Iranian Visa Application Approved - Hooray!
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
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129
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Olympos,
Antalya,
Turkey
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
When our boat docked, a bus took us to Olympos which was 2 hours away. I felt bad for Sarah as she had a dirty looking Turkish guy harrassing her from the time we left our boat to the time we arrived in Olympos. She handled it well. She shook him off once our bus stopped in Olympos.
I was happy to be in Olympos. I was looking forward to this place as people spoke highly of it. It definitely feels like your typical bacpacker hangout. here are no high rise hotels or asphalt roads. Instead you have these wooden guesthouses that pack the only (dirt) road in town. It just feels so remote. In fact, there are no ATMs in this town. Each side of the road is surrounded by these beautiful mountains.
I eventually picked a guesthouse called Baymans. I picked it as it had the best atmosphere. I wanted to stay in one of their treehouses but you needed 2 people to stay in one and it had no A/C. So I just picked a dorm room. Sarah also ended up staying in the same dorm room.
After I dropped off my backpack and changed into my bathing suit, I went to check my emails to see if I got my Iranian Visa application approved. Bingo! I got it. I was very pleased. I received an email informing me that my application was approved and they provided me with an Authorization code. I was to bring this code to the Iranian embassy in Ankara so that I could get my Iranian visa issued. I definitely look forward to Iran. I am ready for some adventure and I am hoping Iran and the rest of the Middle East could provide me with some. Europe has been too relaxing for me. One thing that surprised me about the email I received was that they said I could pay the fee I owe them (for taking care of my visa application) once I got to Shiraz. There I would find their office. I expected to wire them some money (as per the instructions on their web site) before I arrived in Iran. I emailed them to clarify the confusion as I thought I couldnt get my visa until I paid this fee. I got a simple response from the stating "We trust you just like we trust all of our clients. We look forward to meeting you at our office in Shiraz." I think I will like the Iranians! This would never happen back home.
After I checked my emails, I was eager to leave the guesthouse and celebrate. I think I almost skipped to the dirt road. When you walk down the road, you eventually hit a fantastic beach. This is where I spent most of my afternoon. The only crappy part was that they make you pay 3 Liras to use the beach. I hate it when they gouge tourists and they do it more in Turkey than any other place I have been to. It is too bad. It will definitely drive some tourists away. Anyhow, after I paid my entrance fee, the walk to the beach was about 10 minutes long. It was a nice walk as you pass by these small ruins along the way. It is the ruins that they justify the 3 Lira charge. But if you show up at the entrance the next day with the previous day's ticket, they still tell you to pay 3 liras. Who would pay to see the same thing twice? The guy at the kiosk basically said "Too bad. So Sad."
One thing that occurred to me was that this was going to be the last beach I would visit before I reached Egypt. This meant 2 months without beach time. I am not a beach person but I was starting to get used to all the down time in the water and on the sand. I better get my fill over the next 2 days. One other thing worth mentioning about this beach is that they have ruins on the mountains right behind it. I have never seen that before. It was impressive.
After the beach I showered and ran into Sarah in our guesthouse"s lounge and eating area. She was reading a book I gave her - the Davinci Code - and was enjoying it as much as I did. I sat next to her but I quickly started talking to this English couple sitting across from me. Tim and Holly were on their honeymoon as they just got married 4 days earlier. Tim looked like the lead singer from Maroon 5 while Holly looked like an attractive version of Bif Naked. They were a great couple. I asked them about their wedding as I had a feeling they did something very unique. They didnt strike me as the type of people that cared about tradition. They seemed very unique and cool. I was right about them when they told me that they started their civil ceremony with music from Massive Attack and ended the ceremony with the Supercalafragilicious song from Mary Poppins. I thought that was great. They had other examples and I enjoyed hearing all about it. They both had interesting jobs back homein London. Holly is a scientist and Tim is in Architectural lighting. ANyhow, we spent the night hanging out with them. We had supper together and enjoyed a few drinks. Tim even convinced a few people sitting next to us to teach us Backgammon as everyone in Turkey plays it. I listened carefully and I think I understamd the game pretty well. Sarah and Time played a few games and I watched so I think I have the hang of it. I'll try to play a game tomorrow.
LAter in the evening I went to a rock bar on the main road. I met this Aussie guy and Turkish girl in my dorm room and it turns out that this Turkish girl is a singer who was to perform at this rock bar up the street. I said I would stop by. True to my word, I did pass by. Unfortunately, I only heard her last 2 songs. SHe was a great singer and is supposed to have a CD coming out shortly.
After downing my beer at the bar, I returned back to my hostel and enjoyed a night of sleeping in my air conditioned room.
Dino Vagabond
![[03] Olympos ruins](http://images.travelpod.com/users/el_condor/thumbnail.asia_2005.1148208360.picture_020.jpg)
