Tuesday, March 25, 2008

From Antalya to Demre – Sunflower Guide

Travelling on my own and using Finike as my base camp to explore the surrounding area of southeastern Lycia, I basically relied on two books: Lycia by Prof. Dr. Cevdet Bayburtluoglu and the Sunflower Guide to the Turkish Coast, specifically the one covering Antalya to Demre. Both books turned out to be very useful, each in its own way.

I already discussed the Lycia Guide on a previous occasion, so this time, I want to focus on the Sunflower Guide that I also mentioned in my stories about the Finike area. This book is more of a walking guide providing useful hints about food and lodging, but also about the signs to look for to get where you want to go. The sightseeing is arranged around several walks: Antalya and the larger Antalya area, Kemer, Olympos, Finike, and Demre, with a beautiful fold-out map of Lycia attached to the back cover and clear detailed maps along the way.

Besides that, it contains an extensive introduction with all kinds of practical information, such as phone area codes, newspapers, buses, events, shopping, cafés, restaurants, nightlife, laundry services, police, entrance fees and opening hours of the archaeological sites and parks, you just name it. A comprehensive history of Turkey and a list of useful Turkish words make the guide complete.

The book is a high standard teamwork of Michael Bussman and Gabriele Troger, with walks by Brian and Eileen Anderson and Dean Livesley. The seasoned traveller can even check their online update service at http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/index2.htm to make sure he/she has the most recent information when planning a trip to Lycia.

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