Turkeys M Hideaways Day 9
Turkeys M Hideaways
Day 9 - 04/15/06 Discover Aspendos and Antalya
Rise and shine, and see how Turkish villagers greet the day. Waking up to sunshine is always a good omen for travelers! We slept well, although it was chilly in our farm house room. Our family style breakfast was in the house next door where Arif 's brother and his wife lived. Now we understand why the homes are so large, because extended families are all living together in these farm complexes. We had a tasty meal and then said good-bye to our new friends at 9:00.
We left the village and retraced our path back around the lake to the main road for our trip heading south, toward the Mediterranean. We had a brief photo stop at an old well and were actually able to get water from it! Our first discovery of the morning was at a Hittite site dating from 2700 BC when the Egyptians and Mesopotamians along with the Hittites traded and warred in this region for over 3000 years. We were able to walk to a water sanctuary at the site of a spring dedicated to the gods of water. Even after 4000 years, the spring is still running and clear.
On our bus time, Melten gave us more history of Turkey and also gave us an overview of the rivers and hydro electric systems of the country. Both the Tigress and Euphrates Rivers begin in the mountains of Turkey and flow through the country. Dams producing abundant electric power have been built on both rivers. They also depend on solar power for heating water, almost every apartment building and home has a unit on the roof.
We continued south on the major highway from Beysehir over the Taurus Mountains. Meltem saw a sign for another Hittite site that she had not been able to visit and asked if we wanted to chance a truly unique discovery. We all agreed to the challenge and drove through several remote villages, some who had never encountered Americans before. We took a very steep, narrow, and rocky road up into the mountains above the village and then hiked into the rocks to see the ruins of Fagillar, an 1800 BC Hittite village and burial ground. We were joined by a group of young men and boys who told us that further into the hills were even more ruins burial grounds. Meltem was very excited to be able to see this remote archeological ruin as were we to have made this additional discovery.
At 11:30 we headed back to the main highway. After a brief hour's drive we stopped for a WC break at a small town. Right next door was a very modern grocery store. Gennie and I looked at all the fruits and vegetables, many varieties of olives, and other staple supplies. The prices there were very reasonable. We purchased two bananas, a Coke, and ice cream bar, and pound of corn snacks, all for 4 new Turkish Lyra.
As we drove into the mountains, Meltem gave us a synopsis of the education system here in Turkey. The first years of compulsory education are free and then exams are taken to progress to the secondary level. In order to go on to the university students must pass very difficult exams. Although the literacy rate is over 95%, only 70 % of the young people go on to secondary school and a very small percentage goes on to college. A university degree is held in high esteem as so few people accomplish it.
The road into the mountains was a relatively well maintained divided highway. The mountains are layered limestone covered with cedar, pine, and cypress trees. We made several photo stops along the way and there is still a lot of snow which will not totally melt until July. We reached the summit of 1825 meters (6000 feet). We had not reached the tree line which was above 2000 meters. We had a little rain and also a brief hailstorm and could see that it was snowing heavily at higher elevations.
We stopped at a truck stop for lunch - a cafeteria where we could get a tasty sampling of the foods of this region. By 2 PM we were on our way to the Mediterranean coastline but because of the rain and heavy mist we were not able to see the water below us.
In another hour, we stopped at Aspendos, a Roman city with an impressive theater and aqueduct. In fact, the Roman theater is one of the best preserved and perhaps the finest in the world. Built in the second century AD, this 15,000-seat theater is still in use for large concerts and events today. We had time to explore the ruins and marvel that it is so well preserved today!
We drove for another hour to Antalya, set on a wide bay with mountain views all around. Once an old fishing village, it is now a popular resort that combines unspoiled beaches with an award-winning restored harbor and an architecturally interesting old city. We saw very fertile fields where cotton is the main cash crop. Many fine Turkish textiles are exported to other countries. There were many fruit trees and oranges are now in season and being sold the roadways.
As we arrived a severe thunder and lightning storm beset us. We drove through the city in the downpour and could hardly see out the windows. When we arrived at the vicinity of the Marina Hotel, in a small, narrow and winding street overlooking the water, Meltem called the hotel and they sent a vehicle to transport us and our luggage from our mini-bus. We were given the key to our hotel room and we spent the next hour washing some clothes and showering as we had not been able to do that at the farm house.
We had dinner at the hotel at 7:30 and then checked our internet mail and uploaded the previous day's journal. We returned to our room to catch up on our photos and get ready for bed.
Accommodations: Marina Hotel - - - Meals: B, D
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