Western Turkey, birds, flowers & history

Itinerary

• DAY 1

  Arrival at Izmir airport & transfer to Kusadasi

  Meet at the Izmir airport with Demavend Travels representative and head straight into the field, so keep your binoculars handy. Birds to look out for include pallid and alpine swifts, red-rumped swallow, serin and Spanish sparrow. Krüper's nuthatch also lives in the pine-clad hillsides surrounding the city and this will be our first opportunity it too look for this sought after species (Krüper's nuthatch can also be found on Mount Honaz which we will visit near the end of the tour). Later in the afternoon we drive south to our base for the next two nights in the coastal town of Kusadasi.

  Transfer time: 1 h; transfer distance: 80 km; (Izmir airport - Kusadasi)                            

  ON: in Kusadasi at the hotel

  Meals:   - / - / D

• DAY 2

  Discover Dilek national park & ancient Ephesus

  This morning we head south to explore the Dilek national park on the Aegean coast, opposite the Greek island of Samos. Comprising rocky outcrops, scrub-covered hills, canyons and pine forests, the national park is a haven for wildlife and also very rich botanically. It was one of the last refuges of the now extinct Anatolian leopard and looking up at the crags it is easy to imagine one of these attractive cats soaking up the sun on a convenient ledge! Sadly, the leopards are now long gone, but larger mammals can still be found in the shape of wild boar which roots for food in the forests. Raptors soaring over the hills may include resident Bonelli’s eagles and peregrines as well as visiting Eleonora's falcons and perhaps other migrants such as lesser spotted Eagle, Black Kite and Hobby. Subalpine, Ruppell’s and Eastern orphean warblers sing side by side from the low scrub covering the lower hill slopes whilst western rock nuthatches noisily scold from their boulder strewn haunts.

  After lunch we continue towards Selcuk, where we visit the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the former twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era. In the Roman period, it was for many years the second largest city of the Roman Empire; ranking behind Rome. Ephesus contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. Only an estimated 15 % has been excavated. The ruins that are visible give some idea of the city's original splendour and the names associated with the ruins are evocative of its former life. During our visit we also head over to Ephesus terrace houses, located on the hill opposite the Hadrian temple. Also called as "the houses of rich", these houses, with amazing mosaics and frescos, are covered with protective roofing which resembles Roman mansions. Here we conclude our visit with a look at a nearby wetland, turn out attention back to the wildlife and continue the daily theme of this tour by combining natural history with regular opportunities to glimpse the colourful past of empires which for so long dominated Mediterranean Europe and the region of Asia Minor. In the late afternoon/early evening we return to Kusadasi where we spend the night.

  Transfer time: 1 h; transfer distance: 95 km; (Kusadasi to Dilek national park & Ephesus and back)

  ON: in Kusadasi at the hotel

  Meals:   B / L / D

• DAY 3

  Lake Bafa & ancient Priene

  Today we drive to the bird rich shores of Lake Bafa, a journey of a couple of hours. We then have the rest of the day to explore the lake and its surroundings, blending a little sightseeing with visits to wetland areas. Beginning at Karina Golu and the Karina fish ponds we should find large numbers of egrets and herons, with perhaps white pelicans too. A variety of waders should be present around the muddy margins including noisy pairs of spur-winged plovers and perhaps a few migrants such as little stint and marsh sandpiper. The Miletos ponds offer further opportunities to see water birds plus an interesting wetland flora.

  Later in the afternoon we will make our way to the ancient city of Priene, an ancient Greek city of Ionia and member of the Ionian league. Priene possessed a great deal of famous Hellenistic art and architecture. The city was arranged into four districts, firstly the political district which consisted of the bouleuterion and the prytaneion, the cultural district containing the theatre, the commercial where the agora was located and finally the religious district which contained sanctuaries dedicated to Zeus and Demeter and most importantly the temple of Athena. After a full day enjoying the bird, botanical and archaeological delights of this region we will arrive in Pinarcik village, set in olive groves and overlooking Lake Bafa.

  Transfer time: 1 h; transfer distance: 90 km; (Kusadasi to Lake Bafa via Karina Golu & Priene)

  ON: in Pinarcik village (Lake Bafa) at the hotel

  Meals:   B / L / D

• DAY 4

  Lake Bafa & Menderes delta

  Today we will continue our exploration of the Menderes delta and Lake Bafa region and, as per previous days, mix birds and botany with a little history. This is a superb area for birds including pygmy cormorant, white pelican, Dalmatian pelican, white-winged tern, squacco heron, little bittern, ferruginous duck and black-winged stilt. Overhead hunt long-legged buzzards and red-footed falcons, whilst the rocky islands are home to breeding ruddy shelduck. We will also spend time seeking and appreciating some of the characteristic birds of the surrounding dry countryside such as masked shrike, ruppell’s warbler, Sardinian warbler, Eastern olivaceous warbler, Isabel line wheatear and the shy olive-tree warbler. Close to Latmos is the ancient site of Heraklea, former capital of Linkestisa, which was once an important military and strategic centre. Your local guide will fill in some of the historical background as we briefly divert from the natural history to see more of the splendours of bygone days. In the late afternoon/early evening we return to Pinarcik village where we spend the night.

