Our first holiday together was in Summer 2000 when we took a two week package deal holiday to the Turkish resort of Olu Deniz.
Olu Deniz is one of the most photographed resorts in Turkey thanks to its amazing beach known as the "Blue Lagoon". It is set in the south of the country, just a short Dolmus ride from the town of Fethiye.
The landscape is simply amazing with Olu Deniz being sandwiched between huge mountains on all sides, which lead to some stunning sunsets!
We stayed in Small & Friendly (courtesy of Thomson) lodgings called the Hotel Belcehan which was only a small walk from the beach and restaurants/bars.
The local food and beer was excellent and as well as the extremely friendly locals, we were also assisted by an amazing exchange rate (Turkey has a slight inflation problem at the moment!)
As part of the holiday we had decided to sign up for a scuba diving course (little did we know where this would lead!) The diving school was the European Diving Centre (EDC), based in Fethiye, and we had originally enrolled on the three day PADI Scuba Diver course. However, we had such an amazing time and had so taken to diving like "fishes to water" (ahem!), that we decided to extend our training to carry out the full PADI Open Water course.
Our training was carried out in some of the most amazing secluded bays with crystal clear water. The instructors from European Diving Centre were fantastic and made us feel perfectly safe for our entire course. We would definitely recommend them to anyone considering scuba diving and will certainly be having a return visit some time in the future. (For more information check out our diving page)
As well as the four day's diving, we also went on a couple of excursions. On a trip to Fethiye, we managed to sample the busy market, where the stall holders were a little bit more persistant than the restauranteurs in Olu Deniz! As part of this trip, we also got to visit a Turkish Delight factory that also specialised in a local delicacy, apple tea.
Our second excursion was another boat trip where we got to sample some more of the local secluded bays with warm crystal clear water (without having to squeeze into wetsuits and dive gear first!) On this trip we got to see some ancient Roman ruins, which we were able to swim to!
I was also persuaded to have a turkish shave (strangely enough Rich, not Kirsty!), which although pretty scary to start with (have you seen that blade?!) turned out to be one of the most amazing pampering experiences ever, with arm and shoulder massages thrown in for good measure! I have never had as close a shave (baby's bottom comes to mind!) and I've certainly never had my ear hairs singed off with a flame before!
While we were there, we also managed to meet up with one of Rich's friends, Tracey, who had come over to Fethiye for a week's holiday. She travelled over to Olu Deniz one evening and we met up for a meal and a few drinks (though not too many, as we were diving the following morning!)
We had a fantastic time in Olu Deniz and the value for money was simply outstanding (which is getting better and better all the time!) Thanks to the European Diving Centre we were also introduced to a hobby which I know we will both be enjoying for a considerable time to come!
