The Treehouses of Olympos

Treehouse

Olympos is hands-down one of the most unique places that we’ve stayed on our trip.  It’s definitely as close as we’ve gotten to living on a hippie commune, especially when looking at many of the other people staying here.  We’re staying in a “treehouse.”  It’s not really a treehouse, as it’s not built in a tree, but it is a wooden cabin lifted about 6-7 feet in the air.  It’s very much like camping in the trees.  Within our little treehouse are two mattresses, placed on a carpet that covers most of the floor.  The only modern “amenities” in the place consist of a light bulb in the ceiling and a power outlet by the door.  The only downside to the treehouses is that the communal showers are miserable and can’t maintain a stable temperature for more than a minute or so, yet that’s just a minor annoyance.

Our treehouse is one of many in an entire complex, we’re #49.  It’s a really big place, and there are dozens of similar complexes, some even larger, in the area.  The treehouses are situated in what appears to be a garden—there are a number of citrus trees surrounding our treehouse and vegetables up the way—with chickens running free around the entire place.  I imagine that the owners of the complex grow most of the food they serve on-site.

Common Area

Near the entrance to the complex is the bar/restaurant/common area.  Scattered across the area are what I would call Turkish gazebos—essentially raised wooden platforms (6x6) with roofs, three sides of which have decorative couch-cushions pushed up against them, and a short table in the middle.  Being able to relax in these little gazebos and pass the hottest hours of the day is absolutely wonderful.  Our board, 35 lira ($20) per person includes both breakfast and home-cooked dinner every day.  The food is fantastic and there’s more of it than I could ever eat.  For example, our first night we had salad, white cabbage, a vegetable medley, potatoes and vegetables, barbeque chicken, and a chickpea soup.  What’s better, breakfast consists of fruits and made-to-order omlets!

Today is our last morning in Olympos and both of us are quite reluctant to be leaving, yet the next leg of our journey should be equally as enjoyable.  While we had planned to slowly trek our way along the Southern Antalyan coast to Feithye, once we arrived in Olympos, and on recommendation from a pair of Australians we met in Cappadocia, we have decided to take a cruise along the coast to Feithye instead.  That way we’ll get to see even more of the coastal sights and relax in the sun along the way instead of being cooped up in a bus every other day.  Cruise is probably a very loosely applied word, we’re taking a mid-sized wooden sailboat along the coast, which should be a lot of fun.  We’re stopping at all of the same places we would have gone anyway—Kaş, Kekova (The sunken Roman city), Butterfly Bay, the Blue Lagoon, and Öludeniz—and additionally get to see a few other cool spots, like the city where St. Nicholas was born and the island dedicated to him, as well as a cave used for pirating in the old days.  It should be a lot of fun!  It should go without saying, but we won’t have any internet access for the next few days.  I’ll update on our travels as soon as I get a chance.  It’s pretty crazy to believe we only have two more weeks over here!