  ON: in Pinarcik village (Lake Bafa) at the hotel

  Meals:   B / L / D

• DAY 5

  Denizli to Pamukkale travertine terraces & ancient Hierapolis

  We leave Lake Bafa region and follow the Maeander River to the town of Denizli, high on the Anatolian plateau at around 1.000m. From here we visit Pamukkale travertine terraces and the ancient site of Hierapolis.  Pamukkale has the meaning "cotton castle" and is one of the most remarkable natural sites with its cotton white plateaus, pale blue waters topping of the shallow pools and gently cascading down the drape-like stalagmites onto the lower levels for over 300 feet. The city contains hot springs and travertine, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. Hierapolis is a UNESCO world heritage site where the hot springs have been used as a spa since the 2nd century BC; people came to soothe their ailments, with many of them retiring or dying here. The large necropolis is filled with sarcophagi, including the sarcophagus of Marcus Aurelius. Parts of the archaeological site of Hierapolis are the great bathes, which were constructed with huge stone blocks without the use of cement and consisted of various closed or open sections linked together. The surrounding dry scrubby bushland and rocky hillsides are home to an interesting variety of birds including the localised finch’s wheatear, a species at the very western limit of its range. Red-billed choughs glide along the rocky crags, whilst overhead we should keep our eyes open for griffon, black and Egyptian vultures. Nearer ground level we will also look for chukar, cretzschmar's bunting, calandra lark, lesser short-toed lark, bee-eater, black-eared wheatear and rock sparrow. After another full day in the field we drive back to Denizli where we spend the night at the hotel.                  

  Transfer time: 3 h; transfer distance: 240 km; (Lake Bafa to Denizli & Pamukkale)

  ON: in Denizli at the hotel

  Meals:   B / L / D

• DAY 6

  Lake Acigol & Isikli Golu

  We will use today to explore the two locally contrasting sites, the saline waters of Lake Acigol and the freshwater habitats around Isikli Golu. Lake Acigol is surrounded by extensive central Anatolian steppe and steep limestone hills. Few species such as Greater Flamingo, Slender-billed Gull and Avocet can tolerate the lake's extremely saline waters, but freshwater springs in the foothills attract a much wider variety of species and plenty of passage migrants. The rocky juniper-dotted scrub that cloths these foothills are also home to noisy flocks of Alpine Swifts, plus Western Rock Nuthatch, Ruppell’s Warbler, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Rock Bunting, Red-fronted Serin, Cirl Bunting and the enigmatic White-throated Robin. Later, we will shift to the freshwater lake Isikli Gölü, the birthplace of river Meander. The lake is surrounded by high mountains and extensive reed-beds, and floating water lilies. Whiskered Tern, Little Bittern and Night Heron breed here, whilst the surrounding juniper scrubland is home to Finch’s Weather, White-throated Robin, Eastern Orphean and Ruppell’s Warblers. At the end of another exciting day, we return to Denizli where we spend the night.

  Transfer time: 3 - 4 h; transfer distance: 260 km; (Denizli to Lake Acigol & Isikli Golu and back)

  ON: in Denizli at the hotel

  Meals:   B / L / D

• DAY 7

  Mount Honaz & Kusadasi

  We spend this morning exploring the various altitudes on the drive up Mount Honaz, the centre piece of Honaz national park. The foothills of this 2.500m high mountain are covered with extensive tracts of Turkish (Calabrian) pine, home for Krüper's Nuthatch, amongst others. As we ascend, the vegetation, and associated birdlife, gradually changes until we reach the barren upper slopes, clothed in an alpine flora and home to Snow finch, Horned Lark (of the Anatolian subspecies), Red-fronted Serin and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush. Following lunch we drive back to Kusadasi for our final night in Turkey. There should be time to break the journey with a couple of bird watching stops en-route and we aim to arrive back at our accommodation late in the afternoon.  

  Transfer time: 3 h; transfer distance: 230 km; (Denizli to Mount Honaz & Kusadasi)

  ON: in Kusadasi at the hotel

  Meals:   B / L / D

• DAY 8

  Trip concludes at Izmir airport

  After breakfast; transfer to Izmir airport where the trip concludes. 

  Transfer time: 1 h; transfer distance: 80 km (Kusadasi to Izmir airport)

  Meals:   B / - / -