Antalya

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At 5.30am the call to prayer reverberated around the mountains and there was no need for the hotel wake up call! This wasn’t the reason, but four more people left the tour at this stage.
We drove through the magnificent Taurus mountains, making two special visits before arriving in Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. Firstly, we stopped at Perge, another ancient Roman city in the process of being uncovered and restored. It felt amazing to walk among and over fallen chunks of columns from the buildings, seeing shards of pottery just lying on the ground. The old paved road had the ruts from cart wheels worn into it. The second visit was a very different experience. We were taken to a jewellery shop situated in a former casino! Bling bling bling as far as the eye could see, with extremely attentive and courteous salespeople shadowing every move we made just in case madam had spotted a trinket that appealed! No such luck – some of the men chose to go and have a beer at a stall and others headed for the beach as soon as the great escape could be made.
Now we are installed in a Moorish style huge hotel – looks a little like a mausoleum from the outside, but we have a wonderful view of the Mediterranean and a tiny balcony on which to appear for our fans.
Tomorrow is our day of rest, a chance to lie about or explore a little by ourselves...

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