Discovering Turkeys Ancient Secrets / My Family Week in Antalya
Discovering Turkeys Ancient Secrets / My Family Week In Antalya
Can you believe that It was only 2 days after leaving Italy/Tunisia before I was off away again? I was supposed to be on holiday with my sister in Tunisia but she changed her holiday to Turkey, and this is why I basically decided to come here after. Although – I did have another reason.
This being that I have recently been quite Interested in Turkey’s Ancients Secrets. I mean Ancient history has always kind of fascinated me but over maybe the past couple years places like Derinkuyu, and Göbekli Tepe have got my attention.
So, this was something that actually got me quite excited. My Idea was to see my sister but also to go on the 2 day Cappadocia (Derinkuyu) tour with Hot Air Balloon ride.
In fact, I actually booked this whilst still in Tunisia. If I hadn’t seen this tour I don’t know if I would have still been so eager to go to Turkey but definitely coming to this country to spend time with my family – including my baby niece Amilia. It was a no brainer.
Leaving For Turkey After Only 2 Days Back
How this all happened was so mad really. I left Tunisia, spent a night in Milan on the way back and after only 2 days (if that) I was back off again. And not just this – I had to catch up on 10 days of eBay orders, there was getting my bags packed again and I had a driving lesson booked for the first whole day I was back for as well.
Quite possibly my worst driving lesson ever. It was just a complete nightmare. I was constantly panicking and I couldn’t wait to get it over and done with. Why I even booked it I don’t know? No way was I ready for it but in regards to going to Turkey – well It was really no trouble.
Getting Into Antalya, Airport Turkey
Getting into Turkey was pretty easy – no problems really at all. I had a few parcels to post first but after this it was only 2 short bus trips to the airport and I was there.
I arrived at Luton with about an hour and a half to spare. Usually I am stuck waiting for a gate number for 3+ hours but this time it was very straightforward. Even the flight there I had my own row of seats. It was a long flight but it was OK.
Although, one thing I am sure that other people wouldn’t have been so calm about was the thunder and lightening during the flight when we was getting into Turkey. I didn’t actually realise till I was on the road to my hotel after but there was some weird flashes out the window of the plane and I’m sure this was the same storm.
It was a good flight though I thought and only problem I had was actually when I got off the plane. The taxi fayre OMG it was a bit more than I had Initially hoped it would be.
My First Night In Antalya, Turkey
After I got off the plane in Turkey there was the small matter of getting to my hotel. I knew already that I had a way to go to get here (It is around 45 minutes to an hour drive away after all) but I was hoping I wouldn’t be having to spend so much money on my first night.
My trouble was that It was getting late at this point. It was around 11:15PM by this point. I didn’t look at using public transport but I don’t think my options were too great really. It seemed to me that it was a case of either getting a taxi or walking for 5 hours – I definitely didn’t want to get ripped off but it really felt like my only safe option.
I mean I had hoped that by booking with InDrive or Uber I would get a better price. These apps have been great for me in the past. InDrive In Morocco I’ve found really helpful but on this occasion I don’t think this really made any difference at all.
I booked on Uber but I still had to pay close to £80 to get to my hotel.
Quite a shock after thinking this would be a cheap holiday. I thought maybe Turkey would be a bit more like Morocco or Tunisia but no way is it this cheap.
Travel Tip: If you are flying into Antalya airport consider booking a transfer from Booking.com. You might find there other websites too but definitely try to sort this out before arriving as it may save you a bit of money – I think £30 maybe I could have saved so I definitely do recommend it!
Discovering Turkey’s Ancient Secrets
I would be lying if I said that my main reason for coming to Turkey wasn’t to see my sister and baby niece (and my older niece too – I’m sure she wouldn’t be too happy if I didn’t mention her here so I will) but besides this I was very much quite excited by the idea of visiting some of Turkeys Ancient sites.
In particular, the thing that really caught my eye was the tour I mentioned in the first part of this blog post >> the 2 Day Tour to Cappadocia (Derinkuyu) (with hot air ballon ride).
This I ended up cancelling. It just wasn’t the right time for it but both this and the Sunken City (Kekova) tour I really wanted to go on.
I actually forgot about Göbekli Tepe which was pretty mad. It is probably the most significant ancient site here in Turkey and it didn’t actually even cross my mind to look at tours to come here.
If you are wanting to see Gobekli Tepe especially then Sanlıurfa city and Adayaman are the 2 best airports to fly to for getting here.
I will certainly keep this in mind myself but even without this there are loads of amazing places in Turkey.
Turkey has an Incredible history and these sites here are up right there with the Pyramids in Egypt and places like Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat. In fact, there is some belief that these sites could maybe be even older.
