By Maykel van Gent, Rob Andriessen and Gerjon Ikink
This year our choice came to Turkey, to the Lycian region. And why Turkey you may ask? The Lyciasalamandra of course (and other herps ;)). Why would anyone go to Turkey otherwise? The rich history and old civilizations maybe? The good food maybe? Or going to the beach and catching some sun, maybe? Maybe we did a bit of all that.
1 April Arrival in Antalya
Due to being on the chilly end of the world in Sweden, (there was polar vortex bringing the cold) Gerjon would fly in a few days later. So Rob and I took the afternoon flight from dusseldorf and landed in a comfortable 20 C in Antalya around 19.00 hours. After grabbing our first hearty pide and lahmacun, we drove down south to Adrasan where we rented a little bungalow.
We were greeted by both species of Gekko that occur here, the Mediterranean thin-toed gecko (Mediodactylus danilewski) and the Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), scurrying around the outer walls of the bungalow. In the distance was a little creek running and we heard Levant water frogs (Pelophylax bedriagae) and Eastern tree frogs (Hyla orientalis) calling in the distance. With such soothing sounds we soon fell into a peaceful sleep.
2 april Finike and surroundings
That peaceful sleep was quite short for Rob. He was almost chomping at the bit to find all those scaly creatures around the bungalow. His first round in the early sunlight got him a some rustling through the grass of one of the two Heremites skinks and a hunger for some grains. After that grainy breakfast, we both did a little trip around our bungalow, through the meadows and up a little hill that functioned as an acropolis for the people that lived here in the past. Here we found a Dahl's whip snake (Platyceps najadum), dwarf snake (Erenis modestus) and a couple of Worm snakes (Xerotyphlops vermicularis). A walk back along the creek we actually saw our first Levant water frogs with our own eyes.
Levant water frogs (Pelophylax bedriagae)
The Norwegian weather site proved to be the most reliable on this trip and it said that today would be a warm day, up to 27 degrees. Such a temperature shock should be avoided and we decided to start going up into the mountains north of Finike, to herp in more (Dutch) decent temperatures and scout out possible locations to find Luschan's salamander that evening.
Our first stop on the way up didn't produce much in the way of reptiles but I did see a middle spotted woodpecker and we saw fresh wolf faeces. Our hope for the wolf itself was in vain. Instead we found another cool little herp. The first of many Anatolian Snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus anatolicus)
The road kept winding up to about 1600 meters. Here spring had just started. Early flowers were blooming, the trees were still leafless. The birds were around and singing however, with wheatears, both Northern and Eastern-black Eared among the blackbirds, finches, greenfinches, European Serins and Eastern bonelli's warblers. It was even warm enough for some herps. A Green toad (Bufotes viridis sitibundus) was hiding under a well lid and we found a Lycian snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus anatolicus) crawling between the fresh sprouts of grass. Even a Starred agama (Laudakia stellio) was catching some rays.
Lower mountains habitat
Lycian snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus anatolicus) hidden in the grass
Going higher up was not an option in our affordable SUV, so back down it was. An Olive orchard looked promising and indeed, we found our first worm lizard. In this little corner it was the Cilician worm lizard (Blanus aporus). It was hiding out under some rocks. A last little stop before returning to sea level produced our only Kardes' Snake Skink (Ophiomorus kardesi).
Down at sea level, the temperature was indeed higher, around that 27 degrees Celcius. Not ideal herping weather. Here, along the road from Finike, there was a cave that was worth a visit. Along the way we saw our first Bridled mabuya (Heremites vittatus) but the cave itself housed a good sized colony of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus). The sound they produce could already be heard from far away.
Since we had some time left before dark, we decided to drive back up inland to scout some more places that were suitable for Luschan's salamander. One promising looking sideroad unfortunately had a too large population of dogs. We didn't think a nighttime stroll would be good for us there. There was however a good patch of forest where we almost tripped over the many Greek tortoises (Testudo graeca). A thumping sound from the forestmade us pause for a second, but as it turned out, we were there in the middle of sexy times season.
Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca)
Our trip to Turkey coincided with Ramazan, the fasting period. We noticed this especially as the locals all went to eat out after sunset. This was obviously information we could use. One of the local restaurants seemed extremely busy. This surely also meant the food had to be good there. We walked in without a reservation and we were greeted by a very friendly manager/owner who apologized that we had to wait for half an hour for a table. It definitely was worth the wait and we had a lovely Kebabci at Köşk Restoran in Finike.
With our bellies filled we returned to the slopes of the mountains surrounding Finike to take a crack at finding the first of possibly five species of Lyciasalamandra on this trip. Our choice of location turned out correct as we found four adult Luschan's salamanders (Lyciasalamandra luschani finnikensis) within half an hour. They were just emerging out of their rocky crevices and only one was already walking around on the path. It was quite exciting to find these representatives of such a unique little genus of land salamanders. With these beautiful creatures found, we returned to Adrasan very much content about our first day here.
Luschan's salamanders (Lyciasalamandra luschani finnikensis)
3 april Antalyan coast, Phaselis and Thermessos
Today at the end of the day we were going to pick up Gerjon from the airport in Antalya, so today would be a roadtrip back north. We started on the backroads around our cottage before taking the main road north. A couple of stops here produced more Levantine frogs, Worm snakes, Dwarf snakes, Starred agama's, Greek tortoises and a couple of Bridled mabuya's. On the road a big black snake suddenly appeared. We stopped quickly, but it was already gone into the bushes. The Black whip snake (Dolichophis jugularis) unfortunately was too quick for us and more unfortunate, it proved to be the only one of the trip.
Next stop, the ancient port of Phaselis for some culture and history (and a steep price compared to some of the other ancient cities, damn tourism). although it has a long history through the Rodians, Egyptians and Greeks, most notable buildings left are of Roman origin and ofcourse our first amphitheatre. An interesting little city, but poor in herps. The inland body of water had some Balkan terrapins (Mauremys rivulata) but that was it. And that meant it was time to move on to bigger and better things.
Those bigger and better things was Termessos. An ancient Pisidian city built on a plateau 1000 meters above sea level, on the side of a mountain. This safe location made this a prosperous city and one of the most well preserved ruins here. It was a beautiful walk up the lush green mountain and it was quite a sight to see these (sometimes) very big buildings standing among the mountains. Among the rocks we found mainly Starred agama's and Lycian rock lizards (Anatololacerta finnikensis). One Mediterranean thin-toed gecko being the exception.
We still had some time left before Gerjons plane landed and the national park in which Termessos lays, Güllük Daği National Park, looked very green from the satellite images. After a few failed attempts to enter the fores, we found out this was more of aproduction forest type It was very quiet around there and herps and birds seemed quite absent. A local river gave us some opportunity to look for some Dice snakes. No dice unfotunately, but another Dahl's Whip Snake.
After picking up Gerjon and enjoying the restaurant from our first evening agan, we made one last stop (or first stop in case of Gerjon) at the boundary river between two Lyciasalamandra species. On the wetter and greener side we quickly found a few Bay Lycian salamanders (Lyciasalamandra billae). The southern slope unfortunately seemd too dry and a promising inroad was once again blocke by some dog with a bone to pick, so no Antalyan salamanders, Lyciasalamandra antalyana for us this time.
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| Our first Bay Lycian salamander (Lyciasalamandra billae), a male as can be seen by the protrusion on the hip. |
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| Bay Lycian salamander (Lyciasalamandra billae) |
Back at the cottage we were again greeted by Mediterranean thin-toed gecko's, Mediterranean house gecko's, Levant water frogs and Eastern tree frogs.
4 april Olimpos and the eternal fires of mount chimaera.
