Beena Nadeem and her daughter set off in search of adventure on a tour of inland Turkey
“This is the best day of my life,? shrills Lillia while tickling the belly of a supine trout. Six years of nurturing and 2,000 air miles and her zenith is the underbelly of a fish.
We are in Turkey?s Taurus Mountains ? just 45 minutes from the main coastal town of Fethiye. Lucent waterfalls tumble around us and meander through giant oaks. Yaka Park is a beatific high-altitude playground, where one can eat pancakes from giant tree houses. We sink into doughy cushions and watch two women crafting flatbreads. Back from her piscine-stroking antics, Lillia is mesmerised.
Lillie enjoyed everything from the local wildlife to the river rafting
Heading back to our accommodation in nearby Yaka Village, Tuscan-like hills are punctuated by gluts of trees: figs, orange trees and the fiery blooms of pomegranate. We?re staying at a mountain lodge beside the ancient Lycian town of Tlos. Pillars mark tombs carved into the hillside and with no such thing as ?keep out? signs here, Lillia happily clambers into the belly of the cool mountains. The next morning, we drive through the vast mountain-top forests. We stop off to look at two disdainful ostriches while scooping up colossal pine cones. Soon we arrive at the abandoned town of Kayakoy. It?s very hot and Lillia is in no mood to look at ruins, but no sooner has she befriended a grasshopper, we?ve almost walked around it. At the foot of the town, w...