I did my teenage go-mad-with-your-mates holidaying in Ibiza, first in 1995 and then again a year later.
I never went to other Brits-on-tour 'hotspots' such as Marbella, Benidorm or Bodrum. Not really my thing.
(Perhaps unfairly,) Turkey has always brought to my mind images of tattoo-ed Brits scoffing full English breakfasts in front of Sky Sports in sweaty bars overlooking packed beaches.
But when Lottie and I narrowed down our search criteria for a week of late summer sun we were left with Turkey, Morocco or Cyprus. We picked Turkey after finding a bargain deal online and that was that. Turkey or bust.
The bargain deal we'd found was a package holiday with Thomson. Despite what I've written above I'm not a holiday snob (honest!), I just don't normally do package holidays to popular Brits Abroad hotspots when I know I can get a more tailored - and cheaper - trip booking separate flights and accommodation.
But the deal we found was too good to turn down and so we booked 10 days half board at the highly-rated Montana Pine Resort just above Oludeniz.
What we found, particularly in the fairly odious town of Hisaronu up the hill from Oludeniz, fitted my stereotyped view of Turkey perfectly. But other parts, particularly the scenery and the countryside inland, were a real surprise.
After our uneventful Friday evening flight we found ourselves walking across a dark carpark outside Dalyan airport towards our Thomson coach.
We were soon on our way to the resort and being welcomed to the country by our chirpy rep. She was full of facts - such as the rather worrying news that in certain parts of the country it is at the driver's discretion whether or not to stop at red lights...
The Montana Pine was just what a fatigued couple from London needed after a busy summer at work.
A great location up in the hills, helpful and cheery staff, three swimming pools, a sunset bar, clean bedrooms and fantastic food.
We spent most of the week taking advantage of the resort and doing very little beyond turning pages of a book or eating food. Surely what holidays are made for.
We did venture out a few times, one day heading down to the seafront to spend a few hours by the 'blue lagoon' in Oludeniz. Despite the local hype, what we found was a rather unexciting expanse of iron-flat water ringed by cramped beaches stuffed full of sun-loungers.
Not a patch on the lagoons we found in the Philippines.
Another day trip was better, with Lottie and I jumping in a dolmus bus to the local town of Fethiye.
We went on market day, finding a vast tarpaulin village of stalls selling local food, knock-off clothes and handbags, and a sexy selection of headscarves.
Sorry Lottie. I know I said I'd delete it.
After the market we walked along the harbour front, lined with tourist-friendly fast food joints, and found a great spot to eat near the fishmarket.
Despite the amazing selection of food on offer at the resort (more of which later), this was probably the most tasty - and authentic - Turkish meal of the holiday:
An enjoyable day was finished off by a cab ride (driven by a local Turk who'd recently spent 10 years living in Bristol) over the hills to a place called Kayakoy.
Kayakoy is known locally as a 'ghost village' because its inhabitants - Greeks - were booted out as part of a peace-keeping initiative, but no Turks wanted to move there because of its position in the hills (and thus away from the fishing trade by the sea) and its association with Greece.
What was left after the Greek exit still largely remains today: 200-300 houses dotting the hillside and a couple of churches positioned at the highest points of the village.
It was a peaceful, if slightly eerie, place. Lottie and I climbed up to one of the churches on high and enjoyed the view over the valley below:
Another highlight of the trip was a football match we went to in Fethiye.
It took place on our last night and was between local side Fethiyespor and a team called Mesina. We had a quick drink in a bar populated by gruff local men before buying tickets in the main stand for about £10 each.
The setting, under a backdrop of sun-dappled hills, was great. Unfortunately the football was not.
The two teams were playing in the equivalent of the English Championship - the second tier of the national game. The standard was something akin to English non-league as the players struggled to string more than two passes together, fitness levels were found wanting and no-one showed any sort of skill on the ball.
Mercifully we did manage to see a goal, Mesina scoring with a scrappy shot just after half time to the delight of their 100-odd fans behind the goal.
Despite the football, the overall match-going experience was fun. A rousing national anthem before kick-off, some good singing by the fans and decent spicy paste wraps to eat:
Talking of food, the spread laid on each morning and evening at the Montana Pine was something else. A mega buffet of freshly-prepared dishes - perhaps 50 of them - meant we ate like kings.
Here's Lottie eyeing the desserts:
Another day trip we did was a 'jeep safari' to some of the sights in the local area. It was a really fun day that took us on a dirt road track through a forest...
...to an ancient hilltop settlement of tombs...
...to a trout farm for lunch, and then on to the famous Saklikent Gorge:
We ended up in a mud bath (no pictures).
One advantage of our resort was its location at the start of the Lycian Way, a 500km walk along the Turkish coast. We couldn't quite stretch to 500km but did manage the first 2-3km, and what a walk it was.
We timed it to coincide with the sun setting over Oludeniz and enjoyed amazing views of the coastline and the Mediterranean sea:
As a holiday it ticked the boxes for what we were after: quiet, relaxing and stress-free. We saw some of the 'real' Turkey, but I wouldn't rule out a return visit to Istanbul to get under the skin of the country a bit more.
