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Day 6 Antalya

I was feeling much better following an undisturbed night’s sleep and was looking forward to breakfast even though it was the usual continental choice of cheese, ham, eggs, bread and çay.  Today would be a long day’s drive to the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, via a visit to Aspendos an ancient ruin. After a few hours driving it was time to stop for lunch with Funda organising a road side stop near to the village of Taşkeiği to try the local pancakes.  A table long enough for everyone to be seated around was waiting our arrival under the shade of a row of fruit trees whilst on the open fire the cook was preparing the first of the pancakes.  Taking our seats we were soon served hot çay and bottled water quickly followed by a large plate of the cooked pancakes with a side dish of menemen, a strange looking egg dish, containing tomato, onion and spices, but very tasty.  The combination of pancakes, mememen and bread was very filling so much so I was feeling quite full, unlike the day before when I hardly ate a thing.

The coach pulled into the large empty car park with one enormous stone building at one end that had no distinguishing features to give a clue to what it was.  It looked like a prison building with its high walls built into the hillside.  We walked through the entrance turnstiles to be greeted by ancient roman gladiator brandishing a sword and putting on a performance to entertain the visitors in the hot afternoon sun.  Funda led us passed the souvenir shop and down a short tunnel to reveal an amazing half round theatre.  The outside stone wall supported the ornate stone interior of the stage with the semi circular stone seat terracing reminded me of the Inca terraces of Wiñay Wayna near Machu Picchu.  I started by climbing up the stone stairs of the terracing to the first level of three and sat down to take in the view below.  I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be sat amongst over other 7,000 spectators eagerly awaiting the day’s performance.  I continued to climb until I reach the top row of seating, slightly out of breath I again sat down looking across the large semi circle to see if I could spot anyone from our group.  Far below Mo was beginning to climb up to join me so I waited until she arrived.  After Mo had taken a shot break together we walked around the back through the covered section of arches to the opposite side.  This side was a lot warmer with the sun beating down on the exposed terracing and I was glad I chose to descend on this side rather than climb it.  Once back at the bottom I stood looking around at the grandeur of the ancient theatre before it was time to head back to the coach.

As the coach drove along the busy main street of Antalya, Funda was describing the main points of interests, such as the museum, the modern shopping area, the trams and Hadrian’s Gate.  She also told us that we would be dropped off in a car park and would be walking to our hotel in the old walled city because the coach was to big to negotiate the narrow streets. We disembarked from the coach and the luggage was loaded into waiting taxis for its short journey to the hotel.

Day 7 Antalya

At breakfast we sat with Nerida and she told us that both Paul and herself were planning to go on a boat trip that morning, so I suggested we all went together to try to get a cheap deal for the four of us.  So we arranged to meet at the quay side later that morning with Mo and me heading in search of a cash machine to get some money for the day’s activities.  With money in my wallet we made our way through the narrow streets towards the harbour bumping into Paul and Nerida on the way.   Approaching the captain of the boat from the previous night I asked how much for four on his two hour trip.  He wanted 20 Lira each now, so I said that he only wanted fifteen last night and that was for two people.  In the end he relented after some negotiations that included we buy a cup of his coffee on board rather than a local restaurant before the boat left.  Mo and I boarded the boat whilst Paul and Nerida said they were just going for a walk and would be back later.  Being first on board we could sit anywhere we liked and were soon served a cup of black coffee each on the upper deck.

Both Nerida and Paul had boarded the boat joining us ready for the cruise to begin, but the captain was still touting for passengers on the quay side so we would be waiting a little longer.  At long last the captain decided he had enough passengers aboard so the gang plank was raised and the boat began to manoeuvre out of the harbour into open water. The boat rode the gently rolling waves leaving a white trail of foaming water behind.  Then shattering the tranquillity of the voyage the loud Turkish dance music with a beat faster than an Olympic sprinters heart started blaring out of the speaker we had sat beside.  At first we attempted to ignore it, then Nerida tried to deaden the sound by covering it with the back of a plastic seat but in the end I went below and complained to the captain and he ordered it to be turned down.  The course of the cruise hugged the coastline of high cliffs with the aquamarine sea rolling against the jagged rocks.  Soon after leaving the harbour the boat was passing the first landmark, the Hıdırlık Kulesi. The fortified stone tower has a square base with a circular tower proudly displaying the Turkish flag.  It is believed to have been built around the 2nd Century during the Hellenistic era but is now surrounded by cafés, restaurants and hotels.  On top of the high cliffs numerous new hotels have been built each with their own private sun bathing area constructed on the rocks below with the only access down for patrons via either a lift or spiral stair case.  In some places the seas erosion on the cliff face had created some interesting formations with the top now overhanging to create a natural type of umbrella with small caves at the base which were being explored by some people in a small jet boat.  Continuing on along the coast we came across the first waterfall, its white water falling directly into the sea with another small boat sailing close enough into the falling spray.  It wasn’t long and the boat was rounding the headland to reveal the second, much larger waterfall in the distance.  There was an array of vessels swarming around it all trying to get the best view with small boats disappearing from view in the cloud of spray produced by the thunderous water of the Düden Şelalesi.  The source of the water is the Düden River located some 12km northeast of Antalya to cascade forty metres into the clear blue sea below.  The captain quickly manoeuvred his vessel into position to allow some photos to be taken before he was opening up the throttle and moving away back along our original course.  The journey back was quicker, which was a blessing because the music had been turned up to keep a group of young girls entertained.  The boat docked in the harbour and we walked down the gang plank onto the quayside, thanking the captain but also gesturing that his music was too loud!

