ANTALYA
THE TURKISH RIVIERA
Leaving Mersin, we drive for 300 miles along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The road is along steep cliffs and has many switchbacks and hairpin curves. It is exciting to say the least. The views along the way are well worth the ride for us. We wonder what it feels like for Murat, who displays remarkable driving skill.
A view of the Mediterranean along the way.
Near Silifke we are stopped for "license control" and just a few miles down the road we are stopped again for "radar" -- going too fast. By now we are accustomed to all the roadblocks and checkpoints.
Our rest stop is at a beautiful serene spot with an unexcelled view of the Mediterranean. It is clearly a large tourist stop, but we are the only tourists there. We are reminded again that many Americans and Japanese tourists have cancelled their trips.
All along this route we see tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, and flowers, being grown in greenhouses. We have had great fruit and vegetables everywhere we 've gone in this country and now we see where many of them are grown. Later in our drive, at Anamur, the southern most tip of the Turkish Riviera, we see miles and miles of banana trees.
A short distance from Anamur we see Mamure Castle. It sits right on the edge of the Mediterranean and is surrounded by a moat. The pictures below are different views of the castle.
At Alanya, a developed tourist area, we see beaches that are popular with European tourists, many from Russia. We learn that none of the menus are in Turkish unless one is specifically requested.
Our next stop is at the Anatalya Museum, which is amazing. It contains artifacts from as early as the Paleolithic Age to the present. Fatih is an able guide, as usual, and continues our archeological lesson as we tour the museum.
It is here that we meet a couple from Texas and one from Oklahoma who are traveling on their own. We make a point to talk with them and discover that they left the US one week after the attacks and have visited Germany, Yugoslavia, and The Czech Republic before coming to Turkey. From here they are traveling to Greece and Italy. We admire their spirit and tell them so. While so many travelers are canceling their trips, these four people are braver than we would be. We also reflect on how much we would enjoy traveling with them.
We check into our hotel, the best of our trip to this point, the Antalya Sheraton. We have a magnificent view of the mountains and the Mediterranean. It has a lovely balcony and a king size bed and excellent services. The second night we are there we have an Italian meal, a nice change from the Turkish fare we have been enjoying but from which it is nice to have a break.
PERGE
Perge was originally a colony settled by the ancient Greeks. Centuries later it became one of the first Christian communities in Asia Minor. We learn that St. Paul and Barnabus were here and that St. John met them at this location. In Perge, like so many other places in Turkey, we see columns and ruins and buildings from various eras intermingled in the same area. It never ceases to amaze us.
Perge
Hellenistic ruins in the background dating from 3rd Century B.C.
Roman columns in the foreground dating from 4th Century A.D.
One of Perge's Twin Towers
Public Bath in Perge
Saleswoman in Perge
This woman sold us a camel and therefore allows us to take her picture.At lunch we meet another couple who are traveling with Bora's Cultural Tours. They are the only couple among 10 people who had signed on for that tour. The rest had cancelled. What a surprise to discover that their guide is Hakan Sozen, the same man who delivered the lecture we had attended more than three years ago. We tell him that it is because of him that we are making the trip in the first place. In addition, on our recommendation, friends of ours had taken the same trip earlier in the year and he was their guide. They had told us that he was the best guide they had ever had. So we pass that on to him. Another of those small world stories.
ASPENDOS
After lunch we travel to Aspendos where we see the huge aqueduct and the Aspendos theatre, the best preserved ancient theatre in Asia Minor. It was built 161 to 180 A.D. and seated 15,000 people. The theatre is impossible to capture with any of our cameras, so we opt to buy a postcard of an aerial view. Notice on both photographs the size of the people in order to get an idea of the scale of these structures.
Aspendos aqueduct
Aspendos Theater
ON THE ROAD - AGAIN
From Antalya we head to Pamukkale via Aphrodiasis. Along the way we visit nomadic people whose tents are at the foot of the mountains. The weather is starting to get cold in the mountains so the nomads soon will be closing up their tents and moving. We are surprised to learn that these modern nomads move from place to place via pickup trucks.
A nomadic woman invites us in to see her home. We don't go inside because it seems too intrusive. Those who do say it is quite cozy and comfortable looking
Nomad's TentsWe are feeling a bit like nomads ourselves as we journey on to our next stop, Pamukkale.
