My favorite place in Turkey

Arriving in Kas

At Dalaman airport, the shuttle was waiting for my flight to arrive. A couple of other passengers got on, and we drove through valleys and hills, with the sights of snow capped mountains and moss covered ruins along the way. And then the sea! The turquoise coast of Turkey.

Did you know turquoise comes from the french word for turkish? So these waters are actually the namesake of the colour!

The shuttle dropped me off on the main square of the tourist part of Kas, and the driver told me to turn a couple of corners to find my hotel. Kas is so small that I found the Cinar Butik hotel easily https://www.booking.com/hotel/tr/cinar-kas.en. My room there was $56 a night in total, including a turkish breakfast each day (which is huge).

What to find in Kas

I wandered around the town centre just to see if Kas was the same as the last time, which it was. More than once a local shopkeeper asked if it was my first time here. When I said no, I had been here 17 years ago, they wanted to know what had changed. I said nothing! It’s just like I remembered it.

There are just a few blocks of cobblestoned streets lined with shops, restaurants and bars. Around the town there are some ancient tombs built by the Lycians, from around the 4th century. They are just part of the atmosphere.

I looked for a place to eat and found Cinarlar, https://www.facebook.com/ka0707/ an open air restaurant, as most are here. I sat down for a seafood dinner, and was joined by a cute dog. He settled in the chair across from me. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist though.

Cats and dogs roam freely here, and they seem pretty happy about it. I learned that some are well-loved pets who have a home, while some are just free. Residents leave out food for all of them, and the cats do pretty well in restaurants. This might be part of why Kas is my favorite place in Turkey.

The season doesn’t really start until May here. Restaurants and shops are open, but it was pretty quiet during the week. The shops here are good quality, souvenirs and leather and silver, so I spent time just looking around. I bought some silver jewellery from an artisan in her shop, and a sundress from a tailor.

Tours around Kas

There are lots of tours from Kas to the surrounding area, including kayaking, diving, canyoning, and hiking. And boat tours. But boats tours weren’t running yet! Until Saturday, April 2, when one company decided that would be a good day for the first trip out. I signed up for the $35 all day tour.