As an 'Arkadash' you are among friends on your Turkey vacation

By Bernd Kubisch Jul 13, 2010, 12:27 GMT

Alanya, Turkey - A marine-blue sea, ancient sites, orange and apricot groves: Turkey's southern coast is among the most popular vacation destinations in the Mediterranean.

This applies above all to the region between Antalya and Alanya. And with property prices relatively favourable, it has attracted German, Scandinavian and Russian buyers seeking a vacation home or apartment.

Even now, a 70-square-metre apartment with access to a swimming pool and near the beach is being offered for as little as 42,000 euros (51,000 dollars).

Whether from the deck of an excursion vessel, in the water, while taking a stroll or lounging on a beach chair beneath an umbrella, wherever one looks there is evidence of the history of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Even from the distant beaches, for example, the hilltop fortress of Alanya with its walls and citadel can be seen.

The sun is glaring down and one's shirt is sticking to the skin. 'No thanks, I'd rather walk,' the tourist from Berlin tells a taxi driver, who is warning that the winding uphill road to the citadel is a tortuous one.

In fact, the trek up takes about an hour and is somewhat strenuous, but also incredibly fascinating. By stopping to take some pictures along the way or taking a break for a drink or some ice cream, it might even be two entertaining hours.

Behind each stone stairway, every palm tree or bougainville bush, from every restaurant or blossoming family garden there is a view awaiting the visitor - be it a mosque, or the sea, or ancient walls, towers, or Alanya's harbour. The Kizil Kale, or red tower, which is featured on any number of picture postcards of Alanya, is also to be seen.

The view from the fortress is one of steeply falling cliffs on one side and of walls and bright beaches with countless beach chairs, and little vegetation.

Taking a stroll along the Cleopatra Beach and past the bars and kiosks a visitor might even find, here and there, plastic palm trees stuck in the sand. But this hardly bothers any of the vacationers - for the hospitality is great, the sea is clean and the prices are generally favourable.

Here, squeezed close next to each other are smaller hotels of six or seven storeys and 40 to 50 rooms.

'We have guests from Hanover, Muenster, Frankfurt who have been staying with us for over 20 years,' Yildiz Cakir Barucuouglu, co- owner of the Balik Hotel, tells a German visitor. 'Everyone here is an 'Arkadash' - a friend,' she adds.

'I hope that the all-inclusive wave of the beach resorts further to the west does not wash over Alanya as well,' says Mine Erdogan of the Sand Cafe. 'This would completely change life here and pose many problems for the restaurants.'

Down below in Alanya, the first lights are flickering on after the sundown. Three decades ago, there were two, maybe three restaurants along the steep road between the citadel and the harbour - today there are more than 30.

And where do the Turkish locals eat? Alid Ugurlu, manager of the Sunpark Beach hotel, points in the direction of the city centre: 'Those who explore the area will then learn the lifestyle of the locals.'

In such places there is a lot of hospitality and no 'hawkers' standing outside restaurants pulling at your arm to come in and eat their fish dinners or shish kebab dishes.

Whereas in a tourist restaurant such dishes cost 5 to 12 euros, the price is only half that at the places where the locals eat. If you don't understand the menu, you can simply look into the cooking pots to see what's on offer. And if the waiter doesn't speak some English, he'll get help from a co-worker.

A further 130 kilometres west, in Antalya people go strolling between the old city walls and buildings dating back to Roman times. The view of the harbour is just as exciting as is that of the old city centre with its wall.

It's also a spectacular view from the balcony of the Cafe Hisar - and the tab is affordable: a Turkish mocca, freshly-pressed orange juice, a pastry and ice cream come to less than 7 euros.

'I want you to come back again,' the cafe manager says. 'I am not out to make some fast money.'

Those who vacation in and around the town of Side simply cannot escape the ruins of antiquity. At the tip of the peninsula there are for example the remains of an Apollo temple.

And many hotels are lined up along the beaches stretching between Antalya and Alanya. And not far away, further attractions are the Roman Theatre in Aspendos and excavations of ancient ruins in Perge.

Most tourists to Turkey's southern coastline yearn for a room with a view of the sea - but who wants a nerve-wracking highway in between?

Because many of the beaches have already been filled with large- sized holiday resorts, or are too narrow, hotel investors will often build on the other side of the highway which separates the coastline from the new tourism zones.

Travel offices, catalogues and even internet sites just might be inaccurate on this aspect, so it is advisable, before making a booking, to call up the hotel.