Thursday, October 13, 2011

 We began today with a good-news, bad-news scenario.  The bad news: as we were preparing to drive off this morning, a man approached our car and pointed to the back driver’s side tire. (Some of you will know what I mean when I say, “Shades of Barcelona!)  There was, indeed, a sidewall bubble on the tire and, believe it or not, this is where the good news begins. The gentleman (and I use the term in every good sense) who alerted us to the problem was Deniz, the owner of our hotel, and he took customer service to a new level.  After discussing alternatives with Tom, he got on his scooter and led us to an oto lastik, or tire-repair shop (and I use that term loosely), where more options were discussed. The chief issue was the temporary spare, the use of which would severely limit the speed at which Tom could zip around the country.  Deniz then got on the phone to our car rental agency in Istanbul, then to their office in Antalya, and more possibilities were considered.  Meanwhile, the tire repair doctor decided that the patient could be fixed and proceeded to do so.  For ten dollars.

 

With that, and armed with Deniz’s cell phone number, should we encounter any difficulty, we were back to Plan A, which started with a drive back east along the coast to Demre to visit Myra, the site of ancient Lycian rock tombs and a Roman theater.  There were many tombs, which honeycomb the rocks high above ground level, and are elaborately carved. We also drove around Myra’s old port, Andriake, where the ruins play second fiddle to legions of captains trying to enlist passengers for day trips.

For miles yesterday and again today, we passed more greenhouses than we’ve ever seen, surely tens of thousands of them.  They line the roadside, climb the hills, and even fill the towns – simply amazing to us.

 

Ocagiz is a pretty little port, a bit off the beaten path, and beautifully situated in a bay, with wonderful views of nearby islands, a hilltop fortress, and ruined cities.  It’s a fishing village, and also home to a large flotilla of tour boats of every size and their eager captains.  It was a glorious day and the water beckoned, so we made a deal with a skipper and were the only passengers on his very nice and rather large boat.  We saw the remains of the city of Simena, along with the sunken breakwater of its harbor.   

Then, it was on to the sunken city of Kekova, where we saw mosaics, columns, building stones, amphorae, and its harbor’s breakwater, all submerged after earthquakes destroyed the ancient city.  Our boat had glass-bottom sections, and they afforded us a great view of the rubble through the crystal-clear waters.  The sea was navy blue, the sky sunny and clear, and everything in between was just as perfect.  As we left the dock, we encountered a small group of young fisherman displaying the shark they’d caught and laid out on the dock.  Until that moment, the warm waters had been very tempting!

After an unsuccessful attempt to find the ruins of Phellos, in the mountains above our home base at Kas, we drove the length of the long peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean southwest of town.  We stopped to take in the turquoise waters of one of the rocky beaches and feel the lovely warmth of the water before taking a walk around town to see the Lycian rock tombs, Hellenistic temple, and Roman amphitheater that remain from earlier beach lovers.

We enjoyed sunset and wine on our balcony and on the hotel’s rooftop terrace before heading out to dinner on the main square fronting the harbor.  It was a warm and lovely evening and we enjoyed eating outside and moonlit walk afterward.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

 

Our first stop today was at the ancient city of Termessos, in a national park in the mountains outside Antalya.  Once in the park, we drove about five miles on a switch-back road up a mountain and then walked farther up a steep trail to the site of the ruins of the Pisidians, a militaristic people who repelled Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. Two centuries later, they allied with Rome while retaining their independence.  Earthquakes have taken their toll on the original structures, but much remains to marvel at.  Temples, cisterns, gymnasia, houses, a meeting hall and baths were all visible.  We spent several hours clambering over toppled columns and other stonework, much of it elaborately carved, some of it overgrown. 

The theater, built into the rocky mountain, was made even more impressive by its setting high on the mountain, surrounded by other peaks and swirling fog and clouds; it was just fabulous!  The site also included many sarcophagi and tombs, some carved into rocks high above.  The soldiers’ necropolis looked as if hundreds of massive stone sarcophagi had been tossed around by a giant, but the scene was actually the result of earthquakes.  We had a great experience, with the bonus of a good hike!

After lunch, we headed south on a beautiful highway along the Mediterranean.  Dramatic mountains meet the sea in this area and the road passed through several of them in long tunnels. Because we hadn’t yet had our fill of antiquities, we stopped at the ruins of Phaselis.  This Lycian city, which dates from the seventh century B.C., was also occupied by the Romans and Byzantines.  It is beautifully situated on three small bays, with beaches that now attract boaters, bathers, and picnickers.  The ruins are extensive and include an aqueduct, theater, baths, an agora, and a long main street connecting the harbors; the layout of the city was clear and it seemed easy to imagine people actually living there.  Despite the fact that rained during most of our visit, the charm of Phaselis was irresistible.  We’ve seen a fair number of ancient cities (and are due for a few more in the coming week), but Phaselis easily makes it to our list of favorites.

The last leg of our trip today was a magnificent ride along a road that hugged the Mediterranean coast.  The skies had cleared, the sea was a gorgeous navy blue, and the road, cut out of rock mountains, twisted and curved dramatically.  It was like the Amalfi Drive in Italy, without the traffic and the congested cliff-hugging towns – just gorgeous!  We arrived at our hotel in Kas, a small seaport town, just in time for Tom to snap a few sunset pix from our balcony.

This day was a standout from beginning to end!

Tuesday,October 11, 2011

After seeing news reports of flooding along the Turkish Mediterranean coast on TV and online, we were a bit concerned about washed out bridges in some of the towns we planned to pass through en route to Antalya today.  Before leaving our hotel in Konya, we asked the concierge to call our destination hotel in Antalya to inquire about road conditions.  The all-clear report we received was a reassurance for us as we began our trip to the coast.

