Turkey. Wet impressions. Kusadasi colors
We did not prepare in advance for the May weekend of 2019, or rather, for their pastime. There are no dachas, the village is far away, the resorts are expensive. But the resorts without children turned out to be very affordable. Deciding that our gang, after all, would be more comfortable in the village than in an average hotel without the entertainment and food benefits that were already familiar to them, we bought for ourselves the cheapest weekly tour for our loved ones at that time - to the hotel Omer Holiday Resort in Kusadasi on the Aegean coast of Turkey. We have not yet wandered into those Turkish lands, the more interesting.
At the Omer Holiday Resort
In 2019, we already visited Turkey in February, which shocked our inner circle. After all, for the majority of mere mortals, Turkey is an “all-Russian health resort”, suitable for visiting in the summer season. But Turkey is beautiful in all seasons! If you are curious, check out my story "Spring ahead of schedule". Getting ready for that February trip, my husband was so afraid of the rain that he practically made me throw an umbrella into my suitcase. But then we were lucky, it didn't rain. I remember that during Prague trip I did not succumb to my husband's persuasion, I was too lazy to take umbrella. Yeah, and we got wet : )).
So that's what I'm talking about. . . And this time, for the May weekend, weather websites warned that it would be damp in Kusadasi. No, I didn't listen to them. And quite predictably, to the greatest male gloating, in fact, the entire trip passed under a veil of rain. In general, all this wetness is not the worst thing, it’s terrible that the world around us often had to be observed through flooded glasses : )). One thing pleases, Turkish rains are usually short. And after them, the gentle Turkish sun instantly dries and warms everything around.
And now I think, maybe you should always take an umbrella with you as a charm)).
I have already described one of my wet impressions in the story "Pamukkale in an unusual way" .
Kusadasi is a small resort town.
Popular decorations in the city. But we have a different vision, they are clearly not associated with festive events
Entrance group of one of the boutique hotels
We came several times to go and shop. They did not find anything so super-remarkable in terms of sights in the city.
Formerly a caravanserai (beginning of the 17th century), now a hotel. The rooms are designated by the names of the capitals of the world. Access to the courtyard is free for everyone
The coastal streets are ennobled, with a standard set of shops and cafes.
What pleased me, there are often vending machines for drinking water - 1 lira for a bottle of 0.5 liters.
Monument to pigeons. This is a monument to the symbol of Kusadasi, installed on the city embankment. From Turkish, the name of the city is translated as "bird island"
The main, probably, tourist object is the Bird (or Pigeon) Island with the ruins of the Genoese fortress.
The visit is free, and there is not much to see there, except perhaps the skeleton of a huge ancient fish (or not a fish) once found in these parts.
Here in some European countries, this pleasure would certainly be worth two euros : )). There is a nice park inside the fortress. Paths, benches, beautiful views - everything is conducive for a lovely walk.
Especially romantic, probably at sunset. Well, it seems to me that by sunset time, as a rule, you have already been at home in the hotel, well, there is no youthful enthusiasm : )). This park also has its inhabitants - such fat rabbits. I don’t know how many there are, probably, the number is regulated in order to avoid an ecological catastrophe. But we met two, they didn’t want to communicate with us especially and hid under wooden flooring. Judging by their size, their life there is quite secure)). So this island is a rather pleasant place, and, being in Kusadasi, you should definitely take a walk there.
But I was drawn to everything up the mountain. Yes, on the very one where the monument rises %D0%BA, _%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0 %D0%BB%D1%8C" target="_blank">To the Father of all Turks, Ataturk.
The monument itself, of course, did not interest me. But its location, as an observation deck, was very attractive. If there is a monument, then there should be ways to access it. And these paths, apparently, pass between the colored houses, spread out along the hillside, which I also absolutely needed to look at. The mountain is called Kese, its height is 112 m. It is visible from almost everywhere. Arriving for the first time in Kusadasi, and seeing this towering point, my husband immediately guessed that we should be there. Oh, how good it is to have an understanding friend nearby, and you don’t need to explain anything)). But in one my companion was in solidarity with me unconditionally. He, too, was very curious to look at this "colorfulness" closer. It was as if someone had knocked over barrels of paint on the mountain and colored streams ran up to the very bottom.
And we went one day.
The ascent is quite difficult, steep.
But as is usually the case with climbing events, the higher, the steeper the views.
