Tomorrow is our 12th anniversary!  Amazing.  "When you start on your journey to Ithaca then pray that the road is long."  So all I want for my 12th anniversary is another 12 and another 12 and another 12…..which will make me really old and Randal 2 years older! 

Datca is pretty much just west of Marmaris.  This is the story of our time there.  We hope to go back.

Ru

DoraMac

Keep going Sox! 

Datca, Knidos, Palamutbuku and Le Jardin de Semra

“The quiet fishermen village Datca is located about 65 kilometers from Marmaris.

Datca, with just 8000 inhabitants is on a peninsula surrounded by nature. Its location is unique: North of the peninsula is the Aegean Sea and at the South the Mediterranean Sea. From the peninsula you have a panoramic view on the Greek islands Kos, Simi and Rhodos.

Datca is not yet discovered by mainstream tourism because there is no airport nearby. Here you can still taste the real Turkey in Datca. The village is famous for its high oxygen level in the air and the low humidity. Even in the hottest summer months, a gentle breeze will allow for a pleasant stay. The sea and the coast line are stunningly beautiful. In the village itself you can find a little beach and there are plenty of quiet little bays where you can enjoy the peace and beauty.

Eski Datca

When you are in Datca you can visit the natural hot water spring in the centre of Datca. {We biked through but didn’t have time to stay long, but will next time.} This little lake feeds a small water fall, where between 4000 and 5000 liter water flows into the sea every minute. The hot water allows you to swim also in the coldest winter months. On Friday and Saturday a visit to the weekly market is certainly worthwhile; on this market you can buy cheap vegetable, fruit and clothing."Eski Datca" or Old Datca is located 4km from Datca. Historically this was the old centre of Datça. Walking around there will give you the idea that you are going back in time by centuries! Walking down the narrow streets, you can enjoy the old architecture of the houses which has remained intact.” http://www.hiddendatca.com/pages/datca-peninsula

Datca is on the coast, but to get there you take the highway over the mountains.

There is one major road between Datca and Marmaris but seemingly few vehicles to use it. That’s perfect for us. Shortly after leaving Datca we were passed by several cars, a bus, and van from one of Turkey’s political parties. Elections are next month. They had flags and we had our little flag. They waved and honked and we waved. It was like going to a Tech game! But that was just about all the traffic there was except for a car every now and then.

Stopping to look at the view.

Our cruising friends say we look like astronauts! We are almost the only motorbikers to use helmets.

Images of Datca

Just near our hotel.

A few fish sellers and one very patient cat.

Near our hotel is a small park, a public school and a waterside restaurant where the locals seem to gather. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this woman. She reminds me of our friend Marie-Louise with her morning coffee and newspaper.

Waterfront restaurant where the tourists eat.

Our hotel is the building with the orange roof and you can see the playground just in front on the beach.

It looks surreal but it is exactly as it is.

Zekeriya Sofrasi

The restaurant on the main drag where we ate. Lonely Planet 2009 said it was a good choice with large portions of the best home-cooked local food. Considering it is still there in 2011 it must be doing something right. We chatted with the owner, Zekeriya. His niece just graduated from the University of Virginia!

Big Dinner!!!

Chickpea stew and chicken and fries for Randal and for me, a stew made from artichokes, carrots, and peas; stuffed grape leaves, bread, something with goat cheese and something else I don’t remember but was quite good. We ate just about everything but didn’t make a dent in the bread and they actually had brown bread.

Fora Hotel Lobby with the extremely helpful and friendly desk clerk!

Small sitting area with their Turkish carpet.

Our “suite.”

Our rooms were spare, clean, light and opened onto balconies…we had a sleeping room and a sitting room and a bathroom with a separate enclosed shower. We slept with only the screen door but it was very quiet all night. We no longer need heavy blankets and heat.

Sunrise view.

Sun comes up about 5 something and sets about 8 something making for nice long days.

Reflections from the sidewalk tables where we ate breakfast.

You know I did feed the cat. It rejected a bit of the salty goat cheese so I took a glob of butter on my finger and led the cat away and fed it away from the tables.

Every Turk must have a green thumb! There are flowers everywhere.

I don’t know…The Three Muses? Whatever, I just liked the idea that there they were!

Living quarters above a carpet shop.

There was a small carpet shop on the waterfront with a really old man sitting “guard.” I say guard because he really didn’t talk, gave us no encouragement when we entered his shop, and just flipped on lights and followed us around from the front room to the back room. He was following Randal in the front room when I noticed a stairway in the back room and went up the stairs to peek. He was not happy with me and let me know with his frown for going up the stairs. But I love his rugs and room even though he was such a grouch. He had nice carpets in his shop but there was no working with him. There was no talking with him.

Stella!

In the morning her assistant had been there but just ignored us so we left and went off to Knidos to see the ruins. But we went back late in the afternoon and Stella was very nice and we almost bought the carpet that she had to take from the wall while balanced dare-devil on a ladder, and then had to wipe clean with a mixture of vinegar and water. But it didn’t really call our names so we didn’t get it. We found that her assistant really was very nice and helpful; his English was just too limited to chat, and he really wasn’t there to deal with customers when we stopped in earlier that day.

A beautiful Kayseri carpet in the shop Bazaar Datca.

After breakfast we walked around town one last time and saw carpets in another shop so went in, of course. Kayseri patterns and motifs kept attracting us and that’s exactly what we ended up buying. See the flower motif and the very light circles in the dark area? This one was just too much money and too light but lovely. It felt like silk but I can’t remember if it was since some cotton and even some wool can feel really silky. When you look at the carpets in one direction you see the “dark side” and the other is the “light side” and this carpet had a very vivid contrast. Our carpets have very little contrast so the nap isn’t so extreme.

Waiting for school to start.

We watched them play before school and then heard the school announcements and national anthem. A bit later we saw the late kids having their names taken in the empty playground.

Then it was time to go since we wanted to stop in Turgut to look at carpets and have lunch at the beach resort. Before leaving town we stopped at our regular station to fill up with fuel since there wasn’t one between Datca and Turgut and maybe not between Turgut and Marmaris! Next to the station was a car wash.

Carpets at the car wash! There were several rolling racks and then many carpets on the back fence.

Washing the carpets.

Oddly, Steff Archer, our sales guy at Turgutkoy Hali wasn’t aghast when I told him what I had seen. He said it was the water not the soap that they were using. But he also gave us a paper with suggestions as to how to clean our carpets and there was nothing about taking them to a car wash.

Next email will be about our visit to Knidos with an unplanned side trip to Palamutbuku for lunch.