Lonely Planet tries to discourage people from visiting. Who knows — maybe it's because Olympos is a very popular holiday spot for Turks, and the publishers are trying to keep foreign visitors from overwhelming the place.
Well, it depends on who you ask! The name comes from the Greek settlement. Being Greek, of course they used the Greek alphabet and spelled it Ολυμπος. English speakers usually spell that Olympos, but the Turks spell it as Olimpos.
This is like the spelling difference between Istanbul, as generally seen in English text, and İstanbul, as it's actually spelled. (see the dot?) Or Cappadocia versus Kapadokya
But yes, "Olympos" would be the English spelling, and since this page is written in English....
There were over 20 mountains named "Olympos" in the classical world.
Once you have a place to stay — either a proper treehouse, or one of the elevated cabins:
"The camps" at Olympos are down a narrow valley beyond a settlement also known as Olympos, along a gravel lane leading to a small national park containing the ancient Olympos ruins. It's about 90 km south of Antalya, near the town of Kemer. To get there:
Some camps have proper tree-houses
If you're using GPS:
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Other camps have elevated cabins.
All have nice accommodations.
Many have gone from the perfectly adequate foam pads of past years to regular beds and mattresses.
One of the camps along the road.
Some nice platforms where you get breakfast and dinner. Both are included at most camps, and you're only looking at maybe US$ 10 for your bed and two meals a day.
During the day or late at night, you can get snacks, light meals, and drinks.
Or use the Internet, or listen to all sorts of music, or browse the collection of books to trade, or just hang out.
Dinner is about ready, and the campfire is started.
Is that enough fire, or do we need more fuel?
Dinner time!
Hanging out around the campfire. Trading stories, making plans for the next day.
Time to go to bed — tomorrow will be another busy day.
Olympos was founded in the Hellenistic period, and was one of the leading cities in the Lycian federation. Cicero described it in Against Verres as an ancient city full of riches and works of art. Coins minted there date back to the 2nd century BC.
According to Homer's Odyssey, this is where the god Poseidon looked out to sea and saw Odysseus sailing away from Calypso's island. Poseidon then called up a storm that wrecked Odysseus' ship on the island of Nausicaa.
In the 1st century BC, Olympos was invaded and settled by Cilician pirates.
In 78 AD, the Roman commander Servilius Isaurieus took the city and added it to the Roman Empire. The Roman emperor Hadrian later visited the city, and it took on the name Hadrianopolis for a while in his honor.
In the Middle Ages, the Venetians, Genoese, and Rhodians built two fortresses along the coast.
By the 15th century, Olympos had been abandoned.
The valley is narrow with steep sides. Trails lead back into the side valleys and into the hills.
You need to buy a park ticket at the parking lot at the end of the lane past the camps. Hang onto it, you can use it for a week. A main path leads through the ruins of the ancient settlement of Olympos.
The path leads through the site of the ancient city and to the beach.
This is the sarcophagus of Captain Eudemos.
There are some good climbing routes and bouldering problems along the rock face here. You can meet lots of local climbers to join. Or, you can just hang out on the beach.
If you're using GPS:
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There are big crowds on some days!
A multi-day trip on a gület or Turkish yacht often stops at Olympos as it goes around what's called the "Turquoise coast".
And yes, the color of the water here along the Turkish coast is where the word "turquoise" comes from.
Looking back along the beach. The valley leading back to Olympos goes back to the right on this side of the larger hill, where the beach appears to curve around.
Above is a panorama looking down over the bay from the ruins of a fortress. It's not a very good picture — a scan of two prints taken with a very cheap camera — but it shows a lot of the landscape.
The ruins of the ancient city of Olympos are off to the left, back the valley where you see the stream crossing the beach near the sailboat.
Yanar Taş, or the Chimera, the burning mountain, is off to the north (right), along the beach past the village of Çıralı.
The Greek name is the Chimera, the Turkish name is Yanar taş, meaning flaming rock. Or, you also see Yanartaş.
There is an area of permanent gas vents, emitting a mixture of gases including methane and other gases.
It is said to have been the inspiration for the myth of Ctesias, referenced by Pliny the Elder and Photius.
In ancient times it was used as a navigational reference.
You can walk to the Chimera from the Olympos camps if you're ambitious:
Or, you can go on the nightly van trip for just a few Euros.
My recommendation: If you have any sense, you will be staying at Olympos for several days. So, walk to see it during the day and take the van to see it at night!
When you first arrive, you see a large white stone area on the hillside.
With many large and small fires mysteriously coming out of the ground....
Large flames, small flames, there's a variety.
One of the large ones.
A whole row of small ones.
A close-up.
As you might imagine, this has been well known as a freaky place for many centuries.
Back in early days it had a shrine to Hephastus, the god of fire (of course). Also known as Vulcan, the god of industrial rubber production and pointed ears (or something like that).
Then in early Christian days the Hephastion was converted into a church — see the ruins above, at the bottom edge of the fire area.
That's the Mediterranean in the distance. Centuries ago where there was very little man-made light at night, the Chimera was used as a navigational aid.
And people still say prayers here. These are ribbons bearing the subjects of prayers. Also see the page about the Cave of the Seven Sleepers near Ephesus, and the page about Maryemana, the Virgin Mary's house, for other places you see prayer ribbons.
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