Alanya - Antalya - Olympos

Got up at 0830 after sleeping 3 hours, having arrived to Alanya at 0500. Went looking for an ATM and breakfast. The weather was a cozy +32C at that time.
View over Alanya bay.
And so it begins.
Made it to the beach after breakfast. This one remained the only real beach we got to visit during the week.
BWAHAH :) (New) Elvis (Beach) lives.. SUOMI RANTA! ..really, Alanya is full of crap like this, but this was the most ridiculous thing ever.
The view from our balcony.
Killing time on a secluded terrace, waiting for the sun to go down.
Having breakfast at the next morning at 0730.

Soon after we took a cab to the bus station and were off to Antalya. The trip took two hours, and I learned that cell phones are not allowed to be turned on the Turkish busses. Why? Because they hinder the braking system's ability to work. Luckily the buses in the rest of the world are impervious to those evil things we call cell phones. Well, this wasn't the only weirdness Turkey has to offer against the common sense -- consider the "Shit Baskets" (some early engineer in his great wisdom has designed the piping to be so crappy that you cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet, or else it gets stuck. And yes, this is not only in Turkey, but the neighboring countries as well).

Scenery through a bus window.
Another 2 hours from Antalya and we arrived to this very small cafe in the middle of nowhere, where the third and final (mini)bus would depart to Olympos. Only 11km to go! It started to be killer warm (almost +40C) and with no sea close by, we had to go for the nearest shadow.
Arrived to Olympos, finally!
Olympos is a small, secluded hippyish traveller community with scarcely any (foreign) tourists. It was located in a beautiful valley between quite high peaks, and consisted of 15 or so pensions, each offering bungalows and treehouses at very cheap rate. Also, breakfast and dinner was included in the price.
Baris, our Turkish contact and guide-to-be :)
Hanging out on the "platforms" for the first time was a hilarious experience. Hard to explain, but in a nutshell they ware these 4-by-4 meter levels with soft cushioning and a no-shoes policy. People relaxed there through the hottest hours of the day over beer and waterpipe.
When it got a bit cooler, we visited the Olympos shore line for a quick swim.
The route to beach went through the ruins of the ancient city of Olympos.
Back to the platforms. Man, they were cozy.
One of the treehouses. We stayed in a bungalow, that had its own shower.
After dinner we went to see the Flames of Chimeira; there was natural gas pouring out of a mountain side, and you could light up the gas to make blaze as a one meter high flame. A VERY cool sight in the middle of the night. Too bad it was a 45 minute drive one way. Also it was fucking hot even during the night (well over +30C still), and climb was pretty steep and took 20 minutes. I felt like dying after making it to the top.
But hey, luckily I brought refreshments.
After returning from the flame tour, we continued the evening to Gölge ("The Shadow"), one the 2 local bars, featuring live music.
We had booked an all-day boattrip for the next day in the previous evening. So here's our ride for the day.
Riikka + Baris swimming in the first bay we stopped at.
The sea was ridiculously blue. The picture doesn't even give it the right.
Heading out to the next spot.
Baris chatting with this English lady on the way back.
Entering the last spot, to swim in natural caves.
People fishinh in the back of the boat.
Home, after some 6 hours at the sea. We had had fish for lunch, inclusive to the trip price.
Overview of the Olympos village.
On the platforms for a change.
Soon we got accompanied by other people -- turkish and australians.
Enjoying dinner also on the platforms.
And then some crappy waterpipe. It really didn't rule that time, it was set up all wrong.
Again in the Gölge.
Afterwards we continued to the other bar of the village, The Bull Bar where there is a big floor for people to dance on, with a fireplace in the middle.
Later on back in Antalya. We had some 6 hours to kill before departing for Istanbul. So, we went first to the beach for lunch.
The set out to find a metal bar in Antalya. Proved a bit tricky as such bars have a short lifespan and people weren't sure whether some place was still around or not.
Stopped for beers in a beer garden joint, which had a cool pool with turtles and big fish in it.
..and finally made it to the metal bar, The Bar. What a genius name for a bar!
Baris headbanding.