Turkey 2026: Riviera, Antalya, and Cappadocia (page 3 of 5)

The one served this morning, like most of the ones we’ll have at our accommodations, is enormous—sweet, savory, but mostly savory, actually...

A great way to start the morning!😉 That’s what I call a real breakfast... Makes sense since I always prioritize it (even at home) over lunch. It’s only in France (or pretty much) where people don’t eat much in the morning—just some sweets I’m not too fond of. When I’m abroad, especially in Eastern Europe, Turkey, etc., I love it! Though I didn’t see any fries at the Turkish breakfast, though.

One downside for the entry fees charged to foreigners... but a big plus for the breakfasts!

Following your message, I just checked the prices for Ephesus. It’s a bit steep...😮

Even the locals I’ve talked to don’t understand and are worried it’ll scare tourists away... But the country really needs foreign currency...

Kas, with 9,000 inhabitants in winter, is a small, very boho seaside town on the Turkish Riviera, featuring a peninsula with crystal-clear waters—very (too) cold at this time of year.

The pool seems like a good fallback, so we’ll be settling in at the Peninsula Garden Hotel for 4 nights, thanks to an enticing offer and an upgrade at this 5-star establishment (which truly deserves its rating). But they opened just the week before, and the team isn’t quite up to speed yet... The site is stunning, and the room with a private pool we were given matches the place perfectly.







We’ll spend 3 days lounging around, punctuated by a gargantuan breakfast—but we’ve already mentioned that—along with lazing on the terrace, reading, and evenings of apéros and dining out in town. It’s the weekend, so there are quite a few people around.



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Oh, I almost forgot! Don’t miss the sunken city of Kekova nearby, accessible by tourist boat in the summer, but we reached it by car along the coast in 30 minutes. To make the most of the spot, nothing beats hiring a local fisherman to take us there. The fisherman saw me coming with my euros—he charged me 60 € for a 30-minute ride... Nice, but a bit pricey. Luckily, the site itself is free! 🤪 We then wandered around the ancient site before heading back to our base.

Did you forget the photos? 😉 (You posted them since...)

Kekova, Kaş—such great memories!

But it was a spot that wasn’t very developed back then.

(Ugh, I see tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast! No way! I prefer sweet over savory, especially if the savory isn’t cold and high-quality. Eggs are okay, but not every day...)

Did you forget the photos? 😉 (You posted them since...)

To explain everything, I’m writing the text from my work computer, but I upload the photos from my tablet because my hard drive can’t be connected to my computer anymore due to my company’s security procedures.

Kekova, Kaş, such great memories! But it was a spot that wasn’t very developed back then.

That must’ve been in the 19th century then!!!

(Arghh, I see tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast! No way! I prefer sweet over savory, especially if the savory isn’t cold and high-quality. Eggs are okay, but not every day...)

I’m definitely on team sweet too. I never eat eggs, especially not in the morning 😕 (That morning, they didn’t get that eggs were a no-go). But no matter how much you told them, they still served them... On the other hand, we got to try different homemade jams—absolute heaven!!

Sweet or savory, all of this still looks way more appetizing than what they serve in Kyrgyzstan 😉

You can still buy the Visits Pass that includes many sites in Turkey, but it’s 165 € per person!

Good thing photos are free... for now, at least! 😮

That must’ve been back in the 19th century then!

She’d just turned 17...

The coastal road wasn’t even finished yet...

(But I went back in the early 2000s, and while I remember Antalya and Bodrum being really lively, I don’t recall Kaş as a party-hotel hotspot???)

It still looks way more appealing than what they offer in Kyrgyzstan 😉

Yeah! !

Love this little 4-day chill-out... 😄 Yeah, you can spot us tourists from a mile away—the price difference is huge! 😮

(But I went back there at the very beginning of the 2000s, and while I remember a lot of activity in Antalya and Bodrum, I don’t recall Kaş as a party hub ???)

I can confirm that Kaş isn’t a party hub—it’s more of a chic, upscale little seaside town with a small port and pedestrian streets. It’s nothing like the resorts in Antalya, which is actually what drew us to set up camp there.

Love this little 4-day getaway... 😄 Yeah! We stand out as tourists from a mile away—huge price gap 😢

I think the price gap is that steep on purpose, to discourage tourists from exploring and keep them in their resorts 🏖️

Sweet or savory, it all still looks way more appetizing than what they serve in Kyrgyzstan 😉

That lamb stew looked really good [;]

Let’s be real, I’m way behind on this travel journal—it’s time to get back to it:

Part 2: On the Road to Cappadocia: Lake Eğirdir.

