Alacati and Cesme

We’re feeling a bit more energetic today, and since I’m too red to be laying out in the sun more, we decide to check out a few of the little towns near our hotel. To get around locally in Turkey (other than Istanbul where there is a metro), the preferred means is a network of privately run micro-buses called dolmas. These follow a set route, but have no fixed stops, so they just pick people up wherever they are along the route and drop them off whenever they want to stop. The system works pretty well, and few a few Turkish Lira, gets us around pretty easily.

The first place we visit is Alacati, about 5 minutes from our hotel. Its claim to fame is that many of the old houses along the narrow, cobblestone streets have been converted to restaurants, high end shops, and bed and breakfasts. As the roads are barely wide enough to fit a car, it a quaint, mostly pedestrian part of town that reminds us a lot of parts of Greece. Making it even better, we happen across a place giving free donuts, quickly catapulting Alacati to one of my favorite parts of Turkey.

As with the area around our hotel, quite a few places aren’t yet open for the busy season, but we manage to find a couple of things for the boys, and the obligatory doner stand for lunch.

Hopping back on the dolma, we go into the old part of Cesme. The highlight here is an old fort overlooking the bay that is open to the public. Its not a major stop on any of the formal tours, so there are no crowds to speak of, and aside from a handful of areas undergoing restoration, nothing is off limits. There is also a small museum dedicated to the Battle of Chesma, which I found a little odd given that it was a battle the Turkish side (then the Ottomans) lost.

On the dolma ride back to our hotel, some of the local schoolgirls take the time to remind me how handsome I am. Angela wants to believe they just didn’t know much English, and she can get a little feisty at times, so I just nod my head and agree.