merlin

Surrey Online


Found this holiday review while looking for something else... Nicely put together and also includes a piece on paragliding.....



Nestling beneath towering mountains at the edge of a lagoon, the Turkish haven of Olu Deniz is a chilled out beach resort with an adventurous twist.

As we picked our spot on the pebbly beach at the front of the small Mediterranean town, worries quickly drifted away and thoughts of summer fun soon kicked in.

But relaxation mode didn't last long as we spotted paragliders dropping from the heavens, perilously close to each other, skimming hotel roofs and shooting over sunbathers heads.

One or two even provided us with some aerobatic entertainment colliding several hundred feet up before ditching in the sea. We were assured that they were the exception, rather than the rule.

Olu Deniz, or Sea of the Dead as it is reassuringly known in English, is a mecca for paragliders the world over. It boasts dramatic peaks up to 2,500m high on the edge of the Taurus mountain range and ideal conditions for those brave enough to run off a hillside.

After hours of coaxing I eventually managed to twist a few arms and our group of four was on board an offroader getting ready for take-off. The 2,000m vertical drops into the sea and pot-hole peppered dirt track did little to calm the nerves.

Since it was my idea, I went first. Strapped to an instructor, my mouth went dry and my heart thumped against my chest as we waited for the right breeze of hot air. Then we ran for the cliff edge, catching a thermal 20 yards from the drop. I could barely manage a response as I heard shouts of "any last requests?".

Once in the air utter calm descended as hot air filled the canopy pushing us higher. The views along the Turquoise Coast were astonishing as I sat back in the harness.

We were in the air for about 35 minutes, covering a couple of miles back to the resort. One hint - make sure there's a seat near to the landing strip, because your legs will be like jelly. But when I eventually managed the power of speech again the first words out were, "I'm doing that again".

After a stiff drink to settle my nerves we set off on a tour of the surrounding towns and countryside and a trek in the icy waters flowing through Saklikent Gorge.

The spectacular 18km passage, one of the deepest and longest gorges in Europe, offers a stern challenge.

Heavy rain ensured the stream had swollen to a near torrent making the wade somewhat hairier than anticipated.

The hour long trek in waist-deep freezing water was well worth it, with every corner turned bringing new challenges.

Hardier souls eager to continue the adventure can grab a raft and test the white water from the mouth of the gorge down to the sea.

But we decided to bring ourselves back down to earth by touring some of the ancient ruins which dominate many hillside villages in the area. The view from the cliff-top acropolis at Tlos, 35km down the Xanthos valley, is worth a bus journey alone.

Olu Deniz is a resort free from the uninspiring high-rise apartment blocks which dwarf most Mediterranean hot spots and we quickly found ourselves chilling out in the intimate surroundings of the Oyster Residences.

The brainchild of a local fashion designer, Gunsenin Gonal, this charming, stylish 26-room boutique hotel has an Arabian feel and a warm welcome.

This peaceful, relaxed hotel is by far the pick of the bunch. Its beauty lies in its location at the back of the beach, as there's no road blocking the short jaunt to the sea. The absence of a noisy, traffic-laden promenade is a refreshing change, while the nearby Blue Lagoon is a relaxing place to swim.

We headed out of the resort traversing the steep inclines of the surrounding mountains to sample the Turkey of the past in the nearby ghost town of Kayakoy.

Once a thriving farming community home to several thousand Greeks, the town was deserted in 1923 as part of population exchanges between the two countries that followed the First World War.

After working up an appetite we headed back to the resort where the best restaurant in the area teeters on a mountain side overlooking Olu Deniz. The White Dolphin has long been a haunt for Turkey's rich and famous with romantic views as the sun sets behind the lagoon.

The nearby town of Fethiye also has a culinary surprise or two. A freshly caught and cooked seafood dinner at its bountiful fish market costs £6 a head.

There aren't many places which offer visitors the chance to chill out and test their nerves to the limit, but the Turquoise Coast has it all. The hippy feel which descends on the resort as the sun sets goes back years to when Australian backpackers first came to the area.

And for all the excitement of running off a cliff, this is truly a place to relax.



Merv!