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My favourite holiday destination will always be Turkey with it's wonderful array of changing landscapes as you travel from region to region.   Anatolia was no different from the minute we landed at Antalya International Airport in June 2003. The first thing that hit's you (besides the heat) is the cleanliness in contrast to our own litter bins that pass for airports.
I travelled with Janice, my brother John and his wife Barbara  from the airport on a superb air conditioned coach to the Mirage Park Hotel, 35k from Antalya, arriving at about 2:am and straight to bed. My old friend Ramazan from Yalikavak had recommended this hotel where his cousin was working and arranged a substantial discount at this wonderful five star complex.
On waking in the morning Janice called me to the balcony, now bathed in sunshine. What a sight, probably the best view I had ever seen from a Hotel room, we were truly in paradise.
From the front of the hotel you gaze out across the sparkling Mediterranean  towards Cyprus and behind, the magnificent Taurus Mountains. You can see the carp swim in the pool below and the pristine gardens which stretch down to the beach 100 metres away.

On our first day we ventured into Goynuk which in all honesty is nothing to write home about. We did however take the advise of a local barman and book into the Anadolu Hamami (Turkish Bath) for a good old clean up and a full oil massage. We piled in and and had the full Monty taking nearly three hours overall and the cost, only about a tenner each which was great value.
Goynuk itself consists of a main street full of touristy gift shops, bars and restaurants and Hotels, most of which are superb. There were one or two all inclusive hotels which don't go down too well with the locals.
Back at the Hotel our evening meal was served outdoors by the Carp Pool and was truly international cuisine. The Hotel is occupied by a cross section of Russian, German, Dutch, Scandinavian and UK residents so there were many tastes to cater for, a task they managed well. After supper we wandered over to the open air theatre and watched the entertainment team with the children. The Turkish people have a lovely way with the children, something I think we could do well to learn from. The adult entertainment was typically Turkish, somewhat zany and far removed from what we are used to especially the humour which was anything but funny!
On site we had pretty much anything we wanted from ten pin bowling to water sports, as we were here for only a week we were somewhat spoilt for choice.
Ten Pin Bowling was great fun, my brother John surprised me with a couple of high scoring games which for a non sporting person was quite an achievement.
Our first visit to Kemer was a pleasant one, travelling the 6km on the Dolmus for very little money. The old Commer vans and Ford Transits have been replaced with much more modern vehicles, some even had air conditioning. I travelled on one on my own one day to Kemer, the driver had the heater on with a fag in his mouth (compulsory for Turkish men) phone to his ear and never changed out of first gear for the entire journey. Click the thumbnail pictures for an enlargement.
Kemer itself is a modern purpose built tourist town, initially a blueprint for tourist areas. The streets are awash with souvenir shops and jewellers all fighting for your custom. The Turkish traders still haven't wised up to the fact that while bartering is a bit of a laugh at first and sometimes fun, you can't beat putting a price sticker on and letting the punters browse at their leisure.
I found an excellent Music shop on the main street in Kemer where I stocked up on my Turkish CD's, thankfully these were set priced but I still managed to negotiate a small discount for buying a few. The shop is called the Music Store and well worth visiting.
The Harbour was lined with Restaurants and small bars where you could eat the freshly caught local fish and wash it down with a glass of Efes beer or maybe sample a bottle of Turkish wine which was quite palatable. The harbour is flanked by two very nice beaches which for the time of year (June) were very quiet. It was also noticeable that as English people we were very much in the minority which in itself was very agreeable. No lager louts or trolley pushers with kids hanging all over them to spoil the peace which this area exudes. With the temperature in the low forties we found a quiet bar and cooled off with a glass of  Raki which according to the Turks cures any ailment and acts as an aphrodisiac, so I had three.
The following day we hired a car for 35€, air conditioned and fully insured (essential) so we ventured out onto the Turkish Roads and headed West......
The coast road was spectacular and well signed, our first turn led to Phasalis an ancient Roman ruin and beach area which had a ten million Turkish Lire (TL) per person toll on it. With the added 1k walk and temperature approaching 100° we decided to give it a miss and head for Olympos, a similar site further up the coast. We threaded our way down the steep narrow mountain road towards the turquoise coloured sea and arrived at the hippie tree top village as featured in the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet travel books.
What a brilliant place! Old Shacks built into the tree tops and log constructed buildings in this quaint complex. We had a cool beer and then the Aussie guy who manages it showed us round the accommodation. OK, it's basic but you can rent a dorm for as little as £5.50 or a double cabin with bathroom for £8 per person, half board!!!!
Most of the residents are on the young side but there's no problem here for any age group with many different activities to choose from and some wonderful walks. A young New Zealander told me, "lots of people think that heaven is up in the sky, but I am sure that real paradise is here on earth. This place is a piece of it. You can't help getting captured by its beauty, which is the most authentic beauty I have ever seen. I hope this place never loses its incredible meaning."   I agree with her, hopefully we'll return next year for a stay..
We moved on to another tree top complex a little closer to the sea front and had lunch which was excellent. A very large crispy bread roll filled with chicken and salad served with French fries and a drink for nearly £2.00 each, Little Chef eat your heart out.
We returned to our Hotel and had supper and then drove into Antalya which was busy and a little over facing after the tranquillity of Olympos. We spent the rest of the evening back at our favourite little cafe bar, the Natur down the little dirt track road opposite the hotel. Very cheap drinks and the usual free popcorn or fresh fruit. 
Janice and I booked to go to Aspendos to watch the Opera at the world renowned 10th Aspendos International Festival of Ballet and Opera while Barbara and my brother chose a beach day.
Being the best preserved theatre in the world, the Aspendos theatre was built in the 2nd century BC, by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and is known as one of the three finest ancient theatres in the world with excellent acoustics. We travelled the hour and a half from the hotel to Side in a small air conditioned coach and had a meal at one of the purpose built restaurants close to the theatre. We were taken to the 15,000 capacity theatre and were extremely lucky to get front row seats just to the right of centre. the Opera, Aida was a full company production staged by the National Opera and ballet company.
The Opera was everything I expected and more with Boyko Svetanov as Radames singing to perfection. The ballet company were also flawless in this first night performance but probably the most memorable part of the evening was the penultimate scene where the full company including all choruses filled the evening air with a crescendo of glorious sound. A wonderful night to bring our holiday to it's final day as we left this marvellous setting at nearly 2am.
Our final day was spent lazing by the pool with the odd swim to cool off as the temperatures rose to over 100. I can only find good things to say about the Mirage Park Hotel and would love to return there and to this part of Turkey, we have only scratched the surface of places to visit but one things for sure -  what we did see of Anatolia only served to cement my relationship with this wonderful country.

