Saklikent is a very impressive canyon and in summer a favourite destination with the Turks because the canyon is much cooler than the coast. In winter this place is deserted, but we still wanted to see the canyon.
There is truly no reason to enter the canyon in winter. After about 150 metres into the canyon, you will have to continue through the river. In summer with the lower water level and the heat outside for sure a nice thing to do, in winter you don’t even think about it.
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| Path into the canyon |
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| Up to 300 metres high cliff walls make it a truly spectacular canyon |
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| A lot of water rushing down |
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| From here you would have to continue through the river |
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| From these rocks the water emerges |
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| This is just the water coming from the side, not the river … |
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| … appearing like an immense spring |
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| Çhai was simmering but nobody there to sell it |
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| Don’t we look cute? |
At the entrance to the canyon, the mountain ends suddenly and the river meanders through a wide valley. A big number of restaurants offer nice locations with the cold water of the river running past. For sure, a great spot in summer, but nobody beside of us goes there in January. I was surprised the canyon was even open.
From Saklikent we were heading to the coast again, looking for a good spot to enjoy the nice weather. Our navigation is allowed to take us over gravel roads, and that was what we got today: a “shortcut” of a couple of kilometres through the plastic fields along a dirty river.
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| Mama on the road |
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| Tomatoes for winter are growing here |
Finally, we reached the ultimate spot. Another gravel road through a pine forest ended at a lookout point from where we had an incredible view over the dunes onto the unspoiled 12 km long Patara beach. This was also a favourite picnic spot for the locals, which was a fun atmosphere. (36.270522, 29.303509)
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| One of only 30 Trabants in Turkey |
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| In perfect condition with ignition coils to make it fly |
We met here also Hakan, a very nice guy who speaks perfect English and German, lives in nearby Kalkan and runs together with his wife a Spa with massages and everything you can wish for. If you want a treat, you can contact him via mail: Nurhakanspa@gmail.com or phone +90541411/499.
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| Favourite sunset spot |
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| We even had the outdoor kitchen in use again |
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| View into the sunset |
At night, when everybody was long gone, these greenhorns did a test drive with daddy’s car and drove it into the sand. After they were struggling for a while, we had mercy and towed them out with our winch.
