How we need the Turkish coast!

Written: 15 july 2007
Travel time: 15 — 22 july 2007
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For a relaxing holiday; For families with children; For recreation with friends, for young people
Your rating of this hotel:
8.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 10.0
Service: 9.0
Cleanliness: 10.0
Food: 9.0
Amenities: 9.0
June 29 - July 14.2007
I want to share my impressions about the rest in the most beautiful region of Turkey - Kemer.
"Belt" - so translated from Turkish Kemer. The steep Taros Mountains really seem to encircle the city. The majestic Taurus mountain range is breathtaking. The town is located 43 km from Antalya Airport.

On the night of June 30, we arrived on a charter flight of Rossiya Airlines from St. Petersburg to Antalya International Airport. Having landed on Turkish soil, we were on the plane for 15 minutes, exhausted from stuffiness. The exit is jammed. But soon the doors were opened, and we experienced all the delights of the passport and customs control of a foreign country.
First of all, it was necessary to buy a Turkish visa. The picture is unforgettable: a spacious terminal hall, four windows are working. Each accepts a certain currency (dollars or euros) - as indicated by a light icon.

People are shaking the green ones without realizing that the queue leads to the cashier, where only euros are accepted. It was very funny to watch the Russians rushing from one queue to another. Turks with faces not burdened with intellect are sitting in the windows. And one, lounging imposingly in an armchair, held a cigar in his teeth, blew smoke and mechanically pasted stamps into the passports of "outsiders". Our compatriot, already tired of the formalities, decided to clarify the situation. She stuck her head in the window and heard the Turkish speech loudly said "Yo-K-L-M-N",
than the laughter of the crowd.

The cost of a Turkish visa varies depending on the country from which the tourist arrived. For us, staying in Turkey is quite affordable - $20 or €15. But for Canadians, the fee is $60. For those who are just going to relax in Turkey, you should know that they don’t like to give change here, so stock up on “exact” banknotes. Already at the airport it becomes clear that in this country they make money on everything.
We leave the terminal, on the street +60, the air is so hot that there is not enough breath. Time 00.30. Our tour operator, Odeon Tours (a leader in the Turkish tourism market), has already met us at the information desk. We were on our way to the hotel. We sit in a comfortable mini-bus with air conditioning without them anywhere in Turkey. How nice it is to drive fast, nimble transport at night, and not wait painfully long until huge buses are packed with tourists, who then need to be taken to hotels. There are 11 of us in the cabin, plus a Turkish driver and a Russian guide girl. Travel time is about 1.30. There are no traffic jams on the highway at night.

On the way, the guide gives brief information about the host country. It is impossible to see through the bus window what they are talking about. The night is dark, dark, not a single sight is visible. The main attraction along the way are two tunnels, passing through which you need to make a wish and it will surely come true.
The first tunnel is for adults: you raise your hands up, close your eyes, hold your breath and wish for something. The length of this tunnel is over 300 m. The next tunnel is shorter for children's "dreams". When passing by, you need to shout loudly and stomp your feet while the kids think of their desires.
I must say that the Kemer region consists of 6 villages: the first from the airport is Beldibi, then Goynuk, Kemer itself, then Kirish, Camyuva and Tekirova.

One of the best hotels in Kemer

Our hotel is located in the very center of Kemer, on the first coastline. It is called Fame Residence 5 *. We checked in, they brought us the so-called apple juice - a local concentrate. A drink, not a drink. Drinks in Turkey are a different story.
In the lobby we met fellow countrymen who said: “Guys, what the hell are you doing here, there’s nothing to eat here, the hotel is disgusting. Remember us at breakfast! ".
The tall guy from the basketball team was not happy - try to feed this one!
We were taken aback, but the optimistic words of the reception staff “Don’t panic! ” served as our motto for the entire vacation.

The food is not even bad. Breakfast: 30 types of buns - sweet and savory, with cottage cheese and cinnamon, chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Yoghurts are amazing: with strawberries, kiwi, oranges, peaches and nothing else. Several types of soft cheese and feta cheese. Trying everything in two weeks is impossible. The tables are bursting with greens: salads of various types, delicious onions and green onions, parsley, dill. A lot of vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage salad, red cabbage, sweet and hot peppers, grated carrots every day. From seafood - squid rings. Fried fish of the Herring family for an amateur, it is with bitterness. In the two weeks that we were in the hotel, the menu was never repeated.
Lamb meat, chicken, turkey, tongue, kidneys are all cooked deliciously and unusually. Stuffed peppers and eggplants were served.

