces edged with stalactites. They remain a big draw for locals and visitors alike who come to enjoy the ancient site and warm waters of the Sacred Pool where we can swim in hot waters above submerged marble columns.

This morning we make our way back to the coast and onto the once-great city of Ephesus. One of 12 ancient cities that formed the Greek region of Ionia its history is millennia old, but it was during the Greco-Roman period that it enjoyed its heyday. We’ll wander the chariot-rutted streets to the magnificent 25,000-seat theatre and look down towards the famous Library of Celsus. Along the way we’ll see the baths, shops, temples, houses and churches of this city whose population once reached some 250,000 – this is Turkey’s premier archaeological site.

Today has been left free for you to relax by the hotel pool. Those that would like to keep active can visit the excellent little Ephesus Museum in town or the House of the Virgin Mary. For those that would like to explore further afield a visit can be arranged to Şirince, a lovely one-time Greek village of traditional stone houses which dot hillside and famous for its fruit production.

Setting off south we head first to Bafa Lake. Described by some as an open-air museum the lake was once connected to the sea. All around its shores are the remains of Christian hermits’ refuges. The old centre of Herakleia gives a great chance too for seeing a glimpse of traditional Turkish life. The lake is also famous for the large numbers of birds attracted to it – great for birders. We’ll enjoy a boat trip on the lake, maybe a short walk and lunch before we continue south to the Bodrum Peninsula.

Our last day is free to relax and enjoy the beach or perhaps embark in some gentle rambling. The peninsula is a great place for walking and several trails can be followed by those keen to explore on two feet. Alternatively relax on the great beaches or take a trip into Bodrum town for some shopping and a look at the Castle of St Peter inside which is the renowned Museum of Underwater Archaeology.