We got a late start out of Çıralı today. Our plan for the day was simple: drive the coast road to Kaş, a fishing village two hours to the west.

Kaş, like Çıralı, is difficult to get to, sitting at the water’s edge several hundred feet below the route of the main highway and accessible only by a single road with multiple tight switchbacks, making it virtually impassible for tour buses. In both places, there is a bohemian atmosphere.

The coast road was stunning.

We pulled off at a turnout and walked down to the point for a better view.

The water was crystal clear and the sky over the Mediterranean was cloudless.

Landward, there were a few clouds; just enough to make a pretty picture.

About halfway to Kaş, near the city of Demre, the road turned inland. As we had been driving along, we started to see quite a few shadehouses and greenhouses, full of tomato plants and other vegetable crops. But it wasn’t until we got to a pullout overlooking Demre that we realized just how many shade- and greenhouses there were in this area. The landscape was carpeted with them!

Not long after, we decided to get off the main road, the D-400, to take a rural road back down to the coast. As we approached the hamlet of Çevreli, we noticed what looked like a rock church up on the hill, so we stopped to investigate.

It turned out to be an ancient tomb, unknown to the guidebooks and without any identification except the ancient Greek chiseled into the threshold.

But we had no one to share our discovery with other than this nearby herd of grazing goats

Just a little further up the road, we reached our destination, Kaş (pronounced, “Kosh”).

We parked and searched for a place to spend the next 2 or 3 nights, settling on the Kale Otel, then we took a short walk around town to get a feel for the place. It’s very reminiscent of another fishing village we visited in Europe after we graduated from college the second time: Portofino, Italy.

In the middle of town, we stumbled upon another ancient tomb, but this one was well marked.

It’s a Lycian tomb from the 4th century B.C., called the King’s Tomb; the Lycians preceded the Greeks in this part of Turkey. I don’t know much about the Lycians, but I think I’m about to learn.