From the side dishes: French fries, Idaho, mashed potatoes, just boiled, delicious rice (a mixture of white and light brown), pasta with bows, curls, spaghetti, brown noodles and even couscous. A separate song is the pastry table for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Halva, jams, dried fruits in syrup, cakes, cakes, pastries, soufflé s, puddings, baked pears in cream, baklava, cookies with nuts, sesame seeds, jam, etc. Sugar pieces and sand, brown cane and even sweetener. The huge restaurant is clean, comfortable, cool (air conditioning) and helpful cheerful waiters, one even whistles a nightingale.


The all-inclusive system allows you to relax and not think every time about where to eat. This saves precious time, which is already scarce. They feed almost all day.
On the beach, at the restaurant and by the pool. Turkish women in white clothes bake national thin cakes, filling them with cottage cheese, potatoes, cheese and spinach right from the heat of the heat ...You can also treat yourself to pizza, hamburgers, open flat cakes and ice cream (every day they are handed out in waffle tubes - creamy, chocolate, strawberry) . On the beach, they smell seasonal fruits. We were offered watermelons every day, and also the Turkish fruit kukumbu - it tastes like a cucumber. The meal plan will be given out upon check-in at the hotel. At the expense of drinks: very tasty local beer, tea, black coffee and milk. You can drink sprite, cola, and from local drinks only lemon water, the rest is Yuppi powder. Freshly squeezed orange juice in the restaurant is paid - 1 euro. This despite the fact that oranges are free on the buffet. I recommend trying ayran - this cool drink perfectly quenches thirst.
The rooms are excellent, spacious, cleaned every day, changing towels, and linen every three days. Individual air conditioning (works with an inserted card from the room).
Sometimes the cards that serve as the key to the room are buggy. Don't be alarmed if the room doesn't open, just go to the reception and they will charge it for you. Leave a tip for the maid, they will fold your nightgown or duvet cover with a bow or put two flowers in a vase. Don't be scared! In Turkey, they do not pay attention to how many flowers are in a bouquet.
What to do in Fame is not a problem. We played darts, water polo, board games every day. At the disposal of the Turkish sauna for free, massage and all kinds of executions over the body - for a fee. The hotel has great animation.

Only three guys: the Frenchman Shokhan is a charming young man, he dances beautifully and jokes hilariously, Edik from Baku is their boss and the girl Irina from Arkhangelsk, who does morning exercises, aqua aerobics and belly dancing. Special thanks to them all for the hard work of entertaining people.

The Mediterranean Sea - in the Turkish people - White
First day at the beach, first early morning at sea. I wanted to explore everything, see everything. But exploration of the area was yet to come. The main thing for us is the sea. Woke up at 6:45. Two weeks of vacation, and every day started with breakfast at 7 o'clock. Then the sea. Already early in the morning, almost all the sun loungers were occupied. Surprisingly, the trestle beds by the pool were also occupied in the morning. It's strange why people spend so much time by the pool with chlorinated water, when the most beautiful, saltiest, most transparent Mediterranean Sea is just a stone's throw away. Everyone rests in their own way.
We caught every moment, enjoyed every minute of being on the beach.

The beach is very clean, clay bowls and trash cans are everywhere. Despite this, the Russian Ivanushki, in the hope that they will be noticed at least in this way, leave behind half-eaten and unfinished. Gray people, what can I say. Instead of seagulls, flocks of local sparrows are operating on the beach - they are the orderlies of the beach. There are no seagulls simply because they have nothing to eat. The sea is so salty that few people live in it. You will even meet small fish, just having swum to the buoys. Sometimes resting ichthyanders bring crabs and octopuses from the sea. Sunbathers grab their cameras, run over hot stones, forgetting to put on their slippers, and let's shoot this miracle of nature. And Russian women are photographed together with the heroes who brought this miracle to the shore. Skydiving people say they saw flocks of huge turtles. That's what the sea is transparent as glass.
What a panorama of the entire coast opens from here is beyond words. We swam here and it seemed that no one but us. And only in the distance at the foot of the mountains were pieces of civilization shown. Walk to the park along the coast for about 15 minutes.

Near the park is a yacht port, from here they go for a walk along the Turkish Riviera. Every day you see this circus from the beach: they sail to the music from the Titanic movie, as if on their last journey, and on board you can see how they put on a show - they climb the mast, stand on the edge of the ship and spread their arms wide, as in the above movie. We didn't even go out of principle.

But we went on one of the most exciting excursions - Demre - Mira - Kekova. This is an opportunity to visit several historical sites in one day. Here is the birthplace of Santa Claus (St. Nicholas the Wonderworker), the relics of the saint were kept in the local church. However, even in these holy places, you can be deceived.
We bought a chain and a cross, supposedly silver, for $15, but after the first bath, the jewel rusted, and the aluminum chain was torn into small pieces.

