Turkey Tour 2010 Blog 5

---

---

Sunday 17th October.
The weather behaved itself being sunny and bright living up to the translation of the region's ancient name of Lycia, meaning the land of light. We'd planned to go to Side (pronounced Seed-eh) as it was the only remaining archaeological site in the vicinity of Antalya that we hadn't visited. We took the ultra modern tram to the Otogar and then a bus to Side. The journey from Antalya to Side is only 65 kms (just over 40 miles), but took more than almost three hours in total because the inter city bus dawdled its way out of Antalya looking for, and stopping to pick up passengers along the route. Then, when we arrived at Manavgat the town nearest Side, the process reversed and the bus dawdled its way through the crowded town towards the otogar, dropping people off whenever requested (there are bus stops but the drivers will drop passengers off whenever a passenger asks them to stop - even on the main highway). We then caught a local bus to Side which took half an hour to do the 3 miles as it went through the same routine as the inter city bus, crawling through the town looking for passengers. By the time we arrived at the otogar in Side we were well fed up with buses. We had a fresh juice to refresh ourselves then walked the short distance into the town through the Roman ruins. What with the combination of the frustratingly long bus journeys and our previous trips around Roman ruins we didn't take much notice of the ruins we passed and just wanted to find somewhere for lunch. Side was formerly a little fishing village but is now a tourist trap as it has long beaches either side which are covered with resort hotels. After stopping off at a likely looking restaurant next to the harbour then walking out because of the attitude of the waiter (bored, indifferent, impatient) we went to a restaurant recommended in our Lonely Planet guide and had a delicious fish lunch (sea bass), expertly filleted in front of us by the friendly waiter. After lunch, 4pm by this time, we went for a quiet sitdown on the beach then decided to head back to Antalya at 5.30 pm. Fortunately the journey back was quicker than the outbound trip as there were far fewer people on the streets and consequently fewer potential passengers. On reaching the Otogar at Antalya we were able to catch a bus into town which departed almost immediately we got on it. When we got back to the hotel we didn't bother with dinner just a quick shower then sat on our beds (twin room) expressing dark thoughts about the bus service to Manavgat and Side. But at least we'd had good weather.

Monday 18th October.
The plan was to go back to the Antalya Museum as we thought we'd like to take another look at the statues there, having seen where they had come from in Perge. We walked part of the way through the Old City so that Jane could check out some handbags that she had seen previously then we caught the tram to the Museum. When we tried to get in we were told that the Museum was closed on Mondays, just like back home, so we had a look at some of the statues standing in the foyer and outside the entrance then headed back to the hotel. A quiet day and not much to do except read (and write blogs).

Tuesday 19th October.
This time we made it into the Museum and checked out the statues again. It was certainly more interesting this time. Afterwards Jane went off to the tourist shops in the Old City while I headed back to the hotel to pack. We were able to keep our room until 4pm as we were due to transfer to the airport 6pm for our 9pm flight. It all went very smoothly and the flight to Birmingham left on time. The journey was a bit uncomfortable as the seats seemed quite old and had sagged rather causing backache. We arrived at Birmingham at around 11.15pm local time and then had to wait until nearly midnight before the baggage came through. Then it was off to collect the car and head back to Cardiff. The drive back was good as it was a clear moonlit night with little traffic. The only incident that happened was seeing a stag, complete with a full set of antlers, trotting down the side of the road between Ross and Monmouth. Fortunately it stayed on the side of the road and didn't try to cross. There was a slight delay at the M4 junction in Newport, next to the Celtic Manor (venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup), as the westbound lane was closed and the diversion sign pointed to the eastbound M4. We ignored this and instead headed round Newport on the southern link road. We arrived home just before 3am and were relieved to find the house in good order and warm.
And so to bed.
The End

---

Photos

Antalya Light Rail
The modern version of the tram that runs around the boundary of the Old City. This one goes across the new city and stops at the Otogar. Another tram is approaching.

Antalya Otogar
Anatalya bus station. This photo shows half of the massive semi circular complex. Buses arrive and depart at designated spaces at the back and taxis and local buses deposit and pick up passengers at the front.

Side
Main road into town via the impressive Roman archway.

Side Temple of Apollo
Great location alongside the sea.

Antalya Museum
Statue at Entrance of Museum which has no inscription, but should be: "Porro John Argentum". English translation: Long John Silver, as the resemblance is striking; as is the £7 entrance fee for the Museum which borders on the piratical.

Antalya Museum
Sculpture of the Goddess Aphrodite, who is clearly the patron goddess of can can dancers.

Kaleici street scene
A typical picturesque street in the Old Cityy

Antalya Museum
The Hall of the Gods. All these statues and many others in the Museum were found at Perge by Turkish archaeologists in the last 50 years......only because Victorian era British and French explorers were unaware of Perge otherwise these statues would be decorating the British Museum or the Louvre

Antalya Museum
Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge, not to be trifled with. Also her pet griffin looks as though it could do some damage.

Saint Nicholas icon and bones
The reliquary at the bottom is said to contain some of the bones of Saint Nick. Apart from a jawbone with a single tooth the remainder are unidentifiable to the untrained eye.

Antalya Museum
Museum garden and a 2500 year old garden seat and games table being put to modern use

The last statue
Jane with a cutout she thought resembles Saddam Hussein......although I don't recall him sponsoring Vodafone

Antalya tram
The original service which runs in a 2 mile semi circle around the boundary of the Old City. Great value at 60 pence for the journey.

Antalya tram
View inside. Although there are no signs to indicate this, the custom is that single men do not sit on the same seat or opposite single women.

Isilkar Street
Just round the corner from the hotel. This is where the young and trendy locals go in the evenings. Many of the outdoor cafe have live music and provide water pipes. The cool place to look and to be looked at, or just to sit and watch the world go by.

Comments

[Darren]

young and trendy
Looks like Dubai's Al Diyafa Street :-)