Lycian Way - Flora & Fauna (updated 21/4)

Pictures of the various more interesting flowers, plants and funghi I see. Will be updated to add more as I go along and I'll also research the species and names at a later date (but please do comment if you know any).

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Wild Sage / Adaçayı

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Day-6 | Thorns To The Left Of Me, Brambles To The Right...

Cayköy to Gelemiş | 25km

A great nights's sleep, no damp, two cups of good coffee and off on the trail again, which continued to wind around the flat valley plateau of tomato greenhouses.

You say domates, I say tomato

In Uzumlu I stopped for late breakfast and had the best pide, salad and ayran I have ever tasted. Well fed and stocked up with water I passed a Russian motorcycle repair shop with some very cool bikes outside, which the owner said he was restoring to order.

Great pide at the salon in the left

Cool Russian motorbikes

The trail wound around roads and short distances through stone ridden farmland and eventually linked back up with aqueduct, which I now realise was built to feed the ancient city of Patara that I was heading towards. The ancient engineering of the pipe aqueduct was a highlight for me. It enabled the aqueduct to transport water without being built up to the same height of the channels at each end.

Aqueduct stone piping

Sections of pipe

The only real annoyance of the day was a 3km section of the aqueduct trail that was overgrown with mini leaved holly bushes, thorn bushes and dry privet. My legs haven't forgiven me for not wearing long trousers...

Arrghhh....

Owww...

Tunnel of death

Just before nightfall I made it to Patara village, normally a tourist hotspot but totally dead and pansiyons, bars and little restaurants all deserted. Turkish tourism is really suffering. The Medusa Bar/Pansiyon/Camping ground was recommended and cheap but as I didn't have a proper tent I stumped up 20 liras for a basic room. Showered, I hit the beers and raki at a local bar across from the post office that was a favourite of the few locals and fewer tourists in town.

Campsite #6 - the Medusa Bar...

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Day-5 | Tomatoes, Porticoes and Frescos

Patara Beach to Cayköy | 28.9km

Tomato greenhouses for as far as the eye can see

I woke up in a horribly wet bivy bag due to the condensation and dew in the dunes. Everything was damp and covered in sand so I made some coffee, packed up camp wet and set out and down the 5km of beach. Heading inland I passed a gazillion greenhouses, every one filled with tomato plants. I paid eight liras for a brief gander at the Letoon ruins (pro-tip: you can see it all from outside the fence - not worth the entrance fee until and if they excavate more) and grabbed some basic chow and supplies at the local market where I also set out my kit to dry in the sun for half an hour.

Temple of Artemis, Letoon

Porticoes at Letoon

Amphtheatre, Letoon

A long and very dull trek later, after passing more tomato festooned greenhouses, I was in Xanthos, the ancient capital of Lycia, a city that was under siege and sacked twice. On both occasions, seeing no hope and rather than be captured alive, the men burned their women and children alive and then made a final suicide rush at the enemy. 

Amphitheatre entrance, Xanthos

Amphitheatre, Xanthos

The frescoes were exposed during excavation at the site,
covered back up for protection and subsequently partially
uncovered by people wanting to pinch pieces as souvenirs.

Dull slogging past more tomato greenhouses and then I picked up a hillside trail that tracked an ancient disused Roman aqueduct. The final part of it was still in use and I camped for the nights by a fast running modern rivulet that fed into it.

Disused Roman water channel

Water channel still in use

Small aqueduct

Campsite #5 - with firepit and German trekking buddy Morten

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