Emperor Constantine Porphrogenitus described Kas as;

“Thrice blessed, myrrh-breathing city of the Lycians, where the mighty Nicolaus, servant of God, spouts forth myrrh in accordance with the city’s name.”

(Note: In the text, referred Nicolaus is Santa Nicola as we know today )

Kas is a small historical town on the south coast of Turkey. It was one of the most important bishop and marine city of the Lycian civilization and is now surrounded by rock tombs and ruins of the ancient city Antiphellos dating back BC 4th century.

Kas is the marriage of beauty and the deep blue Mediterranean Sea. In Kas, the center of the historic Lycian Region, the Taurus Mountains embrace the sea as they continue to the great depths of the Mediterranean. The area is rocky all around, which helps to keep the bay crystal clear.

Present-day Kaş is known as the queen of the  Turquoise Coast and has become a stylish holiday resort with some of the best shops and restaurants on the Mediterranean. The new marina will host 4000 boats which can turn the village to a new high-end Mediterranian location. A 15 km away airport is undercontruction and will be operating by 2011.

The small town is a center for artist and craftsman, jewellery producers. Each year Kas /Lycia Culture & Art Festival takes place in September for three days. There are plenty of excellent beach clubs, restaurants, bars and cafes.

Kas as in Lycian tongue  Habesos, was the most important city during Hellenstic and Roman era in the region.Considering it’s importance as the major bishop icty adnd trade port, it’s underwater is filled with ruins of the past. Kas is nominated as number one diving destination in Turkey.Freaya Stark says it all in her novel Passionate Nomad as ;

‘There are not so many places left where magic reigns without interruption, and of all those I know, the coast of Lycia was the most magical.’

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I had two days before my flight from Krabi to Bangkok. Air Asia fly for twenty five pounds, much preferable to paying twenty pounds for the shitty journey we had on the way down. Koh Lanta was not doing it for us as there was no life there so we got a ferry to Koh Phi Phi.

After getting ripped off again by the shitty tour operators in Krabi we arrived after a one and a half hour journey sat in the sun, on the roof of the boat.

Koh Phi Phi was no disappointment. The islands are breathtakingly beautiful. Stunning in fact, all your dreams of tropical islands rolled into one.

On 26th December, 2004 a tsunami hit the island. The island is isthmus in the middle with two large limestone mountains either side. The highest point of the isthmus is six feet so when the tsunami hit, huge waves came from both sides and over the middle, devastating everything in it’s path. Over 2,000 people were killed here, many of them foreigners and seventy per cent of the island’s building were destroyed.

With the help of the government, local Thais and volunteer backpackers, Koh Phi Phi has been rebuilt and you would never know the Tsunami had happened apart from the Tsunami Early Warning System and evacuation route signs the litter the island.

All the businesses and dive schools run by the survivors are back up and running and the devastation cleared.

Even with the early warning system in place it is still unnerving being somewhere where so many people died and so many locals lost part or all of their family.

Last night we went out looking for some action but due to it being Buddha day a lot of the bars were shut. We did however find a beach bar which served our purpose and ended up playing football in the sea at 2am.

Today myself, Damon and Tanya hired a long boat for the day which took up out to Phi Phi Don, an adjacent island next to the main island. This is where ‘The Beach’ with Leonardo Di Caprio was filmed. Maya Beach.

The long boat took us over some choppy waters and deposited us in a beautiful bay surrounded with high limestone cliffs where the snorkeling and the fish were very cool.

From there we had to swim to shore, walk through a cave and through some jungle and out into an instantly recognisable beach. It looked smaller than the one on the film but I guess that is just a trick of the camera.

It was lush, the water was crystal clear and warm and there were shoals of millions of small fish making the turquoise water turn black.

We spent some time swimming in the waters with the fish and headed back, arriving on the main island through very choppy water just before a storm broke. Due to it being low tide the cheery driver could only get his boat halfway into the bay so we had a ten minute walk though the shallow waters to the shore.

Absolute paradise.

Tonight there is a full moon party on the beach. I can’t have too many buckets as I have to check out at midday, get a ferry to Krabi at 2am and then a flight to Bangkok at 6.40pm.

Two more days in Thailand before home, I am going to make sure I make the most of them and want to thank Damon and Tanya for making my last day with them so cool.

Photo “Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Leh (2007-03-057)” by Argenberg on Flickr

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A few years back, I spent New Year’s Eve with friends in Los Cabos, Mexico, on the southern Baja peninsula. While it was a lovely gathering and a relaxing beach holiday, I wasn’t so taken with the area’s touristy development. Sure, there’s something nice about sitting on the beach and drinking cocktails by the pool all day but after a brief taster of that, I usually want to move on and see something “real”.