The tour passes through the land of the ancient state of Lycia, where you can see rock tombs and the Greco-Roman amphitheater of the city of Myra. Honestly, in the 50-degree heat, you don’t really want to rush through the ruins. But the impressions will last a lifetime.
Then the tour continues on the yacht. The island of Kekova, on which now there is not a soul except for mountain goats. Kind people bring barrels of fresh water to the island for these animals. We sailed past an ancient fortress on the Simena peninsula, where there are only 150 inhabitants and a house here costs a fortune. Then the long-awaited swimming in the bay and the way home. The road is serpentine, long, exciting and very scary, it takes your breath away when a huge bus makes turns over the abyss.
Good advice: If you want to get acquainted with Turkish history, culture, you should come either in May or September. And in the summer you need to be at the sea, sunbathe and swim. We met Muscovites, who have an excursion every day. They arrived white and left the same. We almost didn't see the sea. The whole vacation was spent on the bus.

It is best to walk around the city in the evenings, look into the park, where rabbits, ducks, peacocks live in a huge aviary, white and black swans swim in the pond. We went to feed them. The park is located very close to the hotel, a two-minute walk (Antalya direction). Also a local attraction is the Aura First disco, a branch of the Moscow club First. Also close to our hotel. No one went there, as the entrance cost 35€. A few days later, you could dance for free if you approached at 23.00 at the hotel reception. They will also take you free of charge on a branded mini-bus.

shopping
Prices in Antalya and the surrounding area are crazy.
All shop - tours that are offered on vacation are just a waste of time. Our tour operator gave us a sightseeing tour to Antalya. We found out that it would be a trip to the shopping centers of the city when we got on the bus. Yes, they showed us the old city from the bus, we made a stop at the Duden waterfall in the Lara region. Fortunately the rain and the weather was comfortable for travel. The rest of the time is a visit to three shopping centers that resemble hangars. They are located on the outskirts of the city and carry only tour groups in them, bred for money.

The first shopping center is a jewelry one. Huge, with several rooms. Here you can still go. Jewelry is brought here from factories in Istanbul, where 999 gold bars are purchased from a Swiss bank. Although Turkey is the second country of fakes after China, here the quality of gold is guaranteed.
Here you have “indirim” - Turkish discount!

Contingent
Russians, Russians, Russians. We are very loved and respected here. What can not be said about the Bulgarian brothers-Slavs (I was in Bulgaria last year). They do not like Russians, fawn over the Germans. But now about Turkey. There are a lot of compatriots, Russian speech is heard everywhere. They come from all over Russia, even from Kamchatka. The Turks are playing our music, although it is 10 years old, they are putting on a show for the Russians. In addition to us, Germans, Poles, Scandinavians, Czechs, Jews, British, Turks themselves have a rest. Many young people also come whole families with children.

Turks are very friendly people. They love children, hotel workers will not pass by a child. Staff: security, waiters, maids, porters are always friendly. But they have problems with languages ​ ​ - only a few speak Russian, their English leaves much to be desired, and they don’t know their native language well. Of course, because most of them are uneducated.

Receives service personnel a penny. For example, the salary of garcons in a restaurant is $ 200-300 per month, you can’t hope for a tip.

He works a lot in the hotel and Russians - they are engaged in trade, work in the spa center. It is not profitable to come to Turkey to work - even $ 700 per month does not come out. But on the other hand, workers are provided with housing and they can eat at the hotel, so you can save.
Turks love Russian women - no doubt. But they will not pester if the girl herself does not want to. Many female representatives from Russia come to have a holiday romance and just come off to the fullest. They hang themselves on the Turks and generally behave very immodestly. It must be understood that holiday romances on the Turkish coast are short-lived. Tourists come every day and for the Turks it's just another entertainment, nothing serious.

Turkey is a colorful country. Kemer is a heavenly place.
I didn’t have time to leave, I already miss it ...Peter met me with a leaden sky and a temperature of +17. The vacation went perfectly, a positive charge of energy was received, the body was the color of chocolate, a complete recovery of the body was achieved. But two weeks is so little. I want to prolong these bright moments of this southern summer. I will definitely go again, because Turkey - a country with a rich historical heritage, favorable climate, first-class service and traditional Turkish hospitality attracts. We are always welcome here. And more advice! Going to Turkey, do not read negative reviews.
You will like this country, it is not for nothing that it is called one of the Russian republics.
Have a good rest!
Translated automatically from Russian. View original