Chimera

Far up on a mountain side on the shores of Cirali beach, pure magic. An ancient mythical fire-breathing beast still roams the hills.

Since ancient time, sailors have used the Chimera to navigate the Lycian coast and find the harbor of Olympus. Methane seeping through the rock face of the mountain can be ignited and seen for miles around. It's the original eternal Olympic flame.

It's a fairly steep hike up there, and it's one of the only hikes I've ever taken where everyone says that it's best to go at night. Bring a flashlight. You'll be able to spot creatures like this rather than lean up against them.

The trail is well marked and well maintained, but pitch black until the Chimera is spotted. At the top, the flames spring from the rock and lick the air to illuminate groups of hikers and campers warming themselves by the flames.

The flames never die. In rain and wind, they keep burning. As you pick your way past the ruins of temples to the top of the hill, you can totally get a vibe of how sacred and unusual a sight like this is.

I suck as a videographer, but I felt the need to try to capture the scene. Sorry about the shake.

Olympus

Into the inky-black night we rode. The night bus, while no where near luxurious, had seats slightly bigger than what you might find on an airplane. However airplanes don't toss you around climbing and twisting through mountain ranges in the pouring rain, and the also don't stop every two hours for a coffee and a wee since there are no bathrooms on the bus.

Anyway.

I was happy to see the sun rise and arrive with my life intact in Antalya.

Antalya is a big city- in fact, I was kind of astounded at how big and sprawling it was. It's got a reputation as a beach resort town, populated mostly by Russian beach-goers. No sleep and watery instant coffee made for a slightly grumpy girl, so I made the snap decision to push onward. Another bus was sought, this one for another 2 hour drive down the winding and mountainous Lycian coast to Olympus. The bus drops off at a roadside cafe, where more watery instant coffee was consumed while waiting for yet another bus. This one took us down the windy, mountainous dirt roads to the tiny beachside backpacker town of Olympus.

For about $20 a night, you can stay in a little wooden cabin here. Not luxurious by any means, but maybe one step above camping. About a half dozen of these "treehouse" villas line the main street of the village (which you have to cross a stream on foot to get to) and most have a lady making Gözleme and fresh squeezed orange juice for you.

It's a beautiful area. It's popular with rock climbers, but I don't know if I'd want to get scraped up here.

It's a well known spot for ancient ruins. Evidence of an entire roman village from 2 BC still remain in the valley.

Most of the ruins are pretty grown-over with brush, but you can pick your way around them and see the baths and temples and dwellings and crypts. Be prepared to get a little dirty and scraped up.

Working through the ruins, the most stunning beach materialized ahead.

While the air was sticky and thick with an offshore thunderstorm which was making swimming a little risky and dramatic, but Cirali beach was one of the prettiest I've seen. The large pebbles were hard to walk on, but the mountains and castle ruins dropping down into the Mediterranean was a sight to behold.