Once in Antalya, we attempted to reach our hotel in the Kaleici, or Old Town using our GPS to guide us.  Unfortunately, because there were one-way streets that the GPS wasn’t aware of, and a very limited number of ways to enter the Kaleici, we found ourselves frustrated and going around in circles.  We decided to park the car in a lot and walk into the Old Town and ask at the hotel how to bring the car in.  The host’s very limited English, along with our nonexistent Turkish made that almost as frustrating as our thwarted automotive arrival, but he produced a map and we eventually figured things out.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Kaleici, with Hadrian’s Gate, a Roman triumphal arch, and the marina, built on the site of an ancient Roman Harbor.  For the second night in a row, there was a downpour while we were in our room enjoying our cocktail hour.  When we did go out, we never felt a drop and we were able to enjoy a delicious dinner outside in the shadow of the town’s signature minaret and clocktower.  After dinner, we walked through the bazaar and around the Kaleici, enjoying the mild night and the full moon.

Monday, October 10, 2011

We awoke to find that it had rained overnight and a light drizzle continued as we enjoyed our last breakfast overlooking the scenic “fairy chimney” rock formations.  Leaving Goreme, we headed for Konya, about 150 miles away, through the flat and windswept Anatolian steppe.  We had some rain this morning and were happy that we had no outdoor plans that might be affected.

 

We made a stop at Sultanhani to see a 13th century caravanseri, or han.  These were outposts, spaced a day’s journey apart, along ancient trade routes.  They provided food and lodging for traders and their animals and were sponsored by sultans to facilitate trade. The han at Sultanhani was a two-storey stone structure, with both indoor and outdoor rooms, surrounding a central courtyard with a small mosque.  The camels may be long-gone, but lots of stray dogs now call the han home.

We arrived in Konya, city of close to a million people, in the early afternoon.  Konya is a pilgrimage site for Sufi Muslims, followers of the poet, philosopher, and religious leader, Rumi.  We visited the Mevlana Museum, which is devoted to Rumi and is the site of his tomb.  Many of the faithful stood reverently before his large, cloth-draped sarcophagus, which is topped an enormous turban.  This is also the home of the Whirling Dervishes, whose trance-like dance is, in fact, a religious ritual, and not a performance.

Konya is a busy city, but a very conservative one.  We’ve seen many more women dressed in long coats and head scarves here and tourists are advised to dress conservatively, as well.  When we wandered through the outdoor bazaar and the adjacent area of small shops, there were many displays of “appropriate” attire, with a surprising range of style and color.

We had a light rain as we headed back to our hotel for our cocktail hour, but while we relaxed inside, we could see and hear a downpour. Our luck continued, though, and, by the time we headed out for dinner, we had no need of our umbrellas.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

We set off this morning to explore Cappadocia and perhaps get off the beaten path a bit.  As we passed through Mustafapasa, we were stuck by its central square and some of the intricately carved buildings nearby, so we made that our first stop. After a nice wander around town, we headed out on a drive through the agricultural countryside.  It is hard to believe that anything grows in the sandy and rocky soil here, but it seems to yield an abundant bounty.  Huge fields were filled with yellow squash, and we often saw piles of them on sidewalks in towns.  We saw families and workers harvesting potatoes by hand, and truckloads full of them on the roads.  Withered cornstalks and sunflowers, along with changing leaves and an overcast day provided an autumnal feeling, though the day was quite mild.  We drove past towns built into the rocks, many caves high above us, as well as along the road, grapevines everywhere, and apple and apricot trees. We had to be mindful of chickens crossing the road, especially as they do seem devoted to playing chicken!  The Turks love their olives (every breakfast features several varieties) and the roads are lined with olive trees that have grown into bushy thickets.  We were also struck by large, modern farmhouses, built of stone blocks, with homes above storage areas for farm equipment, vehicles and produce – living above the barn!

 

We did have a more touristy destination today: the Underground City at Derinkuyu. We hired a guide who took us down eight levels (about 180ft deep) through long, low and narrow tunnels.  Here, people have lived since Hittite times.  The Byzantines made use of the cities to hide and escape invading Persians and they established elaborate evasive and defensive strategies for doing so.  Thousands of people called these caves home and there is evidence of social and religious organization, as well as provision for the basic maintenance of human and animal life.  Without our guide, it would have all been just tunnels and alcoves to us, but our guide could not protect us from the physical challenges of ascent and descent in the tunnels, though he did relieve Tom of his backpack on a particularly confining stretch of our ascent. Probably inevitably, Tom’s skull now sports several scabs, temporary souvenirs of our trip underground.

En route back to Goreme, we made several interesting stops.  At Sahinefendi,  we stopped at an excavation of the ancient city of Sobesos, where we saw the Roman baths and a large chamber with beautiful mosaic floors. We also stopped at the Keslik Monastery, a Byzantine complex of frescoed churches, a refectory and more, cut into the rocks.

 

Back in Goreme, we walked among the rock formations, which were once inhabited and also contained many dovecotes.  We came upon several churches hewn into the rocks, with carved decorations, altars, and wall paintings in various states of deterioration.  It seemed that every time we looked at a hole in a rock, we found something unexpected.  

We again enjoyed our local wine on the rooftop terrace of the hotel and stayed until the lights came on around town and the surrounding rocks were illuminated.  The magic continued as we had dinner outdoors, surrounded by a scene that seemed nothing short of magic.

Cappadocia is a fascinating place geologically, historically, and culturally – unlike anyplace else we’ve been.  With the rocks and caves holding all manner of secrets, we couldn’t help thinking that it must be a great place to grow up – unlimited hide-and-seek locales and places to explore!