Day 7: Tuesday 5 October - Perge and Aspendos

A slightly later start to today – 8am! Ray wrote up the following:“


Set out by bus and joined by our guide Achmet, who led us through some of the most significant archaeological sites with a fact-filled commentary along the way. The sites included the theatre and the town centre (agora) at Perge, its main road with colonnades, public baths and water reticulation system. The highlight of the day was perhaps the enormous and impressive theatre at Aspendos, largely restored using original materials, and in which performances are still being staged.

After lunch we stopped at the Koprulu waterfall which is in a nature reserve and the more energetic amongst us climbed down umpteen stairs to the base of the falls- a
very pretty area.

Finally, we stopped at the well-know “Alice” leather works and were entertained by a glamorous fashion show and were given the opportunity to purchase leather garments.”

Perge was once near the sea, which is now about 11 kms away. It was one of the most important towns of ancient Pamphylia, had its heyday under the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. It declined in Byzantine times and was abandoned in the 7th century.


Aspendos was once the eastern most city of the kingdom of Pergamum and an important trading centre in Roman times. The magnificent theatre was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180) and can seat 12 000 people. It is said to be the best preserved theatre of the ancient world. It was restored in the 13th Century and after several centuries of neglect was brought to life again by Ataturk.

The remains of the Roman aqueduct nearby once again left us awed by ancient ingenuity and skill and led to a profound discussion on engineering, Rob from Ghana being a civil engineer!

Before lunch we also visited the quaint village of Side (“pomegranate”) which is
surrounded by Roman ruins and boasts the Temples of Apollo and Athena on its shores, dating from the 2nd century. Perfect photo opportunities! Side was first settled by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC and became a centre of the slave trade and piracy in the 2nd century BC. It was burned by Arab raiders in the 7th century, revitalised by the Seljuks and resettled by Muslims returning from Crete during the population exchange of the 1920s.

My mom and I hoped to have a swim below the harbour walls when we returned to Antalya but the sea was very choppy so instead we had a lovely start to the evening watching the sundowner boats see-sawing (sea-sawing?!) out of the harbour. After supper a few of us went down to see the harbour lit up and browsed through the shops in the narrow streets in the vicinity of the hotel.

Charmaine's reflections on Antalya:Exceptionally modern merged in ancient. A sleepy-time warped town now a centre of tourism and light industry. A delightful place. Kekova Island and beyond can only be reached by boat or on foot. Magic place to escape to some time! St Nicholas Church a place for devout pilgrims and despite the crowds of followers it felt very special to be there. The theatre nearby and the beautiful tumbled marble carving and statuettes- magical!

Day 6: Monday 4 October- Myra and Kekova Island

Our second day in Antalya started bright and early with our driver and Achmet our guide picking us up at 7am for a day trip to Myra and Kekova Island. The hotel staff kindly provided us with picnic breakfast packs which we tucked into at the rest stop atop a mountain pass about an hour's drive away from Antalya. Looking down onto the coastal plan below we were perplexed by the silvery flatness of the landscape. What we were seeing were the rows upon rows of agricultural tunnels.


The road to Myra runs along the coast through built-up areas and between the pine-clad mountains towering over 2000m, their tops bare of vegetation. Myra lies 3km southwest of present day Demre,and dates from the 5th century BC. It prospered through supplying incense derived from the liquidamber orientalis tree to Egypt and Constantinople. The Greco-Roman theatre is impressive, as are the Lycian tombs built like houses into the two cliffs alongside it.


The Church of St Nicholas first built in the 3rd century, was crowded, mainly with pilgrims from Russia and the Eastern European countries, who lined up to place their icons and candles against the glass encased tomb of the patron saint of children and fishermen. Nicholas was the 4th century Bishop of Myra and was renowned for his generosity. His bones lay in the church until 1087 when Italian merchants raided his sarcophagus and carried them off to Bari in Italy, where they remain. First restored in 1043 when it became a Byzantine basilica, the church was again restored and given a vaulted ceiling and belfry by Tzar Nicholas 1 of Russia in the 19th century.

