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.

Sunday 27 September

We continue to stay in the same hotel in Cirali which is good but there were some complaints about being woken by roosters by some guests. The call to prayer from a local mosque and the crowing of the roosters coincided nicely and I enjoyed listening and dozing in the early morning. I think I am used to the noisy water hens at home.

We went to the local adjoining village of Olympus. After walking along the beach, we came to a river outlet and the ruins of Olympus. It was a hot day and the ruins were amongst many trees including lots of pine trees and some gum trees. There was shade and a breeze which made exploring the ruins very pleasant. We had lunch in a restaurant on the beach with potato gozleme and kebabs and salad. The food in Turkey always includes fresh salad no matter what which is refreshing and sometimes the dressing includes pomegranate dressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many people smoke in Turkey and even the beach was littered with cigarette butts … they need a clean up the butts campaign because generally Turkey is quite clean and you don’t see much rubbish around. Vegetarian dinner back at the hotel under the shady trees with the chooks and roosters.

Disappointed at not seeing a blood moon the night before, we got up at about 4.30am and there it was… Paul took some great shots of the moon from our bedroom balcony.

Saturday 26 September

Destination today is Cirali.

First stop was Isparta which is called the City of Roses and there were many shops selling rose products. Here we dropped one of our guides, Erica, at the bus stop as she was heading home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at beautiful Antalya for lunch in a cliff side restaurant and ate mackerel and salad which was delicious, especially with the turkish beer. Such a magnificent view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Cirali we stayed in a very laid back beachside hotel (Plaj hotel) with chooks and roosters. The beach was across the road, mostly pebbly and with thatched beach umbrellas to lie under.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the evening we were taken to a restaurant with low tables on platforms which had been constructed over the rapidly flowing river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we climbed a rocky incline and after slipping over on the way up made it to the top with a minor graze on my knee. The holidays were still on and so there were many others climbing the hill. At the top there were areas of spontaneous flames , some bigger than others, dotted over the hill top. These were the Chimera  where methane leaks from under the earth surface. Some of the others fell over on the way down but no serious injuries. The young Turkish people were very kind and concerned about any injuries and helped us along the way. That night we thought was the blood moon night but when we got up at about 4am there was no blood moon to be seen.