Today we wouldn't be driving so much. We went to the closeby ancient city of Olimpos. One of the biggest cities in ancient Lycia on through their Roman protectorate time. Currently it is a well known tourist site. It's amphitheatre scored lowest on our trip. Hardly accessible, no good shows and the plants growing through the rocks would poke in your back too much. I'm not even showing you a picture of this one (forgot to take one). The excavation and development of this tourist site was still ongoing as we were walking there, so maybe we will see the amphitheatre in more glory another time.
the watchtower here had a commanding view of the bay. Any potential threat could be seen from far away.
Among the rocks were found some more Lycian rock lizards, balkan terrapins, greek tortoises and levantine frogs.
We had lunch in the nearby village of Çirali, a lovely local pancake made with fresh ingredients. It was a delicious meal again. We decided to stay in the surrounding area to kill some time. We had a full evening programme, so what could we possibly do to kill some time. Look for some herps ofcourse. That wasn't very succesful, but the hillsides around the village were lovely and the time flew by.
lovely hillsides
One of the spots where the natural gas emerges from the ground. As you can see, most of the spot is bare ground because of the flames.
5 april on the road to Dalyan
We woke up refreshed for our last morning here. After a quick round around the location, with another masked dwarf snake and an Anatolian snake eyed skink, we set of for our next sleeping destination, Dalyan.
A random stop on the way produced a Dahl's whip snake, some Snake-eyed lacertids, Starred agamas and Greek tortoises.
Of course, a day would not be complete without a visit to an ancient amphitheatre so we made a little detour to Pinara. Pinara was one of the larger cities in the Lycian league and held some power over the region. The city became Roman and prospered further. The city was Christianized around the year 350 and was abandoned after repeated invasions in the Ninth century. Its amphitheatre looked out upon the city and its green surroundings, which was quite nice. This was also the most intact amphitheatre we saw on this trip. It did score some negative points, because it also looked out upon the graveyard.
elaborate graves were carved into the hillsides here in Pinara
The amphitheatre of Pinara with its city view.
A close up of the rock that rises above the city and can be seen in from the amphitheatre photo. Now you can see all the rectangular cutouts in this mountainside. These were all graves. Quite some work to bury people there.
Here in Pinara we arrived in the territory of another Anatololacertid, The Pelasgian rock lizard (Anatololacerta pelasgiana) and the first one we found was a very gravid female.
After a little stroll through dalyan we took a little break from the delightful Turkish cuisine and had a nice dinner at a little tapas style latin food and cocktail restaurant.
6 april ancient Kaunos
I woke up this morning to a missing canoe and a missing Rob. During breakfast Gerjon and I heard some splashing. Rob returned from his first (half succesful) expedition to find some dice snakes and explore the surrounding waterways. No dice yet.
The ancient city of Kaunos is located on the opposite riverbank of the Dalyan strait. This would be our target for the day, our next amphitheatre and hopefully some herps to go with it. We all shuffled into the canoe and set out for Kaunos.
a wary barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) observed our canoeing technique.
silent witnesses of our succesful canoe landing.
adult Blotched Snake (Elaphe sauromates)
adult Blotched snake closeup
7 april Dalyan surroundings
This day in Dalyan started with another attempt by Rob to find some dice snakes. He finally found one Dice snake (Natrix tessellata) catching some rays. Today we decided to go to Dalyan beach. A quite unique beach, as it forms a little peninsula, mostly separating the mediterranean and the Dalyan delta. This means that this beach is used by turtles from both sides to lay eggs; Soft shelled turtles from the Dalyan delta and Loggerhead turtles from the sea.
We started the day in the hills, before going to the beach. This was one of the luckiest places to be for us, and for some herps, as we found a plastic covered tractor tire, which was a trap for various reptiles. After rescueing them some juvenile East Aegean giant emerald lizards and a Starred agama, we found another surprise underneath the tire: 11 Fazila's salamanders (Lyciasalamandra fazilae) After we made sure we removed all of them from the tyre, we made a little ladder that hopefully would prevent this from happening again. Our luck was great because in the surrounding area, we found six more Fazila's salamanders. I also found my wanted bird for the trip here, Kruepers nuthatch (Sitta krueperi) calling at several places on this hill, but no sighting unfortunately.