This time, it was Todos Santos, a magical little town about 45 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, a place that a Los Angeles-based friend of mine had raved about. What I heard was – artsy vibe, laid-back energy and great surfing waves. And all was true.

Todos Santos is where the desert meets the Sierra Laguna mountain range meets the Pacific Ocean. Arriving to town felt like entering a time warp. Founded by missionaries in the 18th century and known later for its sugar mills with booming cane production, the town remains a dusty outpost of unpaved roads, adobe haciendas, pristine white-sand beaches and thriving tropical orchards.

It may be the supposedly special energy that has drawn artists from all over the world to this pretty little town. After all, Todos Santos does straddle the Tropic of Cancer. Maybe that explains the creative spark in the air? You won’t find chain restaurants, all-inclusive resorts, or glitzy shops. Everything is one-off, earthy and real.

Accommodations range from stylish old haciendas (<a href=”http://www.todossantosinn.com” target=”_blank”>Todos Santos Inn</a>) to funky bohemian hideaways (<a href=”http://hotelcaliforniabaja.com” target=”_blank”>Hotel California</a>) and beachside tropical enclaves (<a href=”http://www.lapoza.com” target=”_blank”>Posada La Poza</a>). As for food, you can find anything from terrific taco stands, where you can fill up for a song, to gourmet restaurants that serve locally-grown organic food. One such find was La Coronela Restaurant at Hotel California, with a great garden and delicious meals. El Gusto! at Posada La Poza also gets great reviews.

Outside town extends a maze of dirt roads leading through lush palm tree groves and orchards of mangos, papayas and avocados. At one end stretch miles of unspoiled beaches, backed by the desert beyond. You can spend days exploring the surroundings on foot, horseback, bicycle or – in a kayak.

One of the things I loved the most about Todos Santos was the profusion of art galleries. Admittedly, I am quite picky about my art so I wasn’t all that impressed with most of the work on display. I did, however, have a great encounter with a local art celebrity, an eccentric artist called Gabo. Somebody told us to look for the man in his studio on the edge of town but with a warning – we may be either sent away brusquely or engaged in a lively conversation, depending on his mood.

We were lucky – Gabo had just woken up from a siesta and, in a great mood, welcomed us with open arms. We spent the entire afternoon checking out his colorful often bizarre artwork on a private tour of his atelier. We talked of art, love, sex, politics, and other meaty subjects. Time just whizzed past in the company of this flamboyant man. I still remember Gabo’s engaging conversation and the unique ambiance of his studio – it felt like being in a parallel universe. For more about Gabo’s work and where to find him if you happen to be in Todos Santos, see <a href=”http://www.todossantosguide.com/galleries/gaboartgallery.htm” target=”_blank”>TodosSantosGuide.com</a>.

All that said, undiscovered it is not, Todos Santos. This eternally sunny town does get its fair share of mainly North American tourists year-round. You certainly won’t feel like you’ve stumbled upon an oasis untouched by tourism. Still, it’s delightful and captivating. So if you’re in Los Cabos and fed up with flashy nondescript tourism, you know where to come. For more information about Todos Santos, visit <a href=”http://www.todossantos.com” target=”_blank”>www.todossantos.com</a>.

Photo “Baía de Todos os Santos” by Eduardo Pelosi on Flickr

Visit everthenomad.com for more by Anja Mutic

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Mersa Matrouh is one of the most beautiful cities in Egypt, it is located 290 km west from Alexandria and it’s known for its beautiful beaches, crystal water, soft white sand, friendly people. It also has many places you’d be eager to see. Matrouh has many beaches where you can enjoy the transparent calm blue water as there’s no waves in almost all beaches but Al Abyad, the beautiful sunny weather for those who seek a tanned skin. Beaches are the best you could find in the Mediterranean Egypt. Don’t miss the beaches of Agiba, Al Abyad, Rommel, Bouseat, El Gharam, El lido, Mubarak, and Cleopatra!

Matrouh has places you might like to see such as:

The most famous of them all is “Rommel’s Hideout”, the very cave where Rommel used to settle and plan German operations during World War 2.

• Cleopatra’s Bath, it’s a rock in the sea and you can explore all what’s inside and how water gets in it.
• Libyan Market also known as “Souk Libya”, where you can shop for many stuff like clothes, but mostly known as the best place to buy herbals and all kinds of oils.
• Alexandria street, also used for the purpose of shopping mostly to buy clothes and snacks.
• Agiba beach where you can see mountains by the sea and explore the whole area there.

You can spend the night in Matrouh doing many stuff like shopping, a walk by the sea, having a dinner at some restaurant or watch folk dance shows by the sea. So just hop to Alexandria and catch the West Delta bus. In less then 3 hours you will find yourself in the most incredible beach paradise in the area.

Photo “True color of Red sea on Ras Mohammed cape” by Argenberg on Flickr

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