Monday 28 September

We left Cirali … (some of the group were glad to hear the end of the roosters crowing in the early morning, but I found the combination of roosters and the call to prayer quite relaxing )… and drove to Myra. First we visited the ruins of the ancient city of Myra. There were rock cut tombs in the walls and a restored Roman semicircular theatre. After the ruins, we visited the church of St Nicholas where it is believed the legend began. There were frescoes and the walls were made from beautiful thick stone with cobbling and mosaics of coloured marble on the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At about lunchtime, we arrived in Kekova and went on a boat cruise. It was our first time on the Mediterranean Sea and after we anchored in a small cove everyone jumped into the water to cool off. The sea appears to have a high salinity and, except for patches of strong current, you could easily laze about in water which was quite deep. Along the way, the hatch to the viewing section was opened to catch glimpses of amphora and other suggestions of the old underground city of Kekova. The captain barbecued chicken at the back of the boat for lunch whilst his wife brought out numerous salads which she had prepared. Along with more Turkish beer it was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the boat cruise we went on to Kas which is a beautiful coastal town with narrow winding streets and we stayed in the Medusa hotel. Our room had a balcony and we could view the Mediterranean from there. It was in Kas that we first started noticing the large numbers of cats in Turkey. We had time to ourselves that night so we wandered down the cobblestone street and found a restaurant overlooking the marina … grilled octopus, garlic prawns and a lamb kebab (with salad of course) … I tried the red wine which was good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wandering back to the hotel there was a stall and a young man was making ice creams. We chose the fruit (pineapple, strawberries and banana), then he chopped the fruit on a big cold metal dish (presumably dry ice underneath). He swirled goats milk mixture over the plate and mixed it in with the fruit. He kept mixing then spreading then mixing and so on until it was a flat frozen mixture on the plate. Using a flat scoop he scooped up four flat strips and then rolled them up. It was delicious.