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If I were to pick any location to revisit in the world to go relax, I would have to say Kas. I never expected when Professor Andac suggested for us to add it to our travel tinerary for it to rival Istanbul. After Istanbul was the most incredible city I had ever spent a great deal of time touring. When she first described Kas it it did spark my interest, but I really did not know much about it. She told us that tt was the place, the destination of choice, where Turks chose to vacation. I now thoroughly understand why. It has a little bit of everything to entertain every sort of person: the adventurer, the historian, the beach bum, the old couple looking for a relaxing little coastal town just to enjoy some good sea food and a modest night life. Kas was perfection and the place I most want to revisit in the future.
Why Kas? Kas is a town not terribly far from Kusadasi. After a day's bus ride from Kusadasi you find yourself on the southern coast surrounded by gorgeous mountains and the Mediterranean sea. Kas did not seem to suffer the ill effects of globalization that I had witnessed just a day earlier. Rather right near their town square they had a sarcophagus of an ancient king from around 400 B.C. (I am fairly certain that is what the posting stated). Additionally, the town itself was quite quaint. Of course it had its "touristy" shops, but what beautiful coastal city that thrives on tourism doesn't? Nonetheless, the town didn't seem to lose its identity. I felt like the the Turkish people I met there were not trying to take advantage of me like they had in Kusadasi (i.e. the almost carpet rip off I experienced there). The restaurants were small, locally owned businesses. This is something that I miss in America. I hate seeing McDonald's on every street corner. I hate that my GPS can find ten Starbucks within a five mile radius no matter where I am. I think I could be in the middle of central Kansas and find both a Starbucks and a Walmart. Kas isn't commercialized and overrun by monopolies like this to my knowledge. This was the vacation from modern day businesses and economics I witness in the states on a daily basis.
Anyhow, Kas also offered its fair share of day adventures: hiking ravines in canyons and in the mountains, mud baths in rivers, kayaking to see an underwater city (which still very much remains intact and sank during an earthquake several hundred years B.C.E.), scuba diving, boat tours to go to see other ruins of castles and sarcophaguses, etc. Unfortunately, I each time I travel I tend to forget when offered these opportunities that I have a genetic condition that has caused my back to herniate in four separate locations. This made Kas both the best and worst experience of the entire trip. I went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, I hiked the ravine, I kayaked. I was "outdoorsy" when I should have had an "old folks" weekend where others drove me to simply see these beautiful sights. However, my motto has always been "Carpe Diem." I most certainly did that. Even though the first day started to throw my back out I lived life to its fullest and took advantage of all that Kas had to offer. Sadly, this made the last three days in Istanbul miserable, because I was pretty much immobilized.
Furthermore, while in Kas I relaxed and read books and academic articles until the wee hours of the morning while smoking water-pipe and drinking tea at a local cafe. I sat on the beach and listened to the waves crash against the rocks. I stared up from my hotel window at the tombs lit up on the side of the mountain outside the city. I did it all and enjoyed each and every moment.
Kas felt like a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of my everyday life back in the states. Right now I work two jobs year round, I go to graduate school nearly full-time, I coach two separate sports, I am trying to sell a home, and I am planning a wedding in the midst of all of this. All of these things sometimes prevent me from just soaking up the beauty in this world. When you are overwhelmingly busy sometimes it is hard to just stop for a moment and catch your breath. Kas was just that: a chance for me to catch my breath. Kas reinvigorated me. It allowed me to finally have some time to myself to meditate on my present and my future. I never knew that one town could have such a profound effect in such a short time. Nonetheless, I know that I will return there within the next few years. Nevertheless, next time I will hopefully be a little wiser and spend more time on the beach and less time hiking up mountains.
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