Diary of my time in Türkiye and Cyprus
Roger Short Memorial Fund Travel Diary – Josephine Forsythe (2021, Chemistry)
Thanks to the Roger Short Memorial Fund, this incredible journey became possible.
DAY 1: SWINDON TO DALAMAN
Waking up at 5 a.m., we grabbed a quick breakfast before heading to the Swindon train station to catch our 6.32am train to London Paddington. The early morning train was filled with commuters, and we sat eagerly anticipating the fortnight before us. We then transferred to the Stansted Express to get to Stansted Airport, noting the chill in the air and joking that we should have brought coats.
We made our way through security, trusting that our hold luggage would be reunited with us a few thousand miles away. Deciding that to fit what was essentially 3 weeks of activities into two weeks due to time constraints, as a result of which we would have to be walking with our luggage, we had squeezed all of it into one 60-litre hiking rucksack and a 15-litre rucksack with a smaller rucksack for day hikes. After perusing the Stansted airport duty-free zone for an hour, it was time to go. Using the four-hour flight to recover some sleep (as we were too high above the clouds to see anything of note) the flight, was over quickly. Beautiful mountains rose up to meet us from below; the vast creviced landscape decked out beneath us looked truly enchanting. After landing, we went straight to customs which was packed as Russian, French and British tourists thronged around us. Then, onto a Muttaş bus to travel from Dalaman to Fethiye.
Flying over mountains upon entering Turkey
The darkness this far further south than England came on quickly, and we watched the sun sink behind the looming peaks. Arriving at Fethiye Central Bus Station, we decided to walk to the hotel, thinking it couldn’t be too far. However, the 1.5 miles turned out to seem much further with our heavy bags. On the bright side, it provided an education in Turkish pedestrian etiquette, as we daringly followed locals across crossings, trusting in their intuition. We noted many dolmuş locations too, for our expedition tomorrow. Despite not being too far away from the touristy seaside front, the town felt vastly different. Passing a large MMM Migros, and restaurants filled with locals, the dimly lit streets provided a stark contrast to the busy brightly lit tourist centre we were about to enter.
Published: 21 February 2025
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