Goynuk and Kemer - Mirage Park revisited - May 2005

2 years doesn't seem a long time but it is certainly is enough time to change the balance of clientele in a Turkish Hotel. Janice and I returned to Mirage Park with my brother John and sister in law Barbara on the 15th of May 2005, a day before my 59th birthday to resample our favourite Hotel. The Russians have arrived in force on the Turkish holiday scene and a fair old portion of them were present at the Mirage Park in Goynuk this week, I would estimate around ninety percent of the hotels clients. I have never had a problem integrating with different nationalities on my travels but in all fairness the Russians are a different kettle of fish to any other I have had the pleasure to meet. I tired of greeting them only to be ignored or on the odd occasion, grunted at. The restaurants were decimated each evening as they stampeded through them like a flock of locusts devouring all before them. The Hotel was fully booked and groaned under the strain to accommodate all the diners at one sitting. We did meet the odd Brit and a number of Germans but in the main the Russians ruled the roost. I never thought I would ever say this but I would have preferred to share the week with a few English Lager louts or trolley pushers than the red army revellers who delighted at shouting from balcony to balcony during the wee small hours.
The Hotel hasn't changed much at all, still a fine place to spend a holiday. The food was difficult to assess because we preferred to eat later in the evening after it had been reduced to scraps by our east European visitors but, we were told it was excellent at 19:00 when the starting pistol was fired to signal the red rush as restaurant doors were flung open.
The swimming pools are scrupulously clean with plenty of  sun loungers available, the gardens are immaculate and the beach is superb but what is the point of a 5 star hotel if the clientele is only 2 star.
Goynuk itself has altered little but there are a number of hotels under construction and sadly I think that it will soon become just another resort instead of the quiet backwater I visited 2 years ago.  With the new influx of Russian visitors many of the restaurant staff and shopkeepers are coming in from neighbouring Azerbaijan and a lack of the usual friendly Turkish hospitality is becoming apparent.
One place that has escaped any change, other than having the dusty dirt track road tarmacked, is the Bazaar opposite the Mirage Park where you can buy all the usual tourist ware or shop at the mini markets. There are a number of small café restaurants where you can enjoy the local food at good prices.
Our favourite was the SUNRISE where the food was excellent and the service was typically Turkish. Young Omar pictured above, a fellow Galatasaray supporter, always made us welcome and would spend as much time as he could just chatting and generally providing a better service than we could get at the Mirage Park. Each meal would be enhanced with really tasty little "freebies" such as deep fried cheese wraps and dips. After the meal, the customary apple tea and fresh fruit arrived, always "a gift from us".  I could never see this happening at home in England. Omar works from 9:00 until the early hours when the last customer leaves and still remains cheerful and friendly.
In Kemer I couldn't resist revisiting the Music Store on the main shopping street leading to the Marina. I picked up some of the latest Turkish pop music and had a chat and a glass of apple tea before Janice and I had a walk round the marina. This really is a lovely little spot where you can sit by the waterside, enjoy a cool drink and just watch the world go by.
The  Dolmus ride back to Goynuk costs 2.5 TL (just under £1 Stirling) which is quite a steep rise from 2 years ago, probably due to the serious hike in petrol prices in Turkey, around £1.00 per litre. The Market in Goynuk is on a Friday when the top of the town (behind the school opposite the Hamam) is a must do option. You can practice your bartering with the traders here as you run the gauntlet of stall upon stall of tee shirts, jeans, spices, fancy goods, jewellery, Turkish delight, genuine imitation watches, CD's and much more besides.

When I look back at this week I have to say hand on heart, I just love the place and I do hope it doesn't outgrow itself. Sheltered by the mighty back drop of the Taurus Mountain range you feel cut off from the rest of the world which allows you to truly relax and recharge your batteries in readiness for the next stint of work back home.  If you asked me if I would return I would  say,  tomorrow if I could.... 

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