Another delicious lunch was served at the restaurant overlooking the picturesque bay at Cayagzi (Stream Mouth), once an important port for the shipping of grain, and in Roman times know as Andriake. Dotted around the hills were more tombs.

We boarded the boat that took us to Kekova Island at a the little village of Ucagiz
(Three Mouths), a delightful place to spend time and just chill! Dotted along the coastline are submerged saddleback tombs and perched on the hill at the nearby village of Kale (Simena in Roman times) is a castle built in 1440. Unfortunately the wind had come up and the surface of the turquoise sea was very ruffled so it was not easy to see the artefacts lying on the ocean floor when we puttered along the 7km long Kikova Island, artefacts from the city submerged by an earthquake in the 2nd century AD. However we caught glimpses of urns when the part of the deck was opened to reveal a glass section of the hull.

The temperature while we were in Antalya hovering around 25-28 degrees, we enjoyed a swim in a sheltered bay before the boat docked. The water was gloriously warm and crystal clear, the colour a sublime blue.

It was a long but pleasant drive back to the hotel which we reached at 6.30 and a superb day was brought to a close by a convivial evening over another mouthwatering meal at the hotel – Rob and Charmaine generously supplying the accompanying bottles of wine.

Day 5 Antalya: Sunday 3 October - Free day

Bubbly Zeynep picked us up from the vast and modern Antalya Otogar - bus depot - and dropped us off at the Mediterra Art Hotel in the old Roman-Ottoman part of the city, Kaleici. Along the way she pointed out landmarks and the golden statues on the circles advertising the forthcoming (International?) film festival. There was a bit of a mix up with bookings and all but the “thriples” - the three of us sharing a room, a name coined by Azzu- were accommodated in a hotel around the corner. The others were grateful to move out of these very small rooms and into baronial quarters in the Mediterra for the next two nights – the fancy suites making up for the discomfort of the first night!

Accommodation sorted we ambled down to the picturesque Roman harbour and on up to the Fluted Minaret dating from the 13th century and presently undergoing renovation. The clock tower beside it was built in 1244 and marked the upper limit of the Old Town. Antalya is charming – a bustling little city where ancient and modern are juxtaposed. Following the tramway we re-entered the Old Town via Hadrian's Gate, built in honour of Emperor Hadrian's visit in Ad 130 and until the 1950s buried within a Selcuk city wall. How many other ancient structures are hidden in a similar manner? Below the perspex walkway lies the ancient Roman pathway between the arches, several feet lower than the level of the street and deeply rutted by chariot wheels.

Antalya's history dates back to the Palaeolithic period, artefacts from this era having been found in the Karain Cave in the precincts of the city. The city itself was founded by Attalus ll of Pergamum in the 1st century BC, but like many of Turkey's cities, has been through the hands of the Romans, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans. After WW1 Italy was given the city by the Allies when the Ottoman Empire was carved up, but Ataturk's armies took it back before 1921.


Night or day, the streets of the Old Town are vibrant, a feast for the senses. Through gateways one glimpses abundantly green gardens – havens for conversing over a cup of apple tea or just enjoying the peace. Newly renovated grand old houses stand side by side with those whose bulging upper rooms are propped up with poles and protective fencing. And all over there are shops selling carpets, curios, clothing and other Turkish Delights.

In the early afternoon we caught the tram to the archaeological museum where we gazed in wonderment at the great marble statues, many of which were brought in from excavations at Perge in the 1970s, as well as from Aspendos. The collection includes representations of 16 gods. The displays of artefacts dating from the Stone Age to more recent eras gave us deeper insight into the layers upon layers of history of the land that is modern day Turkey. Two hours in the museum was too much for some of us, not enough for others!

Our reservation at the hamam around the corner was for 5.30 -7pm. After sweating it out in a side room for more than an hour, wondering why we were being ignored while later arrivals were getting the full treatment we decided to pack it in and leave and ask for our money to be refunded. The staff were most apologetic and we realised that there must have been a lack of communication between the manager and the ladies working in the women's section. A pity, as we had all so looked forward to the experience.

Dinner alongside the pool at the hotel was a scrumptious 3-course affair after which, satisfyingly tired and replete we retired!