Even though they are much more recent discoveries – only really since the 1960’s have people known about these sites – It is pretty mind blowing. I don’t want to stray too far from what I actually did do on this holiday but this is definitely very Interesting.
Especially getting on to the topic of the underground City of ‘Derinkuyu.
About Derinkuyu – Built Before The Great Flood?
Now, I never went to Cappadocia as planned. I cancelled my tour after I realized that this would largely be my time here with my family gone, but seriously – this place is Incredible. If you don’t know about Derinkuyu this is so fascinating.
This is an Underground Ancient City thought to have been built in the 8th Century CE by the Indo-European Phrygians. Although, contrary to this It was thought to have been a refuge centre by Christians in the Byzantine era, and going back even further it was used by the Anatolian Hittites in the 15th century BC.
Except some say it is EVEN OLDER than this! The most fascinating Idea of Derinkuyus origin is that it was was built during the Younger Dryas Event about 14,500 years ago.
By this logic it would mean that Derinkuyu and other underground cities in the area would have been constructed around the same time as Göbekli Tepe which is known to be an ancient astrological calendar.
Göbekli Tepe – up in Mount Nemrut is in another part of Turkey to Derinkuyu but both sites seem to point towards an advanced civilization in the ancient past.
It was a shame really that I never got to go to any of these places. At some point I will be back so I can actually come here, but 5 days just wasn’t really long enough for me.
The main thing is I got to spend this time with my family whilst I was here. If you are after a family holiday in Turkey then maybe keep reading because I can definitely make some more good suggestions.
I shall continue with what happened when I got to my first hotel.
Getting To The Aroma Butik Hotel
I was definitely not happy with what I had to pay for a taxi to get here. It was the best thing I could do at the time. I was understanding of the distance but it was still more than what I was quoted on Uber. I wrote above airport transfers are the way to go here – I could have saved maybe £30 but really the main thing was I got to the hotel that night.
My first impressions when I got to my room was it actually was a very nice room and for just £21.00 a night this made things a whole lot better. I would actually love to stay here again but the bad thing about this place I found out the next day.
Nothing wrong with the hotel itself but the location – it’s OK here but if you want to get to anywhere else you are pretty much reliant on taxi drivers and they are not easy to get hold of.
I found this out the next morning because my sister had booked me on my first tour. I needed to get to her hotel but I could not get hold of no Uber, no InDrive or even the local Turkish cab app. I was lucky because my sisters boyfriend got me picked up in his tour bus but it was so bad because I could have missed out on what turned out to be my best day maybe here.
Me, Teddy and Sweep Meeting My Little Niece
When I first told my sister I was coming to Turkey she really did not seem to take it too kindly. I felt quite bad until she actually messaged me to say she’d booked me on a tour for my 1st morning here.
That for me actually got me excited again. As much as I didn’t really know what this tour was all about I was just so happy to know that I would be catching up with my 2 nieces.
There was a couple of daft moments before where I went to get in other vehicles whilst I was waiting for them but sure enough after waiting for almost an hour the bus was at last here to pick me up.
It was a special moment I don’t know if my baby niece was expecting to see me get on that bus or not but she was definitely very happy to see me. I of course brought my Teddy with me but a week or so before I came I was showing her my Sooty and Sweep Puppets. I brought Sweep along to see her especially.
She actually fell asleep before the bus arrived at our destination but she was so happy and it really was so good to see her after maybe 2 weeks of being away in Italy/Tunisia.
The Pirate Ship – The First Leg Of Our Tour
I think the tour is one of the many river boat tours here. It was a quite fun experience I thought.
The crew on the ship was walking round with a Red Macaw Parrot and Bearded Dragon to take photos of people with. I was excited to see my niece seeing them. She loves animals but really I knew what their game was.
The photos they were taking obviously to sell back on to people at a premium price. They seemed to be quite upset when I took a picture of my niece myself with the parrot and bearded dragon but I’m glad I did.
My sister unfortunately didn’t make the boat trip. She was not feeling well on this morning. So it was just me, her boyfriend, my little niece, my older niece, and my nephew with his girlfriend.
Overall, the boat trip wasn’t too long really but there was was some amazing views of the sea and the mountains. I remember thinking about Noah’s Ark and Mount Arafat.
Interestingly this is in Armenia but actually this on the Turkish border. Maybe I will talk about this in a future blog post but getting back to what happened on the day.
A Walk Along The Beach, Seeing a Waterfall and Visiting the Market (Souk)
Our first stop after getting off the Pirate Ship was a beach. It was kind of in the middle of a river and the sea. You could see different colours from each side. I didn’t do much besides walking up and back with my older niece. I think she maybe had an ice cream whilst I just finished off my EFES beer. We stopped here maybe 45 minutes and the next place WOW!
