We are sitting in front of a mini market in a village above Demre, sipping a cold Coke. The owner of the small market in the middle of the mountainous landscape of the Taurus Mountains bids us farewell with ‘Rampa, Rampa’. We already have a few sharp ramps behind us. From Antalya, we are constantly travelling up and down towards the west. Every day we have over 1000 metres in altitude on the speedometer. In fact, there are a few more steep climbs before we plunge down the ten-kilometre descent to Kaş. At the rest stop at the top, we fortify ourselves. We meet another touring cyclist. He set off from Paris in February this year and froze in the Alps (oh no). And now he is here. There are some crazy people!
In Terikova which has become famous for the cable car to the nearby Thadali dhagi (2365MAMSL) and whose tourist development is called ‘Kemer 2000’, we find a hotel built like a cruise ship. For all those who would like to go on a cruise, but afraid of getting seasick.
Impressions of our first week of travelling:
Sometimes we ride ahead of the 60th Presidential Tur of Turkiye, sometimes behind, sometimes we applaud along the route.
We wait for the Tur riders with police, security motorbikes and spectators. It is already raining cats and dogs. Five minutes later, the route is reopened to normal traffic. Stage 4 is shortened. The riders will not be able to pass today. We bravely finish our planned stage, as we have the better tyres. Stage 5 is cancelled completely. We also take a day’s break. Cycling is out of the question.
The Saklikent Gorge is a real highlight. It is thirteen kilometres long. We only manage a fraction of it and cannot imagine how you can walk all the way through it. Perhaps the water level is too high now in spring. With the night falls the frog concert starts which is louder and, above all, more persistent than the call of the muezin.
Toll station in the centre of the picture. The Tur riders also take the pass.
We receive a warm welcome at the campsites: Hosgeldiniz! The season is young and we are sometimes the only or one of the first visitors of the 2025 season. The pitches are still being cleared, painted and set up. We are given a table and chairs in front of the tent. At the next pitch there is a multiple socket and light in the tent. At the end of the Saklikent Gorge we find a marvellous spot and a warm shower. Brian invites us to a Turkish coffee to say ‘goodbye’.
After one week, our winning streak of good weather is over. Our route takes us along the coast when it starts to rain more than heavily. It is still about twenty kilometres to the campsite we are aiming for. We pedal hard and with great concentration to avoid falling victim to aquaplaning. Soaking wet, we reach our destination which itself has already taken on a lot of water. The friendly family gives us part of the covered restaurant to set up our tent. The stove is fired up to keep us warm and dry our clothes. Hot tea is served and we are invited to join them for meals the next day.
Wi-Fi access is easy here on the Turkish Mediterranean coast: most Wi-Fi networks have the password “18811938” (year of birth and death of Kemal Atatürk). If you are ever travelling to Turkey, try this!
The tomato, cucumber, pepper and courgette harvests are in full swing – the fully loaded lorries are currently on their way to the wholesale market.
The paths through the mountains are marvellous to ride. We encounter many animals along the way.
Great flower pictures are coming soon.