The 162-kilometer MedTrek from Izmir to Kuşadasi is a slice of Turkish delight if you ignore the pathless mountains, off-limit seaside military zones, beckoning luxury resorts, dangerous sea urchins and omnipresent barbed-and-razor wire fences.
Blocked by a military zone.
“Danger: Sea Urchins”
The Turks love theoretically impenetrable fences, a penchant that I believe is due to their testy relationship with Greece, Syria and other neighboring countries. But every time I was detained for trespassing (it’s easy to find a way into private resorts and farmers’ fields) I managed to avoid serious trouble due to my “Nobody owns the water” argument.
Otherwise the seaside is making a refreshing winter-to-summer seasonal transition. The mosques look radiant in the sunshine, fishermen calmly patch their nets, clean-up crews are everywhere and Turks are pitching encampments in the sand.
A seaside mosque in the sun.
Repairing nets in the sun.
A May Day beach-cleaning crew.
A Turk’s summer home.
I skinny dip in numerous coves, work out at free gyms on the promenade and sit on empty benches.
One cove du jour.
Workout while you walk.
A benchmark on the Karaburun Peninsula.
My four sweetest moments were (1) exploring the ruins in Teos at dawn, (2) fording the Büyük Menderes River, which appears as the Maeander in Homer’s Iliad, (3) catching a sunset in Kuşadasi and (4) enjoying a recuperative Turkish bath, massage and facial at the Rina Hammam and Fitness Center in Kuşadasi.
A Teos ruin at dawn
The Idiot forded a mythical river.
Sunset in Kuşadasi, Turkey.
Ah, a recuperative facial, massage and Turkish bath.
Now south to Bodrum.
Text and Photos: Joel Stratte-McClure
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