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Published: November 21st 2011
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We left Cappadocia behind and travelled to Konya, a very religious town. Konya was known as Iconium in roman times. It was also the capital of the Seljuk Turks from the 12th to 13th centuries and home of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, who founded a mystic Sufi order popularly known as “Whirling Dervishes”. We visited Mevlana’s Mausoleum and the museum housing manuscripts of his works, as well as various artifacts relating to the mystic sect that he founded.
We then stopped at the Lycian city of Phaselis, which was founded in the 7th century BC and flourished as a commercial trading centre where anything could be bought and sold, including citizenships for 100 drachmas. The Phaselians were more concerned about preserving the affluence of their commerce than staking any political independence, so they accepted any conquerors that came their way. The city thrived until the 12th century when it was superseded in importance by the nearby ports of Antalya and Alana.
We continued to the beautiful seaside village of Kas with its charming whitewashed houses graced with bougainvilleas and new boutique hotels. Here we sampled the local cuisine – FISH and SEAFOOD – delicious and finally warmed up to 24C
Kekova
View from an ancient castle during the day. From Kas we drove to Kekova, where we boarded a local boat for a beautiful cruise through a series of peaceful and picturesque islands. We even saw ancient houses that were submerged underwater. We enjoyed spectacular views from a castle and sailed from large bays to beautiful protected inlets where we had an opportunity to swim off the boat. And yes, even I braved the water and had a dip in the Mediterranean in the middle of November thanks to a fellow Kiwi traveler Shelley who offered to stay with me since I’m TERRIFIED of water. It was fantastic a memory I’ll cherish forever. Thanks Shelley! You know that saying, "I'll never see that person again"? Well, it's not true! Here I am on this boat in the middle of the Mediterranean and I look out onto the shore and I see a woman, Alli that I was traveling with in Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Even as I screamed her name from our boat to shore, I could not believe my eyes. Everyone looked at me as though I was a crazy woman. Yes, I know that that is questionable too. Her fiance, Chris came out into
Kas
View from the hotel the water to greet me in an inflatable banana boat that he had bought before he went on his cruise. It was hilarious and such a happy time. It was a moment I will never forget - running into this lovely couple that had become so familiar that I told them I would be calling them family by the end of this journey. Truly! What a small world! There are no coincidences in life; I am now convinced. Isn't life strange?!
Through pine trees and over a mountain, we traveled to the Greek ghost town of Kayakoy. It used to be a thriving town with a population of
3 500 until 1923 when Ataturk declared an exchange programme with Greece, where itinerant Greek and Turkish populations were repatriated to their country of origin. Kayakoy almost instantly became a ghost town and was ransacked and further destroyed by earthquakes. Today only a few Turkish families inhabit houses at the bottom of the town. Being in this town was one of the eeriest and saddest feelings I’ve ever experienced. Just imagining what these people went through was heart wrenching. Most were not accepted as Greeks back in Greece but considered Turks
Kekova
View from an ancient castle – as they should have been by Turkey as well.
On to Fethiye for the evening, another town situated on a bay and surrounded by pine forests and full of islands. We went to the local fish market where we chose our own fish straight from the fishmonger’s local catch of the day and then paid 6TL which is about $2 CAD to have it prepared by a restaurant. I had a feast: 1 calamari, 25 sardines, 5 jumbo shrimp and a sea bream fish all for 10TL, that’s about $5 CAD. Sounds fishy but truly that’s all I paid. It was yet another memorable and delicious meal. It doesn’t get fresher than that at home.
In the morning, we drove to Pamukkale, also known as “Cotton Castle” and a truly unique sight. This magical and spectacular natural phenomenon was created by deposits from thermal waters that cascaded down the mountainside over hundreds of years, forming pools and terraces. As the water overflows from the pools, dazzling dream-coloured stalactites are formed that, from a distance, resemble cotton or snow. The pools are filled with hot spring waters that supposedly have healing properties for a person’s circulation and digestive systems. Close
by are the ruins of Hierapolis, which was founded in 190 BC and by the 2nd century had become an important bath centre. The ruins here included a theatre, temple, holy area, monumental fountain, bath, basilica and necropolis.
One more classical site on the itinerary, this one however is considered one of the best preserved classical cities in the eastern Mediterranean and a great example of Roman architecture. Ephesus is considered possibly the greatest Greco-Roman site in the world and definitely a highlight of my trip. Ephesus was founded by Ionian Greeks in the 11th century BC and flourished under Roman rule. The Greeks replaced the cult of the Anatolian fertility goddess Cybele with Artemis and built a fabulous temple in her honour. With the arrival of the Romans, it became a Temple of Diana and was one of the original seven wonders of the ancient world. We visited the vast amphitheater, walked the marble street once trodden by Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, and marveled at the gloriously restored Library of Celsus.
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princess jill
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:-)
Love your title! Had lunch on Friday with Stewie and Trak after interviews. Talked about you - all trash talk of course! Hah! Miss you like crazy.. xo