We begin in the abandoned greek village of Kayaköy. though it was beautiful, as a Palestinian it made me take a step back and reevaluate. What is seen as a popular tourist attraction now is a remnant of forced displacement; something that is all too familiar in Palestine. Knowing that the zionist state also turns ethnically cleansed Palestinian villages into parks, It was a very unsettling parallel. nevertheless, we had a good hike before meeting a group of friends that would prove to be one of the sweetest coincidences of my life.

This is Ben, we met on the plane in Dalaman airport and struck up conversation. I invited him to join me as I start my hike and he happily tagged along. Little did I know this would be the start of one of the sweetest friendships I have ever witnessed

After a random run in with some fellow arabs on an adventure of their own, we were invited to join them in their campsite. This was the beginning of some truly amazing friendships and experiences I will never forget; continuing the theme of spontaneity and unexpected friendships for this trip

In this glass box we would get together in the warmth and comfort of the furnace, sharing meals and stories and forgetting about the worries of our day to day lives.

The next morning we set out to hike up the mountain to catch the sunrise

Eventually me and Ben parted ways with the group and we left Oludeniz for the next stop, Kabak, a gorgeous little community on the beach filled with hostels and hippies. The hike down to the beach was filled with views of iridescent water and towering cliffs. After resting for a bit we hiked from Kabak to Cennetköy, a virgin beach only accessible by boat or two hour hike.

When we got to Cennetköy, we were surprised to find a Russian couple camping there. We exchanged glances and carried on with our day, gathering firewood and preparing for sundown. We’d spend our breaks swimming in the turquoise water and bathing in the sun. It was truly magical

When we woke up the next day in Cennetköy, we realized we had made the grave mistake of not bringing enough water. Knowing this, we knew we couldn’t continue onwards on the trail with no water, so we were forced to hike back to Kabak to replenish our resources. The hike back was the most physically demanding thing I have ever done in my life. It was hot, we were dehydrated, and halfway through the trail back we got lost and ended up halfway up a mountain before realizing we went in the wrong direction. I was getting lightheaded and dizzy, we had no water or food, and I was carrying 30lbs of gear on my back. The situation started to get so dire I was considering dropping my gear to come back for it later, but we ended up pushing through. By the time we got to Kabak, our mouths were dry and we could barely stand. We found a water fountain and had the most thirst-quenching drink of our lives. Afterwards, we found the only restaurant open in Kabak and ordered enough food to feed a family. The feeling when the food came is one I will never forget

When we got to Alinca, it was cold and raining. We stumbled upon a lovely little camp called Novasoul that was kind enough to let us sit and charge our electronics and sip on some coffee. Afterwards we began the hike to a small village called Gey, which took us the rest of the day. We were surprised to see Cennetköy again, this time from the mountains.

When we got to Gey, we had lunch with some bread and honey we bought on the way. We found a small market where we had tea and made friends with one of the boys living there. I taught him how to use my camera and he loved it. He took this picture, very talented.

In Gey we set up camp on an empty field. This was the view the morning after. We had barely slept as it was too cold and windy.

Next, we had a long hike to the next village on the trail, Bel. Our hike was filled with mountainous landscapes and crisp winter air.

When we got to Bel, we walked around for a little bit before deciding to stay at one of the village pansiyons or pensions. Villages along the way will often have families who will rent hikers a room in their homes along with dinner and breakfast for a small price. We ended up staying in the basement of a lovely family. Our room was small and simple, yet compared to the conditions we had been sleeping in it was nothing but luxury. We had our own furnace with a nights worth of firewood and thick heavy blankets to go with comfortable beds. To top it off we had access to a shower. Compared to the freezing cold of our tent just the night before, we were in paradise. Soon we got called for dinner, not knowing we were about to have the best meal of our lives.

I could not begin to describe how amazing this dinner was. Everything was fresh, from the eggs to the cheese and the chicken. Our host family showered us in kindness and made us feel as if we were family. Their kindness is something I will never forget

In less than 12 hours, I had the best dinner of my life followed by the best breakfast of my life. We set out to hike to the next village on our stop, Kinik. Stuffed and ready to take on the next 20 kilometers, we set off from Bel.

While hiking to Kinik, we hadn’t seen any waymarks for a while and were tired. We saw this beach in the distance and thought we’d take a quick detour to check it out and have a quick swim. We ended up resting there for a while and when we got there, we were surprised to see the waymarks start again, making what we thought was a detour actually a shortcut.

After swimming at Patara Beach, we were drained and decided to get a taxi to Kinik. After asking around, we ended up finding a man who was kind enough to let us ride in his truck. Following a scenic ride we got dropped off at the kinik bus station.

When we got dropped off at the bus station, there was a bus about to leave to Kaş. I was nearing the end of my trip and I had originally set out for Kaş to be the endpoint of my trip. With just two days left in my trip and the bus about to leave, we decided to get on the bus to Kaş. After the bus stopped at Kalkan’s bus station, however, we decided to get off there instead as we had heard some interesting stories about this scenic town. Kalkan is a small town right before Kaş, also along the Lycian Way. We ended up staying there for the next two nights before me and Ben had to part ways.

Me and Ben’s last day together was spent in Kalkan eating snacks and resting. My two weeks of unbelievable adventures and experiences had come to an end. I had met people in the most unexpected of ways, only for them to become some of my closest friends. If it is one thing I learned on this trip, it is that friendships should be measured though experiences together rather than the time two have known each other. In this short trip I had many years worth of experiences, making memories I wouldn’t ever forget. I learned to embrace spontaneity wherever the opportunity presented itself, and this led to camping at virgin beaches, eating the best meals of my life, and seeing sights straight out of the lord of the rings. Here’s to the spirit of adventure