It was a very dirty place, in contrast to the fine Land Rover type vehicles, which looked completely different by the end of the journey. The jeep was white and shiny and the sun’s rays were bouncing off them and hurting my eyes. They looked like the jeeps that you get in England, the Land Rovers, but without the roof. A scruffy, rough looking man came over to talk to me. He looked like he had never had a shave in his life. He introduced himself to me and he seemed to be a friendly man. He was in his fifties and his name was Hakan. He politely instructed everyone on what was going to be happening. There were a lot of people and he was struggling to get everyone’s attention. His shaggy beard made his voice a little bit muffled.
After the long boring explanation we were allowed to get into our jeeps. Sharing the jeep with me was a family who looked like they were just here for the scenery. By the end I think they regretted coming. The bearded man was telling us all that we could squirt other jeeps, with water only but no throwing eggs or anything of that nature. I wasn’t allowed to squirt or be squirted at unfortunately, because I was sitting in the front passenger seat. I had no idea it was going to be like this. All of the jeeps around me looked like army vehicles. They had numerous water guns and even buckets. I knew I was in for a wet day, even though I wasn’t meant to be squirted at whilst I was in the vehicle. There were a great variety of age groups from babies to grannies and they all looked like tourists. There were people from many different nationalities, however most of the people looked like English tourists.
Finally, I was starting to prepare for the jeep adventure. The family in the back, who were from Germany, were regretting taking part in the safari I could tell. I tried to communicate with them, ”Hello! Are you ready for this?” They just gave me a very blank look.
Our driver who was an incredibly grumpy old man revved up the engine. We were off! Our first stop was the Car region. This was where the first ever settlers stayed in Icmeler. The sun was smiling and it was a beautiful day. The water was being squirted everywhere and even though I wasn’t meant to be squirted I was getting hit all of the time, which was good because it was so refreshing in the scorching heat.
When we arrived at the Car region, there was a large tree with an eye carved into the bark. This eye symbolised the start of the Ataturk era in Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War 1. This was when the Ottoman Empire was ended after a 600 year reign in Turkey and many other countries in Asia. Then a man called Kemal Ataturk was appointed the first president of the new Republic of Turkey and he modernised the whole country. He began the Ataturk era.
After a lengthy water refilling session at the pond, we were back on the road. The roads were bumpy and full of mud, the scenery was magnificent however. I could see for miles. The Turkish forest looked like an incredibly vast green carpet from where I was. I looked out to my left and I could see the exotic Mediterranean Sea. It was really something to remember, everybody had their cameras out.
Our second port of call was a mountain right at the peak of the forest. It seemed like a mountain you would find in England. Rocky and very steep, it wasn’t that high however. This was where we could get a bite to eat. It didn’t look like somewhere you would stop to have some food. It was very dirty, there were mosquitoes and all kinds of insects flying around. I waited about half an hour before I was told that I could go and collect my meal. It wasn’t much of a meal however. There was just a few old Turkish ladies standing cooking a Turkish style kebab on an open fire. The kebab, which was called Kamar, was quite nice however there were flies buzzing around it all of the time. When we all had finished our Kamar we clambered back into the muddy coloured vehicle.
As we pulled away I noticed a stream crossing directly over the road. We were going to have to drive straight through it. As we approached the stream the driver slammed his foot down on the accelerator and blitzed through the water. It caused a fairly big splash and the water did a good job at cleaning the vehicle.
It was starting to look white again.
Our third and final stop was approaching, a series of waterfalls. When we got there I immediately dived into a large pool. It actually tickled my head when I stood under the waterfall. There were a number of pools with rocks surrounding them that people were swimming in. It was all so natural. The scenery was so good that everyone had their cameras out.
On the way back to the pleasant town of Icmeler the water spraying started again. The cliffs were incredibly steep and I was terrified whenever we turned a corner. I could tell the driver was getting distracted by the water, which was highly dangerous because of the nature of the roads. When we got back to the beach I was extremely relieved. I don’t really like heights. The Germans in the back of the jeep were not impressed as their clothes were soaking and they didn’t get much chance to admire the scenery. It was only a couple of minutes walk to my hotel from the beach. I could see a big game of volleyball taking place on one of many volleyball courts scattered along the bay. It seemed to be a popular sport in Turkey.
It was the last night of the holiday and I decided to go out to my favourite pub in Icmeler. It was excellent there was good music, pool tables, a darts board, an arcade area and a swimming pool in the back. The pub was called Erguns. There weren’t that many pubs or clubs in Icmeler it was mainly restaurants. It wasn’t a place for teenagers who want to get drunk in the early hours of the morning.
Overall I would definitely recommend the friendly town of Icmeler. Families would have a cracking time and there are many things to do. For example, a wide range of water sports, you could sample a Turkish bath or maybe even a mud bath and many more activities. I have many reasons to want to come back next year!