We climbed the steps from the quayside to the restaurant with a terrace overlooking the bay to have some lunch before going to the museum.  The waiter adjusted the table so it wasn’t in the direct sunlight with the four of us sitting down to view the menu, whilst ordering four beers to start with.  The waiter arrived with our beers placing the usual basket of fresh bread in the middle of the table before taking our orders.  From this high vantage point I could see a three mast ship at anchor in the bay with the tall mountains rising out of the sea in the distance. Following our delicious meal we made our way through the old city streets to Hadrian’s Gate with the tram stop opposite where we met Rud and Lisa who were also going to the museum.  The gate consists of three arched gates built in the name of Roman emperor Hadrian, who visited Antalya in 130 A.D, which now has a glass bridge through the centre arch to protect the ancient ground below.  The six of us waited for the old style tram to come trundling along its single track to our stop.  The line runs through the new shopping area and along the sea front with its last stop just opposite the museum entrance.  The Archaeological Museum of Antalya is actually one of the largest museums in the whole of Turkey and houses an impressive collection of antiquities from the Mediterranean and Pamphylia regions in Anatolia.  I found that the halls containing the stone statues the most interesting so I choose to sit down and study three statues of the Emperor Hadrian, the Emperor Septimus Severius and his wife which are grouped together.  I was impressed with the accuracy of which the stone had been sculpted to show the anatomical detail of the body’s muscles and features.  These statues were centuries old and are a credit the skill of the artists that created them. 

Day 8 On to Pamukkale

The cases had been loaded into the taxis for the short journey whilst we began to make our way to the coach on foot.  It had been nice staying in one place for a few days but now it was time to get back on the road and a change of direction, everything was north from now on.  Leaving the main highway the coach slowly made its way along the narrow twisting road climbing higher into the Taurus Mountains.  The mountain range forms part of the Termessos National Park and includes the ancient city of Termessos our first destination of the day.  The city is located on a natural plateau at 1021m above sea level with Güllük Dagi rising to a height of 1665m.  The start point, an opening in the trees at the end of the car park is at 877m so we had a 144m climb ahead of us.  At first I let Mo dictate our pace but decided that I would press on ahead and was soon passing everybody in the group.  I began to stride past Helen and she turned to me saying “Must be your Peru training.”  I thought about her comment and to be honest I wasn’t very fit when I went on the Inca Trail but since then my stamina has improved greatly due to the walking I do every day of the week and was finding the climb relatively easy in comparison, plus the fact the Inca trail is 3000m higher which saps your energy very quickly.  The climb did remind me a lot of the trail with its steep sections of rocks as well as overhanging trees lining the way.  I could feel my heart pumping so I chose to rest a while admiring the view of the valley below as I waited for Mo to join me.  Upon reaching the top of the trail we scrambled over the collapsed stones to discover a large Greek theatre (later modified by the Romans) with its curved seating area divided into two segments by a horizontal walkway known as a diazoma.  On the right hand side part of the terraced seating had collapsed and it was from here that the high rise hotels of Antalya could be seen in the haze of the early morning sky.  I sat looking at the surrounding landscape and understood why Alexander the Great was never able to capture Termessos in 333 BC due to the insurmountable natural barriers.  From the theatre, scrambling back over the fallen stones to the Odeon, a small theatre of ornate design but it is full of earth and rumble and therefore hard to explore.  It is located next to a tree that Mo sat under to shade herself from the warm sun.  Next we walked through the trees to the Agora, a wide open area that was probably used as a market containing five large cisterns sunk into the ground to hold vast quantities of water.