Joe’s Trip to Turkey 1999 (6 of 10)

The Fez bus, once again filled with damp Aussies and Kiwis, continued down the coast on our way to Olympos. We turned down a very steep road that took us to the area where the Archeological site is located, as well as our lodging. There are plenty of places to stay for budget backpackers, and the most famous of these is “Kadirs”, a group of treehouses that rent out for a couple of bucks a night. Kadir even has his own web site, though the URL escapes me at the moment.

Non-stop volleyball, Reggae music, beer-drinking and debauchery makes Kadir’s popular with the 20-something Aussie set, kind of like a whole mess of Deadheads with funny accents hang out there. I had stayed there in 1998 and chose to avoid it this year, being a stuffed shirt that I am. I still remember the sleepless night, the flies and the dodgy sanitation.

The Lonely Planet book mentions another, more upscale place nearby, but nobody had heard of it. I was determined to find this place, the “Olimpos Lodge”, described as ‘German Run, very efficient, worth the price for the pampering that they give’.

That works for me. I have a Visa card.

It was in the 40’s Celsius, (which is damn hot in Fahrenheit) and I was sweating buckets. I was completely drenched and rapidly losing my sense of humor. My pack was cutting into my shoulder blades and I was feeling near exhaustion. I was not prepared for the hike. My pack is heavier than it need be, it is packed with every book that I have wanted to read all year. I am on a bus tour, so weight would normally not be a big deal.

To get to my lodging, I needed to hike along the beach through the sand. Hiking through sand is never a treat even on the best of days, and a tired Joe with a heavy pack made it grueling. After what seemed like an hour but was only about 60 minutes, I arrived at the lodge. To the Manager, I must have appeared to be a desperate homeless person. I probably didn’t smell so good either. I was immediately warned of the price per night, but I didn’t care.

The Manager was gracious and showed me to my room. The price was $90 a night, including dinner, breakfast, air conditioning and pampering. I needed pampering. Actually, I needed Pampers. I had developed a case of “Turkey Tummy” and was a bit tardy in taking my ‘Imodium AD’. I am OK now, and I soaked my Patagonia Capiline underwear in the sink using VO5 shampoo as detergent. Extra body.

A nicer hotel cannot be found anywhere in the world at any price. A bottle of the local red wine was waiting for me in my room, which was air conditioned with hardwood floors and Oriental carpets and had lovely French doors leading to a beautiful garden. This hotel caters to Europeans and the clientele is very upper crust, notwithstanding stinky old me. Peacocks patrol the grounds, pausing only to steal grapes from the guests’ dinner plates. There is an aviary with parakeets and doves. There are sculptures on the lawn.

The food served is European/Turkish. Alice Waters would like it. I passed on the dinner that night because I felt like dog poop. Sweat was pouring off of me for over an hour even though I had showered with a cool shower. I turned the A/C up to “11″ and laid upon the bed, staring at the ceiling.

The phone rang.

It was the front desk. Would I be eating dinner? They inquired. The Chef could not leave for the night until the last guest had eaten and the kitchen staff was staying late on account of me. I declined dinner. “It would be no trouble” I was told, for them to “bring it around to my room”. I declined that very nice offer and hung up the phone, falling asleep almost immediately.

Read all the adventures!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10

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