Antalya is the 5th biggest city in Turkey located on the southern coast. The weather has been perfect for hiking and exploring with sunny daytime temps in the upper 70s. We have enjoyed this stop so much we decided to extend our stay a little longer.
As soon as we arrived I could tell this was our kind of town but after the last stop I knew what my baby needed, fresh laundry, comfort food, some exercise and some shopping. So we dropped off all our clothes and headed to a mall for McDonald’s and shopping. Afterwards we hit the gym and relaxed all afternoon. With a smile back on my babies face we were ready for an epic night.
We choose a hotel near the Old Town located by the picturesque marina. We got lost wandering around and missed the sunset but found a sports bar that had the best pepper steak I’ve ever eaten and ended up staying for 3 hours watching a soccer match with some, well let’s say enthusiastic fans. Great night.
The next day we jumped in the car on a mission to find two recommended waterfalls. The first was peaceful and secluded along a nature walk and the second was more touristy but still worth a peak. After returning home we ended up back at the same bar for dinner again.
Day three we headed out to do a hike in Sivri Dag Milli Parki national park 30 minutes outside of the city. Inside we choose a 3km hike to Goynuk Canyon. The hike was very scenic but what I will always remember was the snack we got. We try to avoid the high cost of eating in a park but this smell had us hooked. A grandma was making thin potatoe and onion filled pancakes on an ancient flat iron. It was so delicious. We spent the night in the old city and walked the bizarre before buying an assortment of local pastries from some street vendors and returning to our room for a carb filled feast.
As we ate our snacks we decided that we were enjoying this city and especially the Old Town area so much that we would stay an extra day.
We spent the extra day just enjoying the harbor area, mingling with the locals and laying by the pool. We met a guy from Canada and spent an hour just talking and drinking fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. After a short work break back in the room we spent our last night here walking around and eating way too much.
As much as we hate to leave, tomorrow we are driving into the the middle of the country to Cappadocia, a destination like no other that has been on the top of our to do list since we found out we were coming to Turkey. Changes in climate coming soon.
