September 16, 1996

Now that we've descended to sea level, we find it hard to escape the crowds. The Mediterranean coast of Turkey is crawling with sleeveless, lobster-colored tourists. The town of Side proved a bit of a disappointment. The ruins there are buried behind endless souvenir stalls. Antalya was alright as cities go, but the bazaar we'd read so much about wasn't very exciting. The city did serve us well though; an oil change and a bank machine.

The town of Aspendos was better. Turkey's best preserved amphitheater sits solitary in front of cliffs. From the top of those cliffs we had a panoramic view of its interior as well as a view of the acropolis. But still we kept searching. Somewhere there had to be a haven where the tour buses didn't intrude. We found it in Olympos. No tour buses, just loads of travelers.

Olympos is a backpackers' heaven. Free camping signs and tree house pensions line the dirt road right up to the ancient ruins. We parked at the last camping place between rows of lime trees and three gum tree platforms; instantly we felt at home. The sounds from the platforms were familiar - English. We haven't seen so many Aussies and Kiwis since we left Australasia.

The language, the quiet, the sights made Olympos a perfect place to relax for three days. We caught up on our writing, our laundry, our cooking, our ice-cream eating. The ruins of ancient Olympos which stretch along the cliffs end at a beach, a beautiful pebbled arc bordered by cliffs and sloping down to clear blue water. Perfect. After coming down from the mountains, we've been engulfed in heat.