Turkey Tour Competition: Win a Gulet Cruise

Peter Sommer Travels has teamed up with Current World Archaeology magazine and the Turkish Culture & Tourism Office to offer two lucky people the chance to indulge in an expert led cultural tour and gulet cruise, Sailing Western Lycia, September 25th - October 2nd, 2010.
You will travel on a wonderful gulet from a starting point at the pretty harbour of Göcek, just 30 minutes from Dalaman airport, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The tour is led by Cambridge University Classicist and archaeologist Dr Nigel Spivey. Every day, you will visit one of the antique cities that adorn this timeless Turkish coast, and then stroll along ancient roads lined with wild herbs, olive trees, and rock tombs. You will have the chance to both snorkel over sunken harbours and climb rocky fastnesses for unrivalled vistas. From mighty theatres to churches floored with mosaics, each site is an archaeological adventure, part of a historical puzzle that reveals a remarkable story of human civilisation. Every day there are plenty of opportunities to swim in the crystal waters of the Turquoise coast, to windsurf, kayak, or go for a hike.


Highlights include a visit to Xanthus, the great capital of ancient Lycia, whose magnificent treasures caused an extraordinary stir when they were brought to the British Museum, and a visit of Gemiler Island resplendent with its avenue of Byzantine churches. Full board, road transfers, and entrance fees to archaeological sites will be covered. International flights will be generously provided by the Turkish Culture & Tourism Office in London.
The deadline for entries is midnight on Saturday July 31, 2010.
How to enter: Please answer the following question on ancient Turkey:
The temple of Artemis was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but with which site was it associated?

Best beaches in Turkey: Olympos - ANTALYA

Olympos beach is situated in the Olympos Beydaglari National Park. Photo: IMAGES & STORIES/ALAMY

Olympos beach has plenty of neighbouring attractions, including the tree-house hostels and eternal flames of the Chimera. Photo: Pictures Colour Library

Why go?

More than a few of Turkey’s most unusual travel destinations are time-consuming to reach — Cappadocia , for instance, or eastern Anatolia. Olympos is a short bus ride away from most of the Mediterranean resort towns — just 1½ hours from Antalya. And Olympos most certainly is unusual: a small cluster of tree-house hostels is the big draw, as are the eternal flames of the Chimera.
Who goes?
In the main, backpackers.
What is there to do?
Olympos is still a secluded village, which is why the aforementioned tree-house hostels have become something akin to all-inclusive resorts for the budget travel crowd. Most visitors stay at their guesthouses for nightly entertainment of the DJ and drum-circle variety. By day, everyone goes to the beach. Kayaking is an option, and guesthouses offer adventure travel trips, including rock climbing, mountain biking, and even whitewater rafting at the nearby Köprülü Canyon. Anyone keen on peace and solitude might consider trekking a portion of the 300-mile Lycian Way.


Bars and bites
Every decent guesthouse in Olympos serves breakfast and dinner, so make sure you know what’s on offer at your tree house of choice before laying out any serious lira. As for drinking, if you don’t have a beer or two with a couple of new-found friends at your guesthouse’s bar, you will probably end up doing so at the place next door.
Getting there
Antalya has the closest international airport, although most travellers arrive in Olympos by bus, usually having bought one-way tickets from a guesthouse at their last destination. To find the beach itself, simply follow the stampede — there’s just one main path and, conveniently enough, it’s lined with Roman ruins.

• Dan Eldridge wrote about Antalya and the Eastern Mediterranean coast for the current edition of Lonely Planet: Turkey (£11.19). He is also the author of Moon Handbooks: Pittsburgh (Avalon Travel, £12.99), which was recently nominated for a 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award. See: www.pioneercontent.com.

Turkey's Best Beaches

Here are Turkey's top 10 beaches, with nearest big town (in parentheses). Some even rate the coveted Blue Flag for cleanliness.

Important note: most Turkish beaches do not have lifeguards, but some do occasionally have dangerous riptide and undertow conditions. Swim at your own risk, don't swim alone, and make some plan for what to do if disaster strikes.

1. Patara (Fethiye): 50 meters/yards wide and 20 km (12.5 miles) long, this beach 75 km (47 miles) south of Fethiye is Turkey's finest. Accommodations—and shade—are limited, though. (Big photo)

2. Ölüdeniz (Fethiye): Very fine, with good hotels, restaurants and bars, but because it's Turkey's most famous, it can get crowded. (Big photos)

3. Olimpos (Antalya): The opposite of the others: small, secluded, atmospheric, backed by a forest filled with Roman ruins. 79 km (49 miles) southwest of Antalya (map).

4. Side (Antalya): The once-idyllic village 65 km (40 miles) east of Antalya is now crowded and noisy, but the beaches are still fine and unspoiled. Roman ruins abound (map).

5. Alanya: The town (115 km/72 miles east of Antalya) is busy and crowded, but the beaches are so long (22 km/14 miles to the east) that there's plenty of sand for everyone. Great Seljuk castle, too (map).

6. Iztuzu (Dalyan): Good beach, with or w/o logger-head turtles. The town, 8 km (5 miles) NW of Dalaman Airport, the river, cliff tombs and Caunos ruins are a nice bonus.

7. Bodrum Peninsula: Beaches in the towns are not great, but good smaller ones abound: Ortakent Yalisi (coarse sand & pebble), Turgutreis (surfy), and gem-like Gümüslük (map).

8. Kemer (Antalya): Very mod-resorty, but near a lot of interesting day-trip possibilities (map).

9. Pamucak (Ephesus): Big, broad, dark sand, only 7 km (4 miles) west of Ephesus, relatively clean with a few cig butts and bottlecaps (map). (Big photo)

10. Çalış (Fethiye): Long beach near the city cradling yacht-happy Fethiye Bay, good but somehow un-charming, and famous Ölüdeniz is just 10 km (6 miles) away over the hills.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Kızkalesi (Silifke): Known only to Turks and savvy foreigners, the beach is sort of small but the castle out at sea makes up for it.

Sinop: Nice beaches, never crowded, because the Black Sea water is usually pretty chilly.

Kuşadası (Ephesus): Nice enough beaches, but small and very crowded (map).

Antalya: Big, l-o-n-g pebble/coarse sand beach using the Blue Flag System to certify cleanliness (map).

Samandağı (Antakya): W-a-y down near Syria (26 km/16 miles) southwest of Antakya, but has a trash problem.

Anamur (Alanya): Good beach that only Turks seem to know about. Interesting Byzantine ghost town nearby.

BEACH SAFETY:

Note that few Turkish beaches have lifeguards! Be careful of the surf, and prepared to save yourself.