THIS was very special. It is a tourist stop with restaurants, an ice cream stand, with a few other places but MOSTLY here there is an amazing waterfall.
They have these carved wooden sculptures here and you really can’t believe what your seeing in front of you. Whoever made these carvings is clearly very talented but it is just generally such a very beautiful, natural place. It is one place I hope I come back to again.
The Last Part of The Tour
After this it was back on the bus. We had one final stop at one of the markets. We had a walk around for a bit but in the end we left to go to a restaurant.
My little niece had a nice time playing with the kittens and driving in the little car here.
She was playing football with the locals for a bit after this. They was very good with her. Even though they was trying to play there own game they was still passing here the ball. She is too young to play properly but that was very nice of them.
I got dropped off at my sisters hotel after we all left here. I had some food and drink here, and had a walk around with my niece for a mini tour of the hotel checking out the Gym and the games room.
It is quite a big place and it was a lot more complex than where I stayed in Tunisia but I think I did prefer it over there really if I am going to make a comparison.
Getting Back and The Next Day
One thing I noticed on this night that I really didn’t like was how expensive it was. Just to get from here – Armas Pemar Beach Hotel to my place the Aroma Butik Hotel. It was either £20 or £25 for the taxi. It is only 10 Minutes driving you would think £5 or £10 most but the taxi drivers here are after your blood.
It actually puts me off coming back here. I thought I could save some money on my first couple of nights but seriously factoring in these extra costs It was very annoying for me.
It is a shame that the transport around here isn’t better because at the Aroma Butik Hotel I really liked it there. Just how its built, the price to stay here and just being able to take the short walk down to the beach out the back.
The Swimming Pool isn’t really nothing special and the shower in my room was broken but they had hot water so I still felt like for £21 a night it was a good deal.
I am not sure what the deal is here with lunch and dinner though. Breakfast is free but I went for lunch one day and there was nothing there so don’t know how this all works.
I really should ask as I probably wouldn’t mind staying here again but I would want to know about the other meals I think.
Going Back To Armas Beach Hotel
I got 2 more taxis on this day. One to Armas Pemar Beach Hotel and one back. I managed to get the one back for about £18 and I think I paid more to get here.
My taxi here was a pain because they tried to drive me into the hotel and I got stopped at the gates. I could not phone through to my sister, her boyfriend or my niece, or actually my nephew.
I had to walk off because I was getting proper interrogated. No one could understand me. Not even the English speaking woman who they went and got to talk to me.
It was very nerve wracking. I just walked off and headed to the shop. There was a track heading towards the forest from here. It looked like wild bear territory lol. I turned around after about 20 minutes when my niece finally answered my message on Facebook.
My sisters boyfriend had the idea to go out for dinner after this. I suppose really this was better for me having the initial trouble getting into the hotel. Maybe this is why he thought it might be a good idea but it was at least quite nice to come here to this place.
Having Dinner at The Palm Restaurant in Alanya
On my last night I stayed at the Aroma Butik I ended up coming here to the Palm Restaurant up the road in Alanya.
The food here was pretty good. I think it was about 22 euros for my mixed grill. It felt nice to eat something proper because I hadn’t really eaten too well up to this point.
So, I’m not sure exactly what Palm Restaurant this was in Alanya. There are a few different ones with this name but this one is right by a big indoor market. Lots of places for shopping. I had a walk round with my niece. I bought a magnet and a postcard and I was persuaded to try one of the powdered mango tea drinks.
I’m sure the shopkeeper would have liked me to buy some but really I was just not wanting to spend any money anywhere else except the restaurant.
The taxi ride back after this was another headache. I had something like 600 Liras (10.00 GBP) but it was not enough for the driver to carry on 10 minutes up the road.
So, I had to come back to the hotel and get some more money together – basically another 400 Liras. I got a number for a driver on WhatsApp – he was after 1500 (£27 GBP) Liras to drive me back. I said I had only 1050 – he eventually agreed to this price but by this point I’d already got one from hotel reception.
I don’t know what it’s like in other parts of Turkey but over here in Margavat/Alanya – the taxi drivers will rinse you dry almost nearly every time.
Walking To The Pemar Beach From Aroma Butik
The next day it was time for me to leave Aroma Butik. I stayed on this day I think till about 12, had breakfast, took a walk down to the beach, had a paddle in the sea and dropped off my keys.
I decided that I wouldn’t get a taxi to Pemar Beach Hotel after this, and Instead I would walk the whole way.
In my head I was thinking that surely if its only 10 minutes to drive up the road then its not going to take me 2 hours like it says on Google maps.
