From Istanbul we flew to Izmir and headed to the small town of Selcuk. The Roman ruins of Ephesus are located a short distance from Selcuk so we based ourselves here to explore the area.
While in Selcuk we stayed at Boomerang Hostel, which featured a beautiful courtyard with trees and loungers. The hostel also had a badly shaved Persian cat who I loved! It was here we met Gemma and Jo, Australians who had been living in London and were travelling home via Eastern Europe and South East Asia.
From Selcuk we travelled by bus to Fethiye with a stop off in Pamukkale, a series of calcium pools that have formed naturally on the side of a hill near the city of Denzili. We swam in the pools while looking over the blinding white calcium and valley beyond.
Food during this portion of the trip was nothing to write home about and cheese was lacking. The journey south through Turkey was beautiful though and it was refreshing to be out of the city.
Chasing the Cheese 