To the Mediterranean with Merlin and Betty

Jesse and Evie began their long-anticipated two-week February break with the (flight-delayed) arrival of Jesse's parents, Merlin and Betty on Friday January 31. After an introductory weekend in Istanbul, we flew together to Antalya to explore Turkey's Mediterranean coast for 9 days. We rented a car at the airport, drove along the coast as far as Fethiye, over the mountains to Pamukkale, and then back to Antalya for the final 4 days (See the map on the right). While it was too cool for sunning and swimming, we were blessed with sun for 8 of the 9 days.

Ancient Ruins Amid Natural Beauty

The two things that struck us about the Mediterranean coast were the ruins and the amazing natural setting. The sheer number of Lycian and Roman ruins is amazing. We saw SEVEN huge Lycian and Roman theaters in as many days, each seating over 10,000 people, and each one in amazing condition for being around 2000 years old. Besides the theaters, the area is littered with temples, aqueducts, and hundreds of rock tombs and sarcophagi, many from the 3rd or 4th centuries BC.

Our first stop on our first day, Phaselis, a small Lycian port city founded in 334 BC.

Besides a stone main street, the ruins include this theater, the first of seven.

Phaselis is built in a beautiful spot, with three small bays.

It was easy to understand why ancient peoples settled here: the natural beauty is of a scale that we'd never seen. From the first moment when we landed at the Antalya airport, we saw the amazing white-capped Taurus Mountains that ring the gulf of Antalya. All through our drive along the coast, we could not believe the views, with enormous mountains dropping right down into bright, turquoise Mediterranean waters. Quite a region!

After Phaselis, we took a hike up to see the Chimaera, a cluster of spontaneous flames which have been burning on the side of a mountain for thousands of years. Gas seeps from the earth and burns on contact with the air. The stuff of ancient legend and modern wonder! Also, the hike gave a great view (see right)

The view from our hotel room in Kas, a small harbor town. The land in the distance is actually an island owned by Greece.	The theater at Kas, built into the hillside above the blue water.
A nice sunny day to wander the largely empty town (the off-season).	Like many of the towns in the area, Lycian rock tombs (right) are scattered through the town.

Next were the ruins at Xanthos, which sit inland on a hill in a wide flat valley. And always those mountains!

At all these sites lay hundreds of amazingly carved blocks of stone: friezes, columns, capitals, pedestals. Each could go in a museum, but they just sit in piles.

	We stayed in Fethiye for two nights. Fethiye has a large harbor, a Roman theatre and more Lycian tombs. Also, nearby is Oludeniz, often considered the most beautiful beach in Turkey. It was stormy and empty when we went, but the water was still so turquoise!
Also near Fethiye was Kayakoy, a very different kind of ruined village. Kayakoy was a 19th century Greek village that was abandonned in the Greek-Turkish population exchange that took place after WWI. The 2000 stone houses and Greek church sit empty now.

Pamukkale and Hieropolis

After 4 days on the coast, we headed inland over a snowy, steep mountain pass to Pamukkale. Like the Chimaera, Pamukkale (which means "cotton castle") is one of those unique unexplainable natural phenomena: huge amounts of calcium has been deposited over centuries, creating whole hillside of white pools and travertines. A remarkable sight.

The travertines and warm mineral waters have been there a long time, and the waters have always been thought to have healing properties. A Pergamene and then Roman city called Hieropolis was built on the hill right above the deposits. The ruins are almost as impressive as the travertines themselves, including a 12,000 person Roman theater from the 2nd century AD, a colonaded main street and agora (forum), and a large necropolis (cemetery) with hundreds of stone sarcophogi. The large, arched Roman bath complex now houses the museum, with many beautiful 2nd century sculptures of gods, goddesses and Roman emperors. Also while there we bathed in the ancient thermal pool, which has marble columns laying in the warm mineral waters. We felt much healthier afterwards!

Antalya

Getting back to Antalya was a challenge! As night was falling and we got up into the mountains ringing Antalya, heavy snow started to fall and we lost traction. We had to turn back, but luckily found and purchased tire chains which allowed us to get over the mountains after a LONG drive. It was not what we expected from the Mediterranean.

We had four wonderful days in and near Antalya, a beautiful mid-size city with a mountain backdrop, an old marina, and an amazing walled old city filled with wood-and-stone Ottoman houses, many of which have been restored into hotels and restaurants. We stayed in one of these, the lovely Alp Pasa Otel, with lots of polished wood and a stone courtyard with orange trees and flowers. The old city's narrow lanes and marina were great fun to explore. While in Antalya, we had some wonderful Turkish food and also took Merlin and Betty to a turkish bath, another important part of a visit to Turkey.

Looking down on the old city of Ottoman houses.	Stopping for cay (tea) above the marina.
Antalya's backdrop, the mountains across the gulf of Antalya, seen from the old marina. One day we went skiing at Saklikent, one of the highest peaks (right). The skiing was no good, but the views were.

A Few More Ruins

A day trip from Antalya took us to the towns of Side and Aspendos, east of Antalya. Side sits out on a promonotory into the Mediterranean, with beaches on both sides. There are Roman ruins including the striking twin temples to Apollo and Athena at the tip of the promonotory, and yes, another theatre. Aspendos features the best preserved theatre in Turkey, which had the entire front scene wall intact. Also, the aqueduct which carried water across a wide valley to the citadel town was very impressive.

This dog chose a nice place to sun himself. These are pictures from Side. The ruins of the temples to Apollo and Athena, which sit at the tip of the promonotory, are very impressive.

The perfectly preserved theatre at Aspendos, probably the finest in Turkey. The aqueduct at Aspendos. There was a rectangular staircase in the aqueduct's crumbling tower, and here was the view from the top.

What else needs to be said? We were once again humbled and overwhelmed by Turkey's natural beauties and historical riches. A very nice trip indeed.