Blogs from Antalya, Mediterranean, Turkey, Middle East - page 8

Para festejar el cumple de Mariela este año decidimos hacer un viaje. El destino fue Turquía. La verdad que no teníamos esperanzas de encontrar un lugar que nos fuera a sorprender demasiado, nuestras expectativas eran bastante moderadas. Increíble fue la sorpresa al encontrarnos con un país bellísimo. Lugares históricos fabulosos, modernidad, organización, limpieza, cultura y muchas otras cosas que nos sorprendieron constantemente. Fue una de las mejores vacaciones que pasamos. Todos los vuelos los hicimos en Turkish Airlines. Puntualidad, aviones nuevos y cómodos y servicios de primera. Tomamos un vuelo de Trípoli a Estambul, y de ahí una combinación a nuestro primer destino: Antalya. Antalya es una ciudad situada en la costa ... read more

Nessie and I are at an internet cafe before dinner with her family friend John and his archeology grad students who are meeting us here in Antalya. Today was a sweaty hot day. Im sure its nothing compared to what I am going to experience in SEA but ıts still really hot. Went went to a giant ruin today called Termassos. It was very cool to see but not quite what I expected. There was a lot less structurally there than I had anticipated and it was up high ın the moutains with lots of trees and a dirt trail. I dont know why I expected an entire ancient cıty to still be standing...needless to say I was kınd of surprised. I was mostly frustrated by the fact that I made my footwear choice based on ... read more

So we made ıt to Antalya luckıly. Thıs mornıng when we woke up ın Uçhısar ın Capadocıa we hadnt had much sleep because Nessıe was up wıth food poısonıng for most of the nıght. Yesterday she opted for the meat gozleme...whıch apparently was a bad choıce. Ive never been so happy not to eat meat. Anyways, we are alıve and well. Antalya, whıch ıs on the Medıterranean, ıs absolutely beautıful. Kınd of feels lıke Florıda wıth the breeze. More tomorrow because Nessıe stıll ısnt feelıng so hot and we are goıng to go and try to fınd some soup and have a good nıghts sleep so we can make the best of tomorrow. Start my malarıa pılls tomorrow...wısh me luck. Hopfully daytıme hallucınatıons and nıghtmares wıll be at a mınımum. On the plus sıde I wont ... read more

On the face of it, Antalya had it all. Undeniably stunning, its location was good for the Romans to use its nice little harbour as a trading hub, needing only a few low key defences around it. Wrapping around the harbour like an amphitheatre, the streets testify to the periods of development since, with some beautiful Ottoman buildings, giving the historic district a lovely focal point. Walking around the harbour was slow going - as every angle was easy on the eye and hard on the camera, with sparkling turquiose water leading to snow covered ranges forming its mountainous outlook. But like a beautifully adorned model, the warm heart of this town (if it still exists) was carefully concealed. Dealings with hostels and shop keepers were cold experiences, and people preferred to embrace their lives rather ... read more

..well really only in the museum! Its amazing how we all came to be such prudes when our distant ancestors had naked statues around all the time. Its also amazing how good they were at carving and that the work has endured for so long. I visited the Antalya museum today and WOW! Its the best one i have been to. A huge gallery of statues and another of sarcophagai..is that plural for sarcophagus? Plus an exhibit showing how the nomadic tribes lived. Very well done and most of the texts were in several languages, including English. Antalya is a really old city and the old part is kinda like the old part of Istanbul, except less traffic. They still drive crazy here. My hotel is very nice and the food is yummy. IF the chef ... read more