Blogs from Antalya, Mediterranean, Turkey, Middle East

It's been a quiet, happy winter--often sunny but also COLD, Antalya's coldest winter in thirty years. Without insulation, double-glazed windows, or central heating in our building, we've been warmed mostly by the smartwool and down clothing we brought with us. I have been known to sleep in my winter jacket, muffler and gloves. We do have wall-mounted heat pumps ("klimas") in three rooms, but two of them--as well as the hot water heater--have been on the friitz quite a bit. In defense, we joined a health club in January, partly for the reliable access to hot showers! To stay warm during the day, we heat one smallish room and use it for everything. We study there, hover with guests, and eat in a corner of windows which has a view of the sea-- now that the ... read more

Today was a long travel day as we left Cappadocia and crossed the Taurus mountain range, which is part the same range that the Alps and Himalayas are part of, and came to the Mediterranean Sea. Our only tour stop yesterday was to visit a 13th century caravanserai, a stop on the Silk Road for the camel caravans. The Silk Road extended from Xi'an China to Rome. However, it would take 3 yrs by camel to cover the complete route, so everyone just traded along the way. There are 140 caravanserai in Turkey, but the one we saw, called Sultan Han, is the largest one left, built in 1229. It was sort of an inn. The caravan drivers would stop for the night and sometimes do trading with other caravans. If they did trade there, it ... read more

Caught the tram again from our hotel after breakfast served in our room (thats a first). This time we knew where we were going and arrived at the Otogar for our midday 5 hour bus trip to Antayla. We leave the East now and head towards the Mediterranean Coast Outside temp today is in the low 30's, the bus takes us over some very high mountain passes, but very good roads also a nice bus to travel in. Most of the buses here have satellite TV and free WiFi access, Arrived at Antayla Otogar and try to find the free shuttle into the old part of the city, it is a lovely warm afternoon and at last we start to see glimpses of the sea. We realise that we are now the only people left on ... read more

Thankfully Jeff was feeling a bit better this morning. After a lovely brekky and retrieving our dry washing from the rooftop terrace we packed up our gear and deposited it downstairs. Went off to show Jeff a bit more of Antalya. Also spotted the 700 year old hamam. Had lunch in a cafe with a shady outdoor area. Jeff just had spaghetti and I had a kebab which, when it came, I thought was a little under-cooked, but I foolishly kept eating. After lunch Jeff went to check out the old harbor area and I went to have my hamam.  After paying I was taken round to the women's area. There were two attendants but didn't seem to be anyone else around. They showed me the change room, gave me my pesternal (cotton wrap) and some ... read more

A quiet one today. Jeff not well so spent the day in bed. Kim enjoyed brekky in the lovely vine-shaded courtyard, took all our dirty laundry down, caught up some diary, then went exploring Antalya. The first thing I discovered is that we were located about one minute from spectacular hilltop views of the Mediterranean. Our hotel is just a couple of corners from an old tower and a cluster of cafes and shops, a little south of the old Roman harbour. I was on a mission to find the PTT, so headed off through the gorgeous cobbled streets til I found Hadrian's gate and the rest of the city outside. Headed off in the direction I'd been given and walked past the PTT a couple of times without noticing before asking and there it was, ... read more

For whatever reason our expectations were low for our shore excursion in this port. Once our tour started we were quickly impressed and in the mood to learn more about Turkey and the ancient history that is preserved here. Our first stop was Perge which reminded us of Pompeii. The oldest ruins here date back to 1500-1000 BC, but most everything that is seen now comes from the Roman period built in the 4th century AD. History books refer to Perge as an important place where Alexander the Great stopped to resupply for his quest to defeat the Persians. Perge diplomatically avoided destruction by giving up their gold, horses, and men to support Alexander and his victory over the Persians. We also learned that Paul and Barnabas visited Perge. Very cool. The Roman gate along with ... read more