A private horse-trek in Ölüdeniz

Back in New Zealand, my mum’s side of the family has a lot of history with horses. They’ve owned horses, competed in show-jumping and dressage, looked after the local pony club, and my grandad even ran a national email newsletter dedicated to horses which my mum has since taken over. As such I grew up around horses and quite enjoy riding them when I get the chance.

But, enough backstory.

In March this year I found myself in the south of Turkey, in a small city called Fethiye, a lovely place on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is also quite a popular tourist destination for its beaches and the opportunity to paraglide off the nearby mountain, Babadağ. I spent over two weeks in the city, for more reasons than just its beauty, and I made sure to fill a lot of this time with interesting adventures.

ATV’s whilst popular and surely fun aren’t really my activity of choice, rapidly flying through nature without much chance to appreciate it seems counter-intuitive; a horse trek on the other hand is much more peaceful. So, I set about finding one to do, which turned out to be a difficult task when visiting in the off-season.

Eventually, a call to a tour operator one early Saturday morning resulted in me having the phone number of a man who, I quote, “runs the horses.” At 10:30am I ring the number and after a momentary confusion caused by a difference of languages, I explained that I was interested in a horse trek. The ‘man of horses’ replies that he had an excursion departing just before lunch. If I could make it I could join, otherwise if I came later and I could head off by myself with just the guide.

He sent me a location to meet at, and offered to pick me up from my hotel. I declined due to the cost and since I was not really in any rush. Thirty minutes later I left my hotel and made my way along the bus (dolmus) route to town, ready to wave it down when it passed me. An interesting element of public transport in some smaller regions of Turkey and other countries, no matter where on the bus route you are you can just wave it down and hop on.

We (*ED - when saying 'we' Cohen is refering to his trusty travel companion Kleo the Keheru, see pictures below*) arrived in the town and made our way to the next bus in order to get to Ölüdeniz which is a little ways up the hills near the base of the mountains. We disembarked at the far edge of town and took a short walk to the agreed meeting point.

A quick text sent to the ‘man of horses’ and he’s on his way to pick me up and drive me to the farm. At this point there’s a little voice in my head telling me “this is a little uncertain and risky” but I pushed to one side, convincing myself everything will be fine. On the drive he explained to me that the other group has likely left so I’ll have to wait until they return, if I don’t mind.

I certainly didn’t; especially when I had the company of several dogs, the family and the workers on the farm. It is lunch time and the workers must eat, and so does the unexpected guest who's waiting for his horse ride. I remember that it was a delicious meal, but my mind is a little foggy in regards to the contents. Certainly there was bread, a nice rice mix, maybe a stew sort of thing, mostly eaten by hand of course, hence the bread; and to wash it all down a glass of Ayran(a slightly sour yoghurt drink). The lunch was accompanied by constant chatter amongst the workers, with me catching the occasional word or offered an occasional summary translation from someone with a little more English.

Eventually the other group of riders returned, the horses rested, and the required ones were re-saddled. Our small trio set off; the guide on foot, the ‘man of horse’s’ son – around 8 years old - and me. As we started, the guide, with translation from the boy, explained the words and phrases I would need; being in Turkey the horse did not speak English, of course!

We wandered slowly up through the hills moving from backroads to forest paths. Occasionally the guide would stop us and take my phone in order to get pictures of me on the horse. At one point we crossed paths with a flock of sheep wandering through the bush with the shepherd close behind.

We eventually made it to the top of the route; Babadağ mountain, the valley, Fethiye, and Ölüdeniz all laid out below with barely a cloud in the sky. It was absolutely gorgeous, the only thing to make it better would have been a view of the sea, however the mountains obscured that particular view.

Near the end of our ride occurred a rare moment of chaos amidst the tranquility. Some bikers with a lack of concern for their surroundings came blazing past, spooking the horses. The guide was already holding the boy's horse and had that under control but my own was a little more panicked. After a few moments of calling and pulling at the reins, a mad dash of fear was averted, thankfully for the safety of both myself and the horse. The remainder of our return was peaceful.

Upon returning to the farm I spoke with the ‘man of horse’s’ wife and we talked about how they had only recently bought the farm; it having been a long-standing dream of her husband to own such a place. They have grand plans to tidy it up, make it nice for events and the riders. Perhaps I will have to return sometime in the future to see what becomes of it.

All good things come to an end, my ride was leaving the farm without me so I ran to catch it. I was dropped by the main road to await a bus back to Fethiye. The bus eventually arrived and I returned to my hotel after a wonderful day on a horse in Ölüdeniz.

Posted: 31/10/2022

Written by: Cohen Stephens (@cohen_and_kleo)