08.25 It was a rough night. The reason to this might be the fact that it was 28 degrees in the room last evening and that we lack air condition. Another thing we lack is breakfast. I have to arrange with sleep and breakfast somehow. I guess I can sleep on the bus and breakfast can be bought, in the hotel café or in some shop and brought back to the room. We are looking into this.

09.08 No café in the hotel. Outside the hotel there are some buses from Iran, buses for the large company which checked in at Hotel Alican. They are here to attend the “Universiad", a sport competition for students held here in Izmir.

09.48 I went out and around the corner to buy some breakfast from an older gentleman. I bought orange juice and freshly baked bread.

10.43 The breakfast was large and tasty. We feel prepared to get back to the bus station. Today’s last stop: Pamukkale.

11.15 We been at the bus stop for a while now, once again waiting for bus number 64.

11.30 It finally came, bus 64. It brought us to the bus station.

12.16 On the bus towards Denizli. The ride cost us 14 lira. It is once again a warm day. We are wearing t-shirts and shorts and we are sweating! A lady on the bus has a buttoned, thick coat, no sweat at all.

13.17 Just had a cookie drank coffee and went through the 75 Yil tunnel. The landscape is still hilly.

13.46 Entering Aydin. My cell phone just rang. This was not so popular among the others in the bus. It is forbidden to use a cell phone on the bus. The bus host is writing something, fines?

14.55 We are getting closer. Many houses seem to have solar panels. They seem to warm the water. No fines, that’s fine.

15.40 Just got to Denizli. What happens next?

15.48 The backpacks are stowed in the back of the minibus. We are stowed in a dolmus, (a mini bus). Our destination is Pamukkale. There awaits Hassan. He is big brother to the fellow that caught us after we got out of the bus in Denizli. Hassan is supposed to take us to our new home, a family run hotel.

Pamukkale, a view over the village with the lime stone cliffs in the background.

16.53 In room 204 at Hotel Dört Mevsim, "the four seasons". We have a view over the hotel pool. Time to freshen up before we have dinner. The pool is occupied by a Swedish family that despite all the scenery in the village seem to prefer the hotel.

19.14 We’ve walked around the village, said hello to some merry kids, seen the famous white lime stone cliffs in a distance and bought beverage. It is a pleasant village where everyone seems to help each other. A helpful man just offered us some snacks.

21.06 We are sitting near the pool at the hotel. We just had a tasteful dinner. Tomato soup, Pamukkale kebab, chips and a cold beer. Pamukkale kebab is a dish with chicken, tomato, peppers and spices mixed with rice. It is for sure a full meal. A feast for many senses. All I want to do now is sit and relax. This is life. All food is home cooked. The Swedish family didn't like the home cooked, they complained about almost everything.

Peter enjoying home made "Pamukkale kebab".

21.55 Home again after a new stroll in the village. It is dark, very dark in Turkey when there are few streetlights. We are planning for tomorrow, when do what and so on. Soon time for an old tradition, evening beer.

22.33 Outside people are talking. Outside one can hear crickets. Outside it is dark and +31°. Beside the crickets I heard a young Swedish girl complain over her cell phone about the food here. She seems to want Swedish food.

Sunday 10th of July

06.30 The birds are singing, the fan can be heard. These are the only things that morning peace disturb..

09.10 Woke up again. I see if I´ll sleep more or check for breakfast.

10.30 We had breakfast in the room with food bought yesterday. Next meal will be lunch in the village before we visit the lime stone cliffs and the old Roman city Hierapolis situated above the cliffs.

11.31 We bought bus tickets for tomorrow. The sales man gave us information about a restaurant. His phone was ”locked”. He had a small lock in the hole for the dial dish first number. We just sat down for lunch, lamb chops and Coca Cola. We are sitting on the recommended restaurant Űnal. The family that owns the place are having breakfast/lunch by a table away from us. We are the only guests here.

Christer having lunch at restaurant Űnal in Pamukkale.

12.16 Just as we were about to pay a car passed with a merry jingle. It was the water van. It is just +33 and a car from Germany just passed. It is time to walk the cliffs.

Time to remove the shoes and walk along the cliffs of Pamukkale.

13.02 We are sitting on some of the cliffs with a view over the valley below and two travertines, natural pools. All is like a frozen winter landscape. Looks like an ice river stopped in its flow.

Peter is being fried (boiled?) in 37-degrese heat in Pamukkale.

Christer by one of the lime stone cliffs in the cotton castle (Pamukkale).

"The travertines" by the cliffs of Pamukkale.

13.49 It is time to leave the cliffs behind and below us. To walk over them with bare feet is something extraordinary. Just going to rest before we head for Hierapolis, a ruined city from Roman times.

14.10 Just bought some postcards in a small kiosk. I had also planned to buy a soda. To pay for this required a larger bill, a bill the man had no change for. I had to put back the soda.

