Around 50km east of Demre is the Lycian city of OLYMPOS , an idyllic site (free access), located on a beautiful sandy bay and the banks of a largely dry river. Close to the beach are some recently excavated tombs with a quay wall, as well as a warehouse; to the east on the same side lie the walls of a Byzantine church; while further back, in the undergrowth, there is a theatre, most of whose seats have gone. On the north side of the river are more striking ruins, namely a well-preserved marble temple entrance. Beyond is a Byzantine bath-house with mosaic floors, and a Byzantine canal which would have carried water to the heart of the city.

A pleasant 1.5km walk away is the village of ÇIRALI . About an hour's well-marked stroll above the village's citrus groves flickers the dramatic Chimaera , a series of eternal flames issuing from cracks in the bare rock - you can put them out, but they will always reignite, since eleven percent of the gas mix issuing from deep underground is flammable methane. The fire has been burning since antiquity, and inspired the Lycians to worship the god Hephaestos (or Vulcan to the Romans) here. The mountain was also associated with a fire-breathing monster, also known as the Chimaera, with a lion's head, a goat's rear and a snake for a tail.

There are no banks in Olympos or Çirali, so make sure you have enough cash before arriving. There are one or two minibuses a day from Antalya to Çarali in season; otherwise you'll have to hitch or take a taxi ($10) from the main road. To get directly to Olympos, catch any Kas-Antalya bus to the Olympos minibus stop on the main highway 8km up from the shore; there are minibuses down every 1-2 hours in season starting at around 7am. Çarali now boasts around forty pensions ranging from the fairly basic to the frankly luxurious, all hidden in the citrus groves behind the beach - but the area is a National Park and nesting turtles mean that camping on the beach and night access is forbidden. A reasonably priced option is Blue and White (tel 0242/825 7006, bluewhite@tr.net ; £5-10/$8-16) which offers spotless air-conditioned en-suite lodges; Yavuz (tel 0242/825 7021; £5-10/$8-16) is a moderately priced two-storey motel tucked inside a grove of poplars, all rooms ensuite. Olympos Lodge (tel 0242/825 7171, www.olymposlodge.com ; £40/$64 and over), offering a small taste of heaven with half-board, is located in a paradisal garden overlooking the beach. Back along the beach and ranged along the road behind the ruins are a group of backpacker "tree-house" camps, including Kadir (tel 0242/892 1250, www.olympostreehouse.com ; under £5/$8) and Bayram's (tel 0242/892 1243, www.bayrams.com ; under £5/$8); these offer a variety of huts and Internet access, but both can get fairly rowdy. The handful of beach restaurants , such as the Orange , the Kadir and the Azur , are simple and uninspiring; you'd do better eating in your hotel.

23.05.2008