I never went to other Brits-on-tour 'hotspots' such as Marbella, Benidorm or Bodrum. Not really my thing.
(Perhaps unfairly,) Turkey has always brought to my mind images of tattoo-ed Brits scoffing full English breakfasts in front of Sky Sports in sweaty bars overlooking packed beaches.
But when Lottie and I narrowed down our search criteria for a week of late summer sun we were left with Turkey, Morocco or Cyprus. We picked Turkey after finding a bargain deal online and that was that. Turkey or bust.
The bargain deal we'd found was a package holiday with Thomson. Despite what I've written above I'm not a holiday snob (honest!), I just don't normally do package holidays to popular Brits Abroad hotspots when I know I can get a more tailored - and cheaper - trip booking separate flights and accommodation.
But the deal we found was too good to turn down and so we booked 10 days half board at the highly-rated Montana Pine Resort just above Oludeniz.
What we found, particularly in the fairly odious town of Hisaronu up the hill from Oludeniz, fitted my stereotyped view of Turkey perfectly. But other parts, particularly the scenery and the countryside inland, were a real surprise.
After our uneventful Friday evening flight we found ourselves walking across a dark carpark outside Dalyan airport towards our Thomson coach.
We were soon on our way to the resort and being welcomed to the country by our chirpy rep. She was full of facts - such as the rather worrying news that in certain parts of the country it is at the driver's discretion whether or not to stop at red lights...
The Montana Pine was just what a fatigued couple from London needed after a busy summer at work.
A great location up in the hills, helpful and cheery staff, three swimming pools, a sunset bar, clean bedrooms and fantastic food.
We spent most of the week taking advantage of the resort and doing very little beyond turning pages of a book or eating food. Surely what holidays are made for.
We did venture out a few times, one day heading down to the seafront to spend a few hours by the 'blue lagoon' in Oludeniz. Despite the local hype, what we found was a rather unexciting expanse of iron-flat water ringed by cramped beaches stuffed full of sun-loungers.
Not a patch on the lagoons we found in the Philippines.
Another day trip was better, with Lottie and I jumping in a dolmus bus to the local town of Fethiye.
We went on market day, finding a vast tarpaulin village of stalls selling local food, knock-off clothes and handbags, and a sexy selection of headscarves.
Sorry Lottie. I know I said I'd delete it.
After the market we walked along the harbour front, lined with tourist-friendly fast food joints, and found a great spot to eat near the fishmarket.
Despite the amazing selection of food on offer at the resort (more of which later), this was probably the most tasty - and authentic - Turkish meal of the holiday:
An enjoyable day was finished off by a cab ride (driven by a local Turk who'd recently spent 10 years living in Bristol) over the hills to a place called Kayakoy.
Kayakoy is known locally as a 'ghost village' because its inhabitants - Greeks - were booted out as part of a peace-keeping initiative, but no Turks wanted to move there because of its position in the hills (and thus away from the fishing trade by the sea) and its association with Greece.
What was left after the Greek exit still largely remains today: 200-300 houses dotting the hillside and a couple of churches positioned at the highest points of the village.
It was a peaceful, if slightly eerie, place. Lottie and I climbed up to one of the churches on high and enjoyed the view over the valley below:
Another highlight of the trip was a football match we went to in Fethiye.
It took place on our last night and was between local side Fethiyespor and a team called Mesina. We had a quick drink in a bar populated by gruff local men before buying tickets in the main stand for about £10 each.
The setting, under a backdrop of sun-dappled hills, was great. Unfortunately the football was not.
The two teams were playing in the equivalent of the English Championship - the second tier of the national game. The standard was something akin to English non-league as the players struggled to string more than two passes together, fitness levels were found wanting and no-one showed any sort of skill on the ball.
Mercifully we did manage to see a goal, Mesina scoring with a scrappy shot just after half time to the delight of their 100-odd fans behind the goal.
Despite the football, the overall match-going experience was fun. A rousing national anthem before kick-off, some good singing by the fans and decent spicy paste wraps to eat:
Talking of food, the spread laid on each morning and evening at the Montana Pine was something else. A mega buffet of freshly-prepared dishes - perhaps 50 of them - meant we ate like kings.
Here's Lottie eyeing the desserts:
Another day trip we did was a 'jeep safari' to some of the sights in the local area. It was a really fun day that took us on a dirt road track through a forest...
...to an ancient hilltop settlement of tombs...
...to a trout farm for lunch, and then on to the famous Saklikent Gorge:
We ended up in a mud bath (no pictures).
One advantage of our resort was its location at the start of the Lycian Way, a 500km walk along the Turkish coast. We couldn't quite stretch to 500km but did manage the first 2-3km, and what a walk it was.
We timed it to coincide with the sun setting over Oludeniz and enjoyed amazing views of the coastline and the Mediterranean sea:
As a holiday it ticked the boxes for what we were after: quiet, relaxing and stress-free. We saw some of the 'real' Turkey, but I wouldn't rule out a return visit to Istanbul to get under the skin of the country a bit more.
