Turkeys M Hideaways Day 10
Turkeys M Hideaways
Day 10 - 04/16/06 Walking Tour of Antalya, Antalya Archaeological Museum and Perge
We awoke a bit earlier than the alarm to a bright and sunny morning. As we did not have to be ready for our daily adventures until 9 AM, we had time to sort some of the clothes Gennie had washed the day before. We also were able to get on the internet and upload yesterday's journal and pictures. We had a good breakfast with yogurt, a staple food in Turkey, eggs, fruits, bread, juice and other accompaniments.
We met Meltem at the front of the hotel and after a brief explanation on the plans of the day and the city of Antalya, a European resort destination; we proceeded to the waterfront passing many local restaurants with spectacular views of the bay, the hotels on the other side and the majestic snowcapped Taurus Mountains in the background.
Once on the water, we saw many large and small day tour operators getting ready for their day. She pointed out several good places for dinner tonight as we are on our own this evening. As we left the waterfront we walked through quaint narrow streets of the old town. A few of the Ottoman homes with their beautiful citrus courtyards have been restored and are now hotels like our own or as Pensions (B&Bs).
We walked toward the main avenue and Hadrian's Gate, the gateway to the Mediterranean. The Gate was built in 133 AD and is the entrance through the ancient walls to the Old City of Antalya. Ilkar picked us up at 10 AM and we drove along the beautiful blue sea. This Sunday morning we saw people jogging, walking dogs, and exercising in the many parks.
We were driving southeast on the way to Perge. On the way we stopped at a local supermarket - Migros - where we bought bread, chips, beverages, and other sundries for our picnic lunch this noon. It is always interesting to see grocery stores and markets in other countries.
We arrived in Perge which was originally a Pamphilyan city where St. Paul preached his first sermon in AD 46. We first saw the theater that is being restored and walked through the stadium and into the city that saw its glorious days in 100 AD. There were no city walls because this city was built during the peaceful Roman times and there was no fear of attacks and invasions as Rome ruled this whole region.
We waked into the original agora or market place with its pillars in relatively good standing where Meltem described the city's extensive water system. Even though this area is susceptible to earthquakes over the centuries, these Roman ruins give a remarkable picture of days gone by. At its high point, over 80,000 lived in the vicinity of this metropolitan area.
We were told about the techniques used in restoration and trying to put all the broken pieces of the buildings, pillars, and other artifacts together. It is a giant and complicated puzzle. Only a small portion of the city has been excavated at all. We had about 20 minutes on our own to explore and visit the WC.
At 12:15 we met back on the bus and Meltem suggested we go to a nearby national park to have our picnic lunch. We were very lucky as there are only 6 of us on this tour, we can do many spontaneous side trips. On the way to the park we drove past lush green fields of hay, citrus groves, fields of vegetables, and decorating the fence rows and ditches were the red poppies we grew to love in Italy last Spring.
We arrived at the park where we found many Turkish families had the same wonderful idea for a very warm Sunday afternoon. We shared our lunch, even trying fresh almonds for the first time as well as different types of Turkish chips and snacks. After our lunch we hicked to the base of the waterfall where we were able to take a few pictures and enjoy the beauty of this out of the way retreat.
Our last stop of the day was the local Antalya Muzesi archaeological museum, which houses regional artifacts from the Stone Age to the present. With 14 exhibition halls and an open-air gallery, this prize winning archaeological museum has earned a worldwide reputation for its extensive collection of artifacts.
The highlights of the museum were the incredibly well preserved marble statues that were brought here from Perge. Meltem gave us a quick introduction of the museum, walking us through all the rooms and then gave us 45 to see it on our own, to take photographs, and to read the displays. What is really impressive is how well the items of antiquity are exhibited.
We met at the reception and joined all members of our group as we walked back to the bus. At the temperature is in the mid 80's and the humidity is also high, we waited while the bus cooled a bit. We returned to our hotel where we agreed to meet for Happy Hour at 6 PM and then go to dinner on our own.
Accommodations: Antalya - - - Meals: B
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