14.35 Sitting on some rocks writing postcards. We got the stamps cheap. The man in the post office must have miscounted. All that is left now is to stick these cheap stamps on the postcards. This is easier said then done, one of them seems to lack glue, and I have to arrange it some how. Next a look at the ruins. It is hot, very hot. We applied some sun lotion but it doesn’t seem to do the trick. We also tried to withdraw some money from an ATM inside a small glass cage. To get in to the cage (and the heat there) one of us had to draw his ATM-card in a slot. Got to rise, the rocks are hot.

15.13 Looking out over the old Roman theatre, the view is amazing. Time to walk back over the cliffs again.

15.53 The walk back over the cliffs was a walk near hell. It felt as if everyone I met wanted push, jostle and just stand in the way. A temperature around +36-37° didn't make it much merrier. Time for a dip in the hotel pool.

The Roman theatre at Hierapolis. The cliffs of Pamukkale can be seen further down the hill.

16.46 To swim in a pool make wonders to the tired body. The red torso was in a need to be cooled. After the dip we relax by the pool and spoke with two young ladies from Belgium and the Netherlands.

17.27 I think a little siesta will do fine.

20.07 Siesta might be fine, but we must mail our postcards and get something to eat. I managed to stick the stamp without glue on the postcard. All it took was some duck tape.

21.29 We went out and met a little boy that in perfect English wondered where we were going. There is hope for this country. The next generation might start the questioning to tourists with ”where are you going” instead of nagging about where they from. We told him we were about to mail the postcards. After that he wanted to know where we were from. He asked if Sweden was in Europe and we explained to him where it is. He kept on with inviting us to his family’s restaurant. He ended it all with asking us good luck. We posted the cards and went back home for dinner. Today’s meal was, lentil soup and chicken kebab. Pieces of chicken with rice, tomato, salad, onion and cucumber. Served with chips on the side and coffee and apple tea to top it of.

22.34 Cooler tonight, mild +30°. Not so cool in the room. We are hoping for the fan to do its job. It sounds strange and we discuss who and how it will hurt if it falls down.

Monday 11th of July

08.10 The fan failed to do its job. The strange sound forced us to run it on low speed. It never cooled the room, a tough night to day the least. It is time for breakfast.

10.37 We’ve checked out, paid 75.50 lira each of which 40 for the room, got information about the place we´ve already booked in Antalya, promised to say hello to the owner there, said bye and walked to the bus station. There we had to run to catch the bus. A young boy stopped the bus and helped us load the backpacks. The bus took us to the bus station in Denizli and here we are, waiting for the bus to Antalya.

11.27 The bus to Antalya that was supposed to be here at 11.00 and leave at 11.30 is not in sight. The other buses that depart at 11.30 are preparing to leave.

11.32 The arrival of the bus wasn’t far away and on the bus we are. It came fast as if in a race, got here from another place.

Velibey south of Denizli, a wonderful place!

12.09 Stop/break/pause in the mountains at a place called Velibey. Here they offer food, beverage, view and a little (artificial?) creak. It sure is great to stretch but legs but couldn’t they have waited with it? How long will we stay here?

12.30 Time to travel on.

13.38 We have since last time been served tea/coffee, cookie and candy. To have the cup of coffee on that little tray in front of you on a bumpy road is a challenge. It is even worse if the person in front of you leans backwards and start to rock back and forth.

14.24 There is just 60 kilometres left of the trip. We are rolling down a steep hill, through a dry, eroded landscape. Just passing the town of Korkutelli.

15.20 At the bus station in Antalya. Sitting on a bench hoping to once again hear like a normal human being. Our ears are blocking up. The bus road sometimes was on altitudes of around 1000 metres above the sea. It feels like sitting in an aeroplane.

16.16 The hearing is getting better. I bought tickets for tomorrow´s trip to Silifke. There are two terminals here and I managed to choose the wrong one. To enter them you must pass through a metal detector. What are they afraid of, that someone will take the buses? The men by the counter didn't master the English language. Next mission, find a bus towards the city centre.

17.02 We got tired of waiting for that bus. A man arranged with a taxi. He joined us since he was on his way home from his work at the bus station. The taxi took him home and us to the pre booked place, Pansiyon Sabah. We just got there and are about to check in.

17.22 Inside our new room. We checked in inside a cool room with a watch showing the time 17.05, day Monday and date 32:nd. The guy asked for 31 lira for the room. Christer paid him 41 lira. The guy went away, got back, went for towels and showed us the room. What happened to the change for 10 lira?

The broken minaret, a sight in Kaleici, the old town in Antalya.

Hadrian’s gate, entrance to Antalya’s old town.

19.01 Before we walked the town the greeting from Pamukkale was delivered and Christer got the change from our host and he said he was sorry. We bought some postcards and stamps from a lady who sold them for a special price. I don’t know if we made any profit on it. We began to walk towards the centre parts and soon met a man with some knowledge in Swedish who offered us ”Health Candy”. We´ve seen and took pictures of, the broken minaret, Hadrian’s Gate and Tekele Mehmet Paþa Camii, a mosque. Right now we are situated by the old Roman harbour, the marina. It is HOT and HUMID.

