Post #13: The Romantic Road To Cirali Part One... Finding it!

Cirali Turkey June 2009, originally uploaded by Fun Lilliy.

Finding Cirali wasn’t an easy task. You always hear about Antalya and when you search for nearby areas on the Turkish Mediterranean Sea, you will find other places. Cirali isn’t usually a place people talk about. After I stayed there I think I understand why it’s a hidden secret, because I too was left with a feeling that I want to keep it for myself, so that it wouldn’t be ruined by floods of tourists that cause it to lose its charm.

It all began when…
I had a few days off after my work related trip was going to finish. I was going to be passing through Turkey on my way back and felt that I was in need of a place to rejuvenate, lay back, and relax. That’s when the thought of Antalya and the Turkish Riviera sprung to my mind. I wanted sun and beach. To become disconnect from the world and disappear for a while. With that thought a decision was made, the destination to accomplish all that will be The Turkish Riviera.

I looked for airline ticket fares, and found that since I was booking two months ahead I found cheap seats to and from Antalya on Turkish airlines online. I booked it right away and that was quickly checked off the list. Now the task of finding a hotel. I wanted something peaceful, romantic, authentic, and on the beach. That was when the problems started and hours of searching were spent. You find Authentic and quite hotels in the old part of Antalya called Kaleici but no beach of a walking distance away. Then you find sun and beach in all inclusive crowded resorts which all to me looked the same with no genuine authentic character. Don’t get me wrong I have times when this is where I will be looking for to stay, but it mainly depends on the city and the type of trip. This was not that kind of trip. Mushkillah (means problem in Arabic).

How to solve the problem, well for starters may be divide the trip into two parts, part in Antalya’s old town Kaleici (because I wanted to see the city) and part somewhere else much more calmer and away from the city atmosphere. I have heard of such places but don’t know any names. Now was the hard part searching the internet and everything being scattered with info here and info there. I was looking for somewhere where it is a close drive from Antalya, not too far but far enough.

Finally I stumbled upon a travel forum in Trip Advisor with destination suggestions on traveling the Turkish Riviera by car and suggested stops. There was an expert on the area that suggested few stops and one of them was Cirali. Others were Patara and Olympos.

Patara was closer to a town called Kalkan which is very popular with the British tourist, many own apartments and villas there. To get to Patra it was closer to fly in by Dalaman airport. Antalya airport was further away. Cirali and Olympos were closer distance (1 and ½ to 2 hour drive) from Antalya airport. All areas had small pensions and inns close to the beach away from all the city lights. Olympos was mainly a backpacker’s destination with their much favored tree house accommodations. I liked Cirali which seemed a very romantic option. It is situated off the main road going down a small very curved road and you will find it hidden between the mountain and the blue turquoise sea…

That’s when the charm of finding a little cabin hotel called Kibala a very special place started but that’s in one of the next posts in this series, so stay tuned…

Suggested Links:
Antalya Website
Cirali Tourist Site
Turkey Travel Planner by Tom Brosnahan is a very informative site to look up when you are searching to go to Turkey.
Go Turkey

Write to you soon…