In the morning, the rental location is our meeting point where our serviced and prepared for the ride motorcycles will be waiting for us. Here we’ll get the motorcycle docs, helmet and pack belongings. We start towards adventures at noon!

During this day, mainly asphalt than off-road awaits us in order to get used to the motorcycle. The first-day endpoint is located in the resort village of Cirali on the territory of the Beydaglar National Park, whose beach from Black Cape to Moses Mountain is the breeding zone of Caretta turtles.

On the way, we are going to visit the ancient city of Phaselis surrounded by three harbours with sandy and pebble beaches. The city layout is well-preserved - a central street, a square, an aqueduct, and an amphitheatre among the lush pine and cedar trees of the natural park.

In case we have enough time, then we may also visit the Goynuk Canyon in the Taurus Mountains with a depth of 350 meters and a length of about 14 km, that stunning one's imagination with amazing forms of rocks of a turbulent mountain river.

Last but one we are going to have a rest and spend the night in a cosy guest house on the first sea line of a gorgeous 4-kilometre beach within walking distance of Chimera, the only mountain in the world on the slope of which for several thousand years natural gas has been burning all year round. It contains an admixture of substance that self-ignites in the air. It was here according to the legend the forge of the god of fire and the protector of blacksmith Hephaestus was located. Finally, as soon as it gets dark, we’ll carry out a walk there.

Having tasted a classic Turkish breakfast, we ride through the mountains by dirt roads to the destroyed by pirates and earthquakes ancient Olympos, the city of the Lycian League where the Olympic Games were originated. The first mentions fall in the third century BC.

From there we climb 900+ meters to the good point of view at the top of Cape Helidonius, one of the most dangerous places for the navigators of the Antalya Bay which has turned it into a ship graveyard. One of the last found boats sank there at the end of the Bronze Age in the 13th century BC. 

Riding down on dizzying serpentines with a loose surface, through the village of Karaoz, we visit the lighthouse at a height of 270 meters.

Then, having a snack in the Pirate Bay, we exercise enduro skills on mountain roads and descend to the peanut pines of the Mavikent Nature Park, from where we race along the coast to Teke peninsula and Finike city founded at 5th century BC, it was the main commercial port of the Lykia capital Limira, which is still famous for the most fragrant oranges. Here we rest and gain strength the next day.

From the Orange Capital of Turkey, we start across the mountains to Demre, choosing a situational path depending on the presence of snow on the northern sides of the central Taurus mountains. The nature of these places pleases the eye with magnificent landscapes of white-stone slopes and dense majestic forests. Here you can see wild boars, foxes and birds of prey in nature.

In modern Demre on the territory of the Myra ancient city, we explore the amphitheater with the tombs of the ancient Lycian necropolis carved into the surrounding rocks. Also, optional and with the time reserve, we can visit the Church of St. Nicholas named after the Bishop of Myra who became the prototype of modern Santa Claus.

Having a lunch we continue to ride the mountain roads up to the fishing villages of Uchagiz and Kaleky, in the past - the ancient Teimuss and Simena, a solid part of which is now half sunken and retained even the remains of amphoras underwater. The inhabited part of the peninsula is crowned with a hill with a Genoese fortress, inside of which there is the smallest Roman theatre in Lycia, just for 100 people. Here we stay until the next day walking through the sights of all three harbours, which gave the name to the village of Uchagiz (literally translates “three mouths”).

A rich program to be. We hit the road to the city of Kas, formerly Antiphellos, the Lycian port first mentioned by the Greeks in the 4th century BC. Entering the city, before us the panorama of the city opens with an overview of the Greek island of Kastellorizo on which the easternmost airport of Greece is located. Having ridden around the peninsula, that begins with a fully restored ancient Greek amphitheatre, we rush on.

Up the slopes, ridges and ravines of the mountains located along the coastline, we ride to most popular among modern youth in the Turkish Riviera place that is famous not only for the 3.5 km long beach but also for the numerous remains of the ancient city of Patara founded by the son of Apollo, that was the main seaport of the Lycian Union.

The most ancient human activity traces (remnants of ceramics) discovered in Acropolis are dated back to the 7th century BC. On the way from the Arc de Triomphe not far from the central street colonnade, a fully restored amphitheatre-museum is located. Supposedly, it was built in the Hellenistic period.

But this is not the last historical place today, next one is the ruins of Xanthos, the largest city of Lycia founded at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. This is exactly the city where the Heroes of the Trojan War came from and after which the immortal speaking horse of Achilles was named. On the territory of the excavation, the largest monument of Lycian literature was found - the Lycian-Milian stele Xanthus Bilingual Obelisk dating back to 380 BC.

And we are going to finish the day in the resort village of Oludeniz (literally “Dead Sea” thanks to its calm, even during storms, waters of the Blue Lagoon national reserve). It is the place wherefrom the slope of the Babadag range highest mountain next morning everyone will be able to enjoy the magnificent scenery from a bird's eye view.

Oludeniz is considered one of the best places in the world for paragliding due to its unique panoramic views and stable weather conditions. The height of the main “low start” is 1672 m, and of the "top start" at the peak of the mountain is 1980 m. The unique topology of the place allows you to reach the bay at an altitude of 1–1.5 km. The cost of a half-hour flight is about $100, included the touring price.

Being popular among tourists from Germany, England, and Ireland, Oludeniz also offers many opportunities for diving due to its crystal clear waters and rich underwater caves and fauna.
After paragliding, we set off for Fethiye, from where the Turquoise Coast originates and along the way we pass the starting point of the official hiking trail "the Lycian way".

At this place in ancient times, there was the Greek city of Telmessos, the centre of the prophecies devoted to Apollo, but the earthquakes of 1857 and 1957 destroyed almost all the ancient structures. Only the remains of the ancient Roman theatre, the Medieval Knight’s Castle of the 15th century, and traditional Lycian tombs on the slope of the adjacent mountain remained. There are great views from the top of the peninsula, isolating the large modern harbour and marina from the Aegean Sea. Also in Fethiye city, there is a museum rich in artefacts clearly demonstrating the chain of civilizations that inhabited the region since the ancient Lycians. Here the historic part of our trip ends, apart from one pleasant water-related and healthful activity upon our return to Antalya.

In the morning we go back on the highway that crosses the mainland. It is necessary to dress warmly, as the path will lie through the mountain plateau, we have to race as fast as possible so that we feel comfortable.

The final goal is to arrive as early to Antalya as possible to hand over motorcycles, check in to the hotel and have a full package of SPA procedures in Sefa Hamam (the original name is “Makbul Aa Turkish Bath”) - a Turkish bath with a history of more than 650 years.

It was restored in 1450 and mentioned in the "City Archive of the Ottoman Empire", all the time to this day is used for its intended purpose.

The rest of the day we share our impressions and enjoy the hospitality of this beautiful Mediterranean resort.