19.28 We walked by several stands selling different stuff. By each and every stand was a person that just had to have us as their customers. A guy that I refused to answer grinned at me and said, “You look tired mister”. We are as of now resting by the old clock tower close to the recently mentioned mosque. Next a visit to a supermarket and after that dinner.

The clock tower in central Antalya.

Peter at dinner in Antalya. Both the ground and Peter are wet. Has it rained? No. Has the staff hosed the ground? Yes. Have they hosed Peter? No. It is warm! It is humid! We´ve never been sweating as much on the trias we did here.

20.09 Time for dinner near Hadrian’s Gate. It will be Adana kebab and Shish Kebab with lamb. We are just near the main road but it is calm and quiet.

21.17 Back home filling up with fluids, loads of fluids. Our latest friend here cools the room. His name is Mitsubishi. His profession air conditioner. Time to write postcards.

22.33 It is getting cooler. Is it because of the coastal climate? Tonight it is low +27°. Christer has been fooled by the postcard lady. He hasn’t got enough stamps. Could it be due to the fact that the lady had lost her glasses? One postcard has to wait. Next it seems that the body will need some sleep.

By the Mediterranean in Antalya.

Tuesday 12th of July

09.02 You sleep a lot better in a cool room. Next thing to do, wash the body before breakfast.

10.49 We had breakfast out on the yard. It was hot and humid around us. Time to finish up before we check out.

11.14 In a taxi heading towards the bus station. I hope it is cooler there because it sure isn’t that here inside the car.

11.37 Sitting in the shadow with a breeze passing us. We got lots of time to prepare for today’s long, in both time and distance, journey.

11.45 Christer has gone to post the postcards. Will he pass the metal detectors? Lots of people here today. Where are they all going? Some are going home and some are going away.

11.54 No problems with the detector. Bigger problems with the mailing. Have they abolished letterboxes here in Turkey?

13.12 We went to the ticket counter. They told us when the bus would arrive and we also got a phone book each. After that it was time for lunch in a restaurant. There we had meat casserole with lots of vegetables, bread and water. This little feast cost us 6.50 lira per man. Now in a new base camp to add with provisions and to freshen up before the trip.

14.02 Now it leaves, the bus towards Silifke with us on seats 23 and 24. The bus heads for Diyarbakir in Kurdistan but we are not going that far. Before embarkation an elderly man was mad about something. He yelled a lot at the bus driver, went back and forth and it seemed that he screamed out in the thin air but he was arguing with someone over the phone. I think it all was about to get a scooter on the bus.

14.57 The bus stopped at the bus station in Serik and as rats leave the sinking ship the smokers got out to get a puff.

15.37 Time to leave after yet another stop. There are now more passengers than seats. We are leaving Manavgat.

15.52 Once again going by the sea. I see people swimming and look forward to do it myself.

16.27 Just reached Alanya after passing countless of hotels. I think I´ll take a small walk to shake the legs.

17.17 To the left of us an advancing steep. Ahead of us a winding road. To the right a descending steep, cliffs and sea.

Pause during the long journey (9 hours) Antalya-Silifke. Why is Peter shutting his eyes?

17.39 A short stop, I hope, in Caltilibűk near Gazipasa. We relax and the bus is being washed. Soon halftime on the trip. We just spoke with a man that was curious about our origin

18.32 Driving along a switchback descending to lower grounds. Magnificent views. Just as I was about to photograph one of them the bus drove pass a truck loaded with watermelons. This incident brought amusement to a man on the bus.

19.15 Our winding trip carries on. Along the road people are selling banana stems that we think are locally grown. We´ve seen what we assume are banana trees.

20.35 We move along the mountainside, darkness falls, the road is slippery. What an adventure. Most part of the road has a speed limit of 30 km/h. This will be a long night.

21.45 I see light at the horizon. Is it our trip´s end? We enjoyed a Turkish comedy on bus TV, really great and fun. The kind you enjoy even though you don’t understand the language.

Silifke, the end of this day´s trip.

22.30 We are near Silifke, in Tasucu. We stopped for, well who knows, pause, time to shake the legs or food?

23.36 We were let/tossed off into as it seemed the middle of nothing but claimed to be Silifke. We were the only ones that got out of the bus. We realises where we were after we found a river both for real and in the guide book. Pretty soon we saw the hotel Ayatekla. The night porter´s English was inferior or to be honest non-existing. He searched for the right word in a Turkish-German? dictionary, tried but failed to copy Christer's passport and I guess he kept wondering to himself why he had been cursed with us. We paid 22.50 lira each and stays in room 304. Next a shower, night snack and planning for tomorrow. Hey, almost forgot, I saw the scooter tucked in on the bus as we got our backpacks. I guess the angry man had it his way.