The Dalyan delta and the mediterranean sea.
The tube with our improvised stairs that hopefully will help other trapped animals.
After this very succesful start of the day, we arrived at Dalyan beach and a visit to the turtle sanctuary. Here the rehabilitate (if possible) Hawksbill Turtles, Green Turtles and Loggerhead Turtles. They get brought in sick or injured from boat collisions. They take a long time to heal, but here they get all the time they need. They also close the beach during breeding season so the turtle eggs don't get crushed or stolen.
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| One of the turtles that the sanctuary is trying to rehabilitate. |
After visiting the turtle sanctuary we explored the surrounding area. We found another Fazila's salamander, This one was very yellow, a dwarf snake, Snake-eyed lizards, a Chameleon, and Greek tortoises. The hillsides also had some orchids growing there. These were from orchid species that is used for Salep. A traditional turkish drink made from the roots of Orchids. The orchids need to be harvested to get the roots. With rising demand for Salep, the harvest of these orchids has become very unsustainable and these orchid species are in steep decline.
I finally managed to lay my eyes on my one wanted bird species, the Kruepers nuthatch (Sitta krueperi)!
A Kruepers nuthatch (Sitta krueperi) showing itself for a very short time. They were not easy to photograph.
One of the Salep orchids, from the genus Orchis
After a nice beach day, we had another very good Turkish meal and we closed our day with some delicious baklava.
8 april On the road, Korucak
We alread had to say goodbye to Dalyan, but not before Rob made one more canoe attempt at finding some herps. He managed to fine one more Dice snake. The second and last of our trip, which seemed a bit weird. Normally this is one of the most abundant snake.
But new adventures awaited us. We planned to go a little bit more inland. From the sea, the land quickly rises up to a higher plateau, which might promise some new views and herps. So this would be another travel day, with some stops along the way. One of those stops was called termessos minor. We already visited the mayor Termessos, but this one was especially minor, just a bridge next to a hill it seemed. The hill might have been an acropolis in times long gone. But the herping was good, multiple worm snakes, Bridled mabuya, Pelasgian rock lizards, snake eyed lizards and Greek tortoises. New for this trip were a couple of big Caspian whip snakes (Dolichophis caspius).
A lot of what we saw on the way, was farmlands, still very early in the season. A lot of trees didn't have leaves yet and we registered our first sub 10 degrees temperature of the trip. Herping wasn't easy for most of the trip, but it was a good day. We arrived at our final apartment in Korucak. We were also back close to Lyciasalamandra antalyana territory, so we gave it one more try before dinner after sunset (it was still ramazan after all). But unfortunately, we didn't find any in the most probable locations. It was quite dry here as well.
We enjoyed a very nice fish dinner at a local restaurant and since the baklava made a good impression last night, we ended the day with that again.
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| The plateau was still in its early spring phase. |
9 april Sagalassos
Our final day already, but we had one more amphitheatre to visit, Sagalassos. One of the best preserved ancient cities in this part of the world. This was a Pisidian city and one of the wealthiest cities around when Alexander the Great conquered it. After some Hellenistic years and then some Roman years, an earthquake devastated the city in 518. A plague followed in 541, arab raids in 640 and another earthquake destroyed what remained. Afther that the city was abandoned and forgotten. It remained fairly free from looting until it was rediscoverd in 1706 and preserved.
We made some stops along the way to sagalassos, but didn't find more than some Snake-eyed lacertids.
Sagalassos was indeed very impressive. A lot of the city was preserved and more details from the life in this city were visible than what we saw in the previous ancient cities. The amphitheatre however bore the marks of the last earthquake. It did still have intact walkways under the seats, a little testament to the builders that made such a lasting building. But this theatre was still a fitting location for our last bread and games in Turkey.
The herpetofauna was a little different than on our previous days. We were far onto the higland plateau now. We found a Green toad and more Starred agama's but also our third species of rock lizard, Ibrahim's rock lizard (Anatololacerta ibrahimi) and our more well known snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelli). But overall it was a bit more chilly here and snakes were probably not active this day.
