Sun, sand, beach volleyball, a great resort hotel and plenty of the local schnapps “raki” … a wonderful mix for six days in Alanya, Turkey! Lisa and I have been in Turkey several times but this was my first to this particular region and I was favorably impressed. You can see some of the photos clicking here. Early excitement included the bus (large van) transfer from the airport … I was OK with our race driver since we made it before dinner closed down at the hotel; Lisa was just a wee bit concerned with the use of speed limits signs, stop lights, stop signs and lane marking as mere decoration. It should have taken two and a half hours, he pulled it off in an hour and three quarters. Since the driver spoke neither English nor German there probably wasn’t much we could have done about it anyway :-).
We enjoyed a tour of the city, with its fantastic ancient fort/castle; complete with a pleasant boat trip around the peninsula. Released to the market for an hour the guide designated the restaurant TexMex as our rendezvous. It was fascinating to us due to the sombreros on the wall … and huge water pipes on many tables; the nachos weren’t half bad either. We went back downtown to the harbor one evening and found it very pleasant as well.
The Maritim Hotel Club Alantur was great and we had spacious room with large balcony with a view of the Mediterranean and the city’s peninsula in the distance. With over 500 meters of beachfront it was hardly crowded and it boasted a lovely botanical garden with fountains and grassy shade for those that didn’t want sand. The outdoor restaurant was more than adequate as were the beach bars. Our only complaints were the steel planks that passed as mattresses and sparing allowance of air conditioning. Oh, and the entertainment team … wasn’t. We linked up early with an Austrian couple and had many a fine conversation. For my part, beach volleyball was a blast twice a day and there was a long (at least 5 kilometers, I never made it to the end) promenade perfect for morning runs.
Not a huge report since it was a short trip but uneventful isn’t bad for a vacation regardless of length. I was back at work 14 hours after getting home … oh well.
