Olympos Ruins Turkey

Although we booked a direct bus service, we need to transfer to bus station in Antalya. The little van is fully stacked and then we wind through the mountains until they are deleted at the exit from the road to Olympus. Yet another van to take us to the last part. Finally, we make the hairpin down to the sea.

We arrive at Turkmen Tree houses, where we offered a good deal: a tree house with breakfast and dinner for 9 million lire (about 6 €) per person. The tree house is very simple, but it has a good mattress, so what do we want?

Today's Olympos is not much more than a single track to offer pensions with tree houses to backpackers. At the end of the alley is the entrance to the ruins. In the period around 1000 BC, Olympos was one of the six major Lycian cities. Lycia was mainly independent country in southern Turley. Although it had many Greek influences, it was never of the Greek or Roman Empire conquered the rest of Turkey.

Get to the beach, we passed the ruins. One ticket is valid for several days. The first time we go, we just have a quick look at the stone pile. It does not look like a big city to us seem to be. Only along the small river some walls are still standing. The river, once a waterway with a sea port, is not much more than a power to buy.

Later we take more time to explore the ruins. And from hiking in the woods, where we spend more and more. We identify a theater, bath house, a few temples, a house with a beautiful mosaic floor, an irrigation canal, an acropolis (city on a hill), necropolis (city of the dead), and a lot of unknown worldwide. We would like especially the fact that they all surrounded by forests, which makes it good to explore.