WELL – it was a nice walk and it wasn’t. I think it took me around 110 minutes altogether. The beaches here aren’t really that great. The sea is nice but its all pebbles and dirty sand.
I was basically walking through every hotel resort along the way – as each pretty much has their own areas of beach and you need to cross through to get past.
It was funny because a few places were asking to see my wrist band. I just had to walk off and at other points parts of the beach were separated by mini streams and I had to take my trainers off to get through.
I then couldn’t wear my trainers at certain points because my feet were covered in sand and then I had to walk over the rocks. It was one of several reasons I should have got some sliders/crocs – something like that.
At one hotel I’m sure it said it was a Turtle Sanctuary. The name I don’t even remember but I had a good 10 minutes here. I was hoping to see a Turtle or two but I unfortunately only see frogs and tadpoles.
I was a bit worried after this because my phone battery was getting low and I wasn’t sure if I was heading in the right direction – but sure enough I kept walking and finally I arrived on foot at the Pemar Beach Hotel.
My Last 2 Days / Nights At Pemar Beach Hotel
It was nice to finally come here to where my sister and family was – under the circumstances that I was now actually booked to stay here.
I was a bit early for check in (I think). They told to leave my bags at reception and go have dinner whilst they got my room ready.
The room wasn’t as good as either my room in Tunisia or at the Aroma Butik – except the working shower. It is hard to complain really for £90 a night – you have all sorts to do here. Gym, games room, large pool, spa, kids activities and the list goes on.
I think the restaurant didn’t really satisfy me so much. It was all you can eat for free granted but it was more quantity than quality really. It kind of reminded me of a school or prison canteen. It wasn’t really that bad but it was so much better in Tunisia. I suppose there just wasn’t much I wanted to eat here really.
So, I won’t write the hotel off for that – it was nice taking my little niece swimming here and it was quite funny seeing her dance at the kids disco. I think she had a great time here. For anyone with kids I think this would be a good hotel to come to. I can’t say if there are any others that are better – there is about 20 in a row.
I paid £90 a night to stay here and booked on the Agoda app. This was much cheaper than what I was quoted on Booking.com. Well worth taking a look at.
So, I could have done a lot more during my stay here. I was feeling pretty ill towards the end of my stay. Probably chronic fatigue from coming here so soon after Tunisia. It was worth coming though – I had my complaints but it was a nice family holiday in the end.
Leaving Turkey
The good thing was that I managed to arrange my airport transfer for quite cheap compared. It was £48.00 on Booking.com – compared to the £75 I paid to get here I really wish I had of known before I got here that I could do this.
It was a bit of a tough morning. My trainers were still soaked. I didn’t say above but me and my sister went in the sea and she was hysterical laughing at me because I wasn’t coming in properly – I was getting as far as the rocks and they were hurting my feet so much that I didn’t come in any further.
I was just sitting down on the shore and getting struck repeatedly by the waves. My trainers were nearly goners – I had them on the beach a wave struck them and they almost nearly got dragged into the sea.
So, I had to get some sliders / crocs in the end and I had to wear these the whole next day – getting on the plane, getting off the plane, getting on the bus, walking around Stevenage – I must have looked like a right wally.
I couldn’t get the bus I wanted in Stevenage either because road was closed. 15 minutes I had to walk in my sliders. It was nice to get back home but I did feel very ill after this. It took me a couple days to recover.
My Idea For Going Back To Turkey
There are some reasons I wouldn’t go back to Turkey for. Namely to not have to pay for expensive hotels and taxis but I would maybe stay in the Aroma Butik again for £21 a night and definitely there is Discovering The Ancient Past Of Turkey…
Gobekle Tepe, Derrinkuru, and Mount Nemrut, and the Sunken City of Kekova.
I would have to get planning with some tours I think and I would have to be staying (I think) somewhere cheap. I would like to go to Aroma Butik Hotel. Just because it is really nice here but I think maybe central Antalya would be better.
Basically, I think Derrinkuyu I could get to on the Cappadocia tour, and the Sunken City as long as I book in advance I could book around the same time but Mount Nemrut / Gobekle Tepe that would have to be something else and I’d maybe have to get to another location.
>>>Find Out More About – The 12 Main Ancient Sites of Turkey HERE<<
I probably would spend maybe 2-3 weeks in Turkey. If I could get these 3 trips done and maybe go to the waterfall again I’d be pretty happy with this.
Maybe next year I want to try and do this cheap as possible but will see how this turns out. When it happens I will write a new post but for now I hope you liked reading about me gate crashing my sisters holiday.
Leave a comment to let me know what you think below.
Many thanks for reading;
Alex and Teddy
Keen traveller and digital nomad looking to share my stories from my international trips with my faithful companion Mr Bean 2.0 (Alex Chivers).
