Blogs from Mermerli, Antalya, Mediterranean, Turkey, Middle East

This one is going to be brief as there's really nothing to tell. We walked around and in the old city of Antalya. Antalya resides in the middle of history with its old harbor and antic city. This city was surrounded by a historic wall from Roman Empire. Today, there's only a part of the wall and a clock tower remain intact at the North gate. On the East side of the wall, there's another entrance to the old city called Hadrianus Gate. Once you're in the old city, all the paved roads will lead to the harbor. The modern city of Antalya didn't really start to appear until World War II. Until then, the Old City was Antalya, with its massive stone walls, meandering streets, and picturesque old houses built so close they often overshadow ... read more

Welcome to Bill and Carol's travelblog from Turkey. As we come to the end of our first year here, we are becoming more aware of the intricate layers of intrigue in Turkey's social/political life. We can't pretend to really understand the deep implications of all that we read in the Turkish press and hear from friends. What we know is that many, many things are not as they seem. Thus, this blog's theme: "Golgeler" (Shadows). Does this entry sound already dire? Then, let me be clear. We continue to be delighted to be here--happier in a drastically different culture than we ever imagined possible. The "shadows" we refer to offer us endless fascination. It's like living in a Dan Brown novel sometimes--except that we feel thoroughly safe. I just referred to the first awareness that has ... read more