After this impressive antique city, we meandered our way back, making stops here and there, but this mainly agricultural landscape didn't give us much anymore. We finally got our only adult East-Aegean emerald lizard. And we found a pyromaniac Turk that was burning random bushes all over the place at a remote mountain lake.
After symbolically turning our last rock we made our way back to the bigger city of Kiremeti to finish our trip with a last delicious Turkish meal. This was the last day of Ramazan and it showed. All restaurants were completely full or completely booked. After a bit of a search we ended up at a snackbar type place with a very friendly, although very hasty and sweaty patron that welcomed us with a smile and a wonderful celebratory meal.
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| The main square with statues and decorative columns still present. |
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| The still intact tunnel under this amphitheatre |
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| Queen of Spain Fritillary, Issoria lathonia |
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| Mallow skipper, Carcharodus alceae |
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| Green toad (Bufotes viridis sitibundus) |
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| Ibrahim's rock lizard (Anatololacerta ibrahimi) |
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| Ibrahim's rock lizard (Anatololacerta ibrahimi) |
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| Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelli) |
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| East-Aegean emerald lizard (Lacerta diplochondrodes) |
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| Our final meal |
10 april Back home
And then it was already time to go home for Rob and I. Gerjon would be here for a few days longer. We only saw a very small piece of Turkey. But this small piece showed us great diversity, in landscape, history, flora and fauna and the way people live. And in amphitheatres too, from the smalltown theatres to the grand city theatres. They were as diverse as anything we saw. With such a long history there is so much more to discover. We will definitely be back.
Observed species
| 1 | Greek Tortoise | Testudo graeca | |
| 2 | Balkan Pond Turtle | Mauremys rivulata | |
| 3 | African Soft-shelled Turtle | Trionyx triunguis | |
| 4 | Starred Agama | Laudakia stellio | |
| 5 | Mediterranean Chameleon | Chamaeleo chamaeleon | |
| 6 | Mediterranean House Gecko | Hemidactylus turcicus | |
| 7 | Mediterranean Thin-toed Gecko | Mediodactylus danilewskii | |
| 8 | Finike's Rock Lizard | Anatololacerta finikensis | |
| 9 | Ibrahim's Rock Lizard | Anatololacerta ibrahimi | |
| 10 | Pelasgian Rock Lizard | Anatololacerta pelasgiana | |
| 11 | East-Aegean Giant Emerald Lizard | Lacerta diplochondrodes | |
| 12 | Snake-eyed lacertid | Ophisops elegans | |
| 13 | Anatolian Snake-eyed Skink | Ablepharus anatolicus | |
| 14 | Snake-eyed Skink | Ablepharus kitaibelli | |
| 15 | Levant Skink | Heremites auratus | |
| 16 | Striped Skink | Heremites vittatus | |
| 17 | Kardes' Snake Skink | Ophiomorus kardesi | |
| 18 | European Glass Lizard | Pseudopus apodus | |
| 19 | Cilician Worm Lizard | Blanus aporus | |
| 20 | Anatolian Worm Lizard | Blanus strauchi | |
| 21 | Caspian Whip Snake | Dolichophis caspius | |
| 22 | Black Whip Snake | Dolichophis jugularis | |
| 23 | Dwarf Snake | Eirenis modestus | |
| 24 | Blotched Snake | Elaphe sauromates | |
| 25 | Dice snake | Natrix tessellata | |
| 26 | Dahl's Whipsnake | Platyceps najadum | |
| 27 | Worm Snake | Xerotyphlops vermicularis | |
| 28 | Green Toad | Bufotes viridis | |
| 29 | Eastern Tree Frog | Hyla orientalis | |
| 30 | Bay Lycian Salamander | Lyciasalamandra billae | |
| 31 | Fazil Lycian salamander | Lyciasalamandra fazilae | |
| 32 | Luschan's Salamander | Lyciasalamandra luschani | |
| 33 | Levantine Frog | Pelophylax cf. bedriagae |
