Stupendous Aspendos

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We haven't seen the sea since leaving Hong Kong at the end of June. In Xinjiang we were close to the point which is further from the sea than anywhere on earth. In Uzbekistan we'd been to where it used to be. So it was great to come around a bend on the mountain road to see the Med glittering in front of us - a bit of poetic licence taken there as it was an overcast day so it wasn't that glittery, but it was still the sea.

We didn't have any particular plans for Antalya. We knew there were plenty of Greco-Roman ruins around but hadn't bothered to research which to visit, so we took the lazy option and did what we rarely do – we followed the Lonely Planet recommendation. Credit to them they directed us toward a truly magnificent site.

Aspendos is an awe inspiring place that at times left us speechless. 2000 years after it was built the scale of ancient human ambition, ingenuity, and skill is still something to behold, it's difficult to imagine the impact buildings like this must have had at the time – if only they'd had an ancient version of Grand Designs and Kevin McCloud. We could also have done with David Attenborough, if he's still alive, when we came across the incredible sight, and sound, of two fighting tortoises - at least we think they were fighting, if they weren't one was playing very hard to get.

Antalya is a nice place but the highlight of the town itself was the fresh, locally caught Sea Bass we had for dinner one night – it almost, only almost, made us forget the endless stream of plov, manti, and mutton kebabs we endured from Xinjiang to Iran.

One of the most incredible sights along our route to come next – Pamukkale.

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[D MJ Binkley]

Turkey
Amazing architecture