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Published: October 17th 2007
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Antalya
December 7 - 9, 2006
Thursday
We arrived at the Antalya bus station about 5:30pm. There may have been a servis, a smaller bus that would take us closer to the city center, but we were stupid enough not to check. We ended up waiting for a bus to the gate of the old city for about 20 minutes when, with darkness quickly falling, we gave up and took a cab for 12 Turkish Lira ($10). After getting a room among the narrow streets of the old city we walked to a nearby park high above the crashing waves, able to see nothing but lights on the other side of the bay.
Antalya was built up from a natural harbor and for much of the year has a mild climate that suits beachgoers and cruise ships. It is still fairly mild in the winter, but is far from bustling with visitors. We walked out of the old city, passing through the ancient Hadrian’s Gate, a triumphal arch built for the visiting Roman Emperor in AD 130. The ruin is situated between the narrow, dark and winding roads of the ancient city and the busy avenue of Ataturk
Cadesi, across which sits the tram line and a busy modern city.
Along the busy street there were numerous places to eat and drink, all of them hustling to draw the attention of the tourists ambling by. We wanted to see what was on at the movie theatre and to find a restaurant recommended in our guidebook. The movie selection didn’t do much for us and we never could find the recommended restaurant so we just ate at a place that we stumbled upon. We devoured a pide (Turkish pizza), iskender kebab, and a shepherd salad. The food was very good, the waiter was nice, and there was an adorable little boy, the owner’s son, who seemed always underfoot. At the end of the meal the waiter poured perfume on our hands, a task the little boy immediately took on himself, visiting each table regardless of whether they were finished eating and pouring far more perfume than most people would have expected. We’ve enjoyed the Turkish food immensely and most of our dining experiences have included charming staff and excellent people watching.
The city was definitely more urban and liberal than any we had been to so far
Hadrian's Gate
Looking in toward the old city in Turkey. We didn’t see any headscarves the first day and very few the next, and there were numerous women out and about in modern professional fashion. The modern section of town that we explored had a decent amount of trash on the ground and the kind of sketchy feeling that comes along with a lot of young people loitering about and goofing off. At night the old city is not well lit and many of the buildings are in really bad shape. The places that are open for business feature touts trying to get you into their restaurants and shops. We were prime target with the city being so dead but the touts still weren’t as bad as we’d experienced in other countries.
Friday
Through the hostel we hired a car to take us to the ancient fortress city of Termessos, the 34 kilometer drive costing 60 Turkish Lira ($50). The hostel made sandwiches for 5 TL each and we bought a snickers bar for 2 TL (food and snack prices being significantly higher than we’d encountered previously in Turkey). We departed the hostel around 10am and the drive took about 45 minutes each way. We were
able to see both the extent of modern Antalya and the close proximity of the city to rocky pine covered hills.
After paying the fees for entry into the park our driver dropped us off at the bottom of the steep hill. Termessos, high atop that hill, was a city of fierce and independent people. The position of the city and the determination of it’s residents made it relatively unique in the region as conquerors passed through the area (the Termessians fought off Alexander the Great in 333 BC and the Romans accepted the city as an ally rather than a subject in 70 BC. The beautiful backdrop of the Gulluk Mountains made for both a stunning and strategically invaluable location.
The hike was very steep for 20 minutes before the path leveled out to more gentle ups and downs. We had 2.5 hours at the ruins, which was adequate but we’d recommend more time. The city, positioned as it was in a high and remote area, has allowed for the ruins to remain in fairly good order. We saw no other visitors in the time we spent exploring and there was very little litter and no obvious
signs of vandalism or disrespect in any form.
Lacking time we didn’t get to explore the further reaches of the ruins, missing the Temple of Zeus and the southern acropolis, but we got to see a bunch of different things and engage in one of our favorite pastimes in historical sites - climbing over some stuff. We had lunch at the rim of the huge theatre, a spectacular ruin carved into the top of the mountain with sheer cliffs and spectacular views on two sides. We left reluctantly passing several more ruins on an alternate route back down to the parking area, returning to town around 2pm.
We spent the afternoon walking around the old town and spent some time overlooking the water and the waterfront in the daylight. Aside from the waterfront views and Hadrian’s Gate we slowly realized there’s not much to see in old town besides touts, restaurants, hotels, and small shops selling trinkets. We stumbled upon a good used book store where we traded in some books and purchased 3 books for Amy (who can rarely control herself around books) and 1 book for Roger.
With the sun slowly setting we went outside
the city walls. The public areas along the harbor were jammed with people, most visiting and some waiting for a bus. We stopped to view a very classic-style memorial of Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, and had Turkish tea overlooking the water (3 cups each! - which is enough sugar to decay the bolts on a battleship). After venturing into the modern section of town to purchase some very pricey toiletries we began to think about dinner (we are always thinking about food in one form or another).
We had planned to splurge on the 15 Euro buffet at, Alps Pasa, a beautiful deluxe hotel complete with a posh dining area and a pool in the courtyard. The buffet, which looked good, was decidedly European so we skipped it. Instead we found our way to the charming Hasanaga Restaurant where we had a terrific mezze buffet (small portions, like an appetizer bar) where you could fill a plate for 10 TL. We gobbled up eggplant and yogurt dips and dolmas and some stuffed onions before moving on to main dishes. Roger had a chicken kebab and Amy had grilled meatballs. At the end of the meal the
proprietor brought us apple slices and oranges, a nice conclusion to a lovely dining experience.
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Joy
non-member comment
Almost caught up on posts...
I still love reading about your adventure. Wow, you're only about 10 months behind in posting them. Way to get right on it, Roger! Oh, and just to remind you of your love of Turkish culture...WAZZUP!!!