WALKING AND RUINS: EASTERN LYCIA 2017.
7 NIGHTS ON THE SEYHAN HANNA, BOARDING AT KAŞ SATURDAY OCTOBER 7 AND LEAVING EKINCIK, DALYAN SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 (BOTH DALAMAN AIRPORT).
Jeremy Seal, Yunus Özdemır and Altay Özcan are old friends who share a passion for Turkey’s culture and landscapes. Jeremy is a travel writer and the author of A Fez of the Heart and Meander, while Yunus is an archaeologist and the co-founder with Altay of the long-distance walking Carian Trail; all are experienced guides. The three share a particular love of ancient Lycia, a coastal region as rich as any in picturesque ancient sites and secluded bays; the itinerary they have created combines moderate and manageable walks to the best of these sites with accommodation onboard a luxurious and spacious gulet, the Seyhan Hanna. The result is a perfect mix of walking, landscape, swimming and Anatolian rural culture, all backed by exceptional onboard cuisine and service, and idyllic overnight anchorages.
The week is in the company of Jeremy and either Yunus or Altay who will all give regular informal talks about aspects of Turkey’s history and culture. Each departure is limited to just ten guests.
The pace is not frenetic; meals are leisurely. Few walks will be more than three hours in duration, and on most days afternoons will be spent back on the gulet, with plenty of time to swim, play backgammon, or just watch this fabled coast slip past.
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Day 1 (Saturday October 7): Guests are met at Dalaman Airport for the 2-hour transfer to Kaş where we board Seyhan Hanna. We overnight in the nearby bay at Limanağzı.
Day 2 (Sunday October 8): After breakfast we put ashore to walk from Limanağzı to Uluburun (2hr30 minutes) where we rejoin Seyhan Hanna. In the afternoon we sail past Kekova’s famed Sunken City to overnight in an isolated bay near the little port of Uçağız. In the evening there is an optional shore visit to explore the village and its shoreside Lycian necropolis.
Day 3 (Monday October 9): We make a short sail to put ashore at Andriake for the 45-minute minibus transfer to the lovely mountain site of Arykanda where we will spend at least two hours exploring. We lunch at former site guardian Ramazan’s house before returning to the gulet in the afternoon. We overnight in a nearby bay.
Day 4 (Tuesday October 10): After a leisurely morning, we transfer to Hoyran to explore this picturesque site before lunching at a delightful local family-run hotel. After lunch we walk downhill (1hr30 minutes) to rejoin our gulet in the pristine bay at Gökkaya. There is the option of a further hour’s walk onto Simena, a beautiful shoreside village topped by an ancient citadel, in the late afternoon. We overnight at Simena.
Day 5 (Wednesday October 11): We put ashore at nearby Uçağız for the short transfer to Apollonia, a rarely visited ancient city, which we explore before walking down (3 hrs) to rejoin Seyhan Hanna for lunch at Aperlae. At this remote and little excavated site guests can spend the afternoon snorkeling over submerged ruins. Overnight at Aperlae.
Day 6: (Thursday October 12): After an early start, with breakfast en route, we sail for Kaş where we transfer to walk from the ancient city of Phellos to Cukurbağ (2.5 hrs). After lunch at a local restaurant we rejoin the gulet and sail to overnight at Firnaz Bay near Kalkan.
Day 7 (Friday October 13): After breakfast we put ashore at Kalkan for the minibus journey to Tlos, a magnificent Lycian site where our own Yunus cut his archaeological teeth. We walk the site extensively before lunching in a nearby café. We continue to Fethiye where there is time to sightsee and shop before rejoining the gulet. We spend our last night at a secluded anchorage in Fethiye Bay.
Day 8 (Saturday October 14): Transfer to Dalaman Airport for return flights home.
Cost: £1950 per person including airport transfers, food and onboard alcoholic drinks, land visits, entry fees, crew tips and guiding (but not flights). The Seyhan Hanna carries a maximum 10 guests, but in cabins huge by gulet standards, so like-minded single guests may be prepared to pair up in twin cabins. Click here for more on the Seyhan Hanna.
Your holiday is fully bonded and administered by London-based Gulet Escapes. (www.guletescapes.com).
The trip will only run with sufficient numbers. Early indications of interest are appreciated.
All initial enquiries, including requests for print-friendly copies of this itinerary, to Jeremy Seal (jeremy@somewherewonderful.com; 07757 703604, or 01225 329269).