Because lounging around only goes so far, it’s time to head to our next stop: Göreme and its national park. The catch? We’ve got to venture deep into the heart of the country, cross mountains, and traverse the Anatolian plains before reaching the holy grail… That’s 700 km and over 9 hours of travel according to Google Maps. So, a stopover is a must, and Eğirdir and its lake were the chosen spot (thanks to the advice—and influence—of *you know who*).





Well, we didn’t exactly plan for the weather to turn, leaving us without sun for the next four days… More than once, I thought of Thérèse from the Canary Islands—regulars on this forum will know what I mean…

Under the sun and heat, an evening and night by the lake would’ve been dreamy. Instead, it’s a different story: puffy jackets are out, and the max temperature is 5°C… Not to mention the place itself—aside from the lake—doesn’t exactly *wow* you. But hey, it was just a pit stop.

Luckily, breakfast was, as always, top-notch. And that’s putting it lightly—you’ve got to see it to believe it.



No regrets about leaving the next day, though—another solid 4 hours on the road, broken up by a cool discovery: the Sultanhani Caravanserai. We’re smack in the middle of the Silk Road, but our camels are made of metal, and we’re moving a bit faster.







The upside of the weather? Not a soul around for the visit. Well, almost no one.

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We arrived at the park in the early afternoon, and the *wow* factor hit immediately—despite the gloomy weather.

"Cappadocia is a stone dream, a lunar landscape sculpted by wind and time. Here, the earth rises in fairy chimneys and hollows into secret sanctuaries. Shaped by centuries of troglodyte life, it’s a mineral kingdom of ochre and white valleys, where human history has hidden in the silence of rocks and underground cities, and where the sky celebrates each morning with the silent flight of a hundred colorful balloons." .

Not my words, but I think it sums it up well—even if it’s from some virtual entity that’s never set foot here. What a show-off, that Gemini… .



We wanted to avoid the crowds, so we booked (the night before) for four nights in the peaceful village of Çavuşin, 4 km north of Göreme. The welcome at Instone Hotel was in French, and the place was nearly empty—a stark contrast to the main town.

Part 3: Cappadocia National Park

No downtime on the agenda for these 3 days here. My favorite AI suggests a day of motorized sightseeing to the farthest spots, then 2 days of hiking when the weather promises better days. All in all, a pretty packed schedule.

Today, we didn’t eat enough, but we still hit the road to visit the most remote sites. A 200 km loop for the day.

It starts with a curiosity: the underground city of Kaymakli, about thirty kilometers away. This dizzying stone labyrinth, carved over eight levels, where thousands of early Christians took refuge underground, sealing the tunnels behind them with massive stone millstones to escape—over the centuries—either the Romans or Arab raids. We visit right at opening to avoid the crowds of buses we see arriving as we leave...







A second nearby city, Derinkuyu, can be visited, but we prefer to head down to the Ihlara Valley.

This canyon, over 16 kilometers long, is carved by a river, and its steep cliffs hide dozens of Byzantine churches. Except that the heavy rains of the past few days forced the authorities to close the trails running through it, so we’ll have to settle for seeing it from above.





But we make up for it at Selime Cathedral, at the end of the valley. This monument is the largest religious structure in Cappadocia—a massive monastic complex entirely carved into the mountain.







Next to it, our first fairy chimneys, summed up by a simple geological formula: A hard head on a soft body...



On the way back, we stop in Avanos, the closest town to the park. Gemini recommended a stop at a renowned potter’s workshop—our first pottery lesson, a little *Ghost* vibe (you know the one?), and a first personal creation that, unfortunately, won’t make it to the kiln... Admit it, you weren’t ready! 😉 😄

Hey Bruno

Under the sun and the heat, the evening and night spent by the lake would have sold a dream. Now, it’s more complicated—the puffy jackets are out, and it’s max 5 degrees...

Early May?! Never would’ve thought... Nothing’s going right 🤪

our first fairy chimneys, summed up by a simple geological formula. A hard head on a soft body...

Like this one?😉

For our other two days in Göreme, we’ll finally park the car and enjoy the wonders of the site. The weather clears up, the sun comes out, the heat returns, and we’ll explore some of the many trails with evocative names: Red Valley, Rose Valley, Love Valley, and Pigeon Valley. For each, there are plenty of trails you can take by different means—on foot, horseback, bike, or even by ATV on marked roads. The light is magical, and there’s little elevation change. Hiking here feels like stepping into a timeless world where every trail reveals, between wild orchards, the façade of a forgotten Byzantine church. .

There’s a guy up there!







Of course, we won’t skip the two most visited spots in the area: Uçhisar Castle, which overlooks all the valleys, and the Göreme Open-Air Museum, a truly iconic site where rock walls open up to stunning Byzantine churches with thousand-year-old frescoes (though photography is prohibited).

celle des pigeons.

Did the Turks name this spot that because it's where they rip off tourists?