Did you know I started this blog originally to have a place for all my travel photos? Where else would I put them without forgetting about it? So it seemed like a great idea to have my best photos displayed somewhere I could easily access and find again. And, as I always wrote a diary, I decided to start my travel blog ‘Sweettravelbee’. It also allowed my family and friends to follow my adventures as well. Why am I telling you this now? Because I am writing this blog – hiking to Termessos – mainly due to all the amazing photos I have from this hike. It was a great day and it’s certainly worth a trip.
But before the hike let me tell you about …
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Renting a car in Antalya
During my stay in Antalya I hired a car for two days. I wanted to explore the area a little bit more and some of the trips were to far for a scooter. So, to add to my adventure, I walked into a local car rental shop, tried to communicate in Turkish with my phone and organised myself a ‘very’ cheap deal. And let me tell you, it was certainly cheap. Actually I think I overpaid for the car I actually received…
I am not quite sure where the guy found the car (he disappeared for 10min to get it) but it looked like he picked it up from the car junkyard. Did it actually drive? I never expected anything new, after all, the more I blend in with the local drivers, the better, however I am not quite sure how I managed to return back safely in this car from my hike to Termessos.
After trying to communicate with the car rental guy again, I managed to upgrade the car for my second day as I was going to the Theatre of Aspendos (read my blog post here). Well, at least this car I could actually lock and it didn’t have holes in the seat. I am not sure whether it drove better but I made it back. I was certainly glad that I wouldn’t need to rent a car anymore in Turkey.
It is amazing, however, that throughout the whole time the rental people were all friendly and smiling, if not, surprised that I didn’t make more of a fuss. And most likely that I managed to drive it at all.
And now, let’s go back to hiking in Termessos.
Read my blog post about Antalya here.
Hiking to Termessos
I was really looking forward to it, as it has been a while since my last hiking trip. My walks through Istanbul were still ahead of me. The city of Termessos was built 1,050 meters above sea level in the stunning Mount Güllük National Park and is one of the best preserved ancient sites in Turkey. Amazing!
You enter the National Park via the main entry near the highway. From there it is a 8km drive/walk to the actual ancient site of Termessos. I decided to walk it.
There are a few websites saying that you can catch a bus to Termessos as well. However, be aware that the buses don’t go all the way up to the ruins. And even if you can hitch hike up and down the 8 km, it is not guaranteed that the bus really comes to pick you up again at the end of your hike.
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For me personally, it was the perfect day to enjoy a nice stroll along the road to the National Park. Once I reached the second entry, the actual ruins of Termessos, the hiking part started. Following a 2km path through the forest, I finally spotted the first ruins. I decided to head towards the theatre first, to enjoy an amazing view and a delicious lunch that I brought with me. Lot’s of Turkish goodies!
Only after lunch did I take my time to climb up and down the ruins, taking lots of fun photos. The view was amazing from wherever I stood. Termessos is certainly an amazing ancient site and worth the trip and hike.
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History tells us that Alexander the Great did not attempt to invade the city on his way though this area due to it being an eagles nest in the mountains. So it seems this is now my second Eagle’s Nest hike. The first one was, of course, my hike to the German Eagle’s Nest Kehlsteinhaus over 4 years ago. Read my blog post here.
And you can read more about the Termessos history here.
Throughout my hike I also picked up a young family who did get stranded by catching the bus to Termessos. They weren’t really sure how to get back to Antalya again. With two small children, they convinced the ticket man to give them a lift up so they wouldn’t have to walk. So, after some talking, we decided to meet up near my car at the end of our hikes and I gave them a lift back. They were definitely very thankful.
As for me, hiking to Termessos was another great outdoor activity. Let’s see how my legs feel tomorrow…
(post 180)
