More about our Turkish Spring Break

Beach within the Dilek National Park.

 I have yet to share our trip to the Roman ruins of Troy and Ephesus, or our evening watching the Whirling Dervishes or our tours of two of the palaces that housed the Sultan (ruler) of the Ottoman Empire ,Topkapi (1453-1839) which means Cannon Gate, and Domabahçe Palace (1856-1922) located along the Bosphorus. 

Mountain view from our hike in Dilek National Park.

 But, I want skip ahead to the point on  our trip when we escaped to Gűzelçamli and the Dilek National Park.  This is when we went off The Lonely Planet grid and found ourselves to be 3 of 14 guests in a 4 star hotel.  It was a bit odd, but quiet and relaxing.  We sat and read by a pool. We also read at the end of the dock. I even jumped into the Aegean.

Yep, it points to the beach.

What a wonderful morning.

I did not stay in long. The water temperature was like Torch Lake in June.

We also took an eight mile hike into the Dilek National Park and collected rocks along one of the beaches.

Andrew and Pat hiking along our roadside trail.

Tree hanging on to the cliff.

Picture of me rock hunting at our halfway point on the hike.

All of this relaxing was needed to prepare me for our return to Istanbul.

No caption needed for this one.