Olimpos

I wavered all night between staying put and taking the trip. The weather decided it. It was a cool morning so it couldn't be too bad for walking. Getting to the otogar was routine for me now. It took 1-½ hours to retrace my travel to the turn-off where I should have hopped off a couple of days ago. On the way I chatted to a NZ couple on a 6 month holiday. Upon reaching Olimpos I understood why it was such a backpacker mecca. The park in the valley was verdant and cool, there is a good swimming beach, and many other outdoor recreations were offered.

This is a creek next to the ancient Roman baths.


There are a couple of backpacker resorts offering hippyish hedonisms such as tree houses. Could be a novelty for some people. Even the music drifting out sounded retro. Heaps of Brits and USAns were staying there.

Within the park near the beach are a couple of sarcophagi dating back to the 2nd century AD, one attributed to Marcus Aurelius Zosimas and the other to his uncle Captain Eudemos. The latter bears an emotional poem: The ship sailed into the last harbour and anchored to leave no more / As there was no longer any hope from the wind or daylight / After the light carried by the dawn had left Captain Eudemos /There buried the ship with a life as short as a day, like a broken wave.

From one end of the beach I picked up the trail to the Chimaera, a volcanic flame. It was 3 km to the foot of the hill according to the guide and took me 40 minutes, but felt longer due to the warm day. All the way I questioned the wisdom of my decision. It wasn't a particularly scenic walk and my mind was bored, hence the doubt.

At the foot of the hill, I had a lunch of gözleme at a stall run by women, no doubt expecting visitors like me.


The climb to the flames took about 20 minutes. There I was amused to see a Turkish man setting up a drink stall. Most enterprising of him. How did he manage to haul his stuff up there I wondered; it would have been hard work. The bray of his donkey under a tree supplied the answer.

The flames are due to natural gases, mostly methane, escaping from cracks and being ignited by the volcanic heat. They burn perpetually and were said to have been visible from ships at sea in ancient times. This place or another place like it was the origin of the myth of the fire-breathing Chimera.


It was much easier going downhill. When I got back to the start, downing the litre of cold drink I had saved for completing the walk was ecstasy. I sat in the shade and cooled in the sea breeze.

I reentered the national park from the beach. Luckily I had retained my entrance ticket for the park because there was an official at the gate.


I walked back to the backpacker hostels. I saw that Bayam's had a shuttle bus leaving at 1600, so I ordered an orange juice at the bar while waiting for the departure. But when the time came, nothing happened. I asked, and the British woman at the counter haughtily informed me that the shuttle bus was only for guests. If I had not missed that turn-off two days ago I would be a guest and you wouldn't treat me like this, you stuffy bitch, I thought. How to get back to the junction with the highway? Start walking and hope for a hitchhike? Fortunately the driver, who apparently was Bayam's brother, took pity on me and motioned to me to get into the shuttle. He drove me, the only passenger, back to the junction. It was very kind of him. I asked him how much I owed and he shrugged as if to say, whatever you think suitable, so I gave what I thought was the going rate and thanked him profusely in Turkish.

I caught an Antalya bound bus right away. Tur and Coop seemed to be rival companies for this route. Drivers liked to overtake on curves. That may have accounted for the police cars at intervals. I was dropped off outside the otogar, but I knew what's was what by then; I didn't enter the otogar, but caught a city-bound dolmuş from the road.


That night I dined at the Pansyon. The eggplant stuffed with meat with yoghurt was delectable. Only the sweets were a bit too sweet. Which reminded me that I should buy some lokum (Turkish delight) in Istanbul as presents for the family.


There was a short blackout during the evening. It was neighbourhood-wide as nearby houses were also dark. There were gusty winds that evening. I wondered if they were typical of Antalya that time of the year.