The trick is to get to the monument, you don't need to focus on it at all.
Yes, yes, this is a mistake of many conquerors of this height. We must go in the opposite direction, bypass this hill on the left. In some green dead end, a man blocked our path, they say, do not go there, pointing at Ataturk and waving both hands in the opposite direction, go back. How not to, in general, is it impossible, is it closed? But by active gestures with fragments of the familiar “know”, “yes”, “right” and “luff”, the man explained where he was sending us : ))
And our "Susanin" maps. I didn’t really know the way, he just didn’t have time to coordinate his actions with the satellite on these tangled streets, we’ll turn somewhere, and he’s still just thinking, until he thinks it out, we again turned from blue to pink, for example.
Here, where, one wonders, such a riot of colors?
Every city in the world has its own slums. Somewhere huge favelas, somewhere a couple of blocks, somewhere completely impassable cardboard jungle, somewhere just houses decayed from time to time. But there is a must. Here and in Kusadasi there are favelas - quarters on the slope of Mount Kese.
And somehow it turned out that this is, in fact, the central part of the city, which spoiled the tourist reputation. I don’t know who and how fussed, the firms or the city administration, but they were painted as part of the advertising campaign of the paint company, which, in turn, supported the global project "Let's color". Thanks to this large-scale event, many of the world's slums sparkled with new colors. This, of course, hardly changed the everyday life of the slums. But he brought positive into a gloomy life, everything became more fun.
Photo from the Internet
Since then, colorful neighborhoods have become the hallmark of Kusadasi. The most popular magnets are just with views of Mount Kese.
Photo from the Internet
Judging by the statements on the project website, local residents were pleased with such color changes. Yes, and tourists began to attract this local color. Has life changed since the design update? It is hard to say. In domestic terms, hardly. Although we did not see any great squalor and poverty. Yes, life is not rich, but quite seething.
Well, how long, how short, but we got to the destination.
At the top is a small pine grove that appears to be used for picnics.
I love these vantage points. Actually, nothing special. But there is a feeling of embracing the immensity. As if absorbing the energy of the whole neighborhood.
Well, you can see it from above))
And then it started to rain! Rather, it began a long time ago, quietly so, shyly. For a while, we were still saved by pine crowns, but then...
Naturally, for the hundredth time, my arrogance in weather matters was recalled. Oh well, no sugar. I don't want to carry an umbrella!
After waiting for some relaxation in the watering activity of the heavens, we galloped down the same colored paths.
But they didn't make it, the heavy downpour began again. Well, damn it. . .
There is nothing to do, for lack of the notorious umbrella, they settled down on one porch. You can hear the TV mumbling outside the front door, kitchen sounds, no one even came out to ask who was trampling around, maybe they were peeping through the crack. Then two wet girls came running. A small, uncombed such a flirtatious, enterprising, began to beg for money, they say, stand here, use the roof. The eldest shy one, it seems, also began to talk quietly about "mani" like that. With the help of a translator on the phone and school English, the older girls chatted, it was funny, of course, it worked out, but we understood each other: they live here, the mother, the youngest is 7 years old, is called Nefes, the eldest is 10 years old, but I forgot the name, very beautiful , not Turkish, "Amelia", "Emilia" is spinning in my head.
When we extended the lyre, the girls refused, as if they were afraid of their courage, but the youngest took it anyway : ). In my purse I found a hotel pencil and pink sticky notes for notes, gave them to Amelia. Not great jewels, but the girl beamed. For half an hour we talked with the girls. What are our names, where are we from, they showed photos of our children. Oh, how they liked it, they are about the same age, like children, but others, foreign : )), tried to remember the names. The downpour subsided, somehow it became uncomfortable to stomp on someone else's porch for so long, and we went... It seemed to us that the elder Amelia was very sorry that the downpour took and ended like this...
We were very touched by this meeting. I still remember Amelia's slightly bewildered look as we left. Later, my husband and I grumbled at each other that they didn’t even take a picture of the girls. Honestly, I was embarrassed.
Perhaps, it is with this meeting that I will associate Kusadasi.
Here is a look through the veil of rain we got. Maybe not at the very height of the season, we ended up there, because the town seemed to us not very vain, which is inherent in resorts. Lives its seaside life without much attention to the loitering tourists.
And we like it : )
Another from my series of Turkish wet impressions is the story "Pamukkale in an unusual way".
