Antalya, Türkiye! to 9/24/25

 

Overland by bus, through the Taurus Mountains, we traveled to Antalya and the Mediterranean Sea.  It was a long trip, but not odious.  We stopped for breaks several times, including for lunch in Konya, and to tour the ancient city of Aspendos on the way to our hotel.  I enjoyed the drive on the winding road -- the scenery was riveting.

We spent three nights in Antalya, once an old fishing village and now a sprawling seaside resort, it combines unspoiled beaches and modern mid-rise condos with a walled Old Town.  2000 years of history ... which makes our California state pretty much a baby.  Because of our Aspendos visit, we arrived 8/ish to our hotel.

I wanted to show you a photo of our restaurant (Lok Mahane) in Konya, because Okra soup was offered.  Many of us tried it, some said, NO, okra being a slimy veggie.  But look at the pic below.  At left our guide, Ulaş, is standing beside strings of baby okra, which was one of several large bunches!  This was the basis of their okra soup, and it was delicious!

Anyhoot, back to Antalya ....

where bananas grow,

and Kitty cats sleep everywhere/anywhere!

You know I love a city full of flowers and Antalya checked that box.  Bougainvillea vines in red and pink and white climbed to the tops of buildings.  A pic of Jimmy standing beside someone's private wall of planted posies was too good to pass up.

 

Hidirlik tower – Antalya’s ancient fortress,

built in the 2nd century on Antalya city walls

Ulaş took us on a walkabout of Old Town -- Kaleici, which translates to "within the city walls."  Narrow cobblestone alleys lined with cafes or restaurants, hotels and shops make it a fun place to explore.  Just watch your step!  (How many times did we hear those words on this trip, no pun intended!)

We got to see the bagel man walking around -- showing off, in my opinion.  Sort of gives you a headache, yes?  He didn't want his photo taken, unless you showed him a dollar or two, but I snuck this one in (don't tell him).

Above is Hadrian's Gate, "a triumphal arch built in the name of the Roman emperor who visited Antalya in 130 AD.  Chariot wheel ruts are still visible in the cobblestones of the central arch.  We are seeing so much history.

This was a short, but neat stop -- the Lower Düden Waterfall, where the Düden River drops 131 ft into the Mediterranean Sea. The waterfall is surrounded by Düden Park, open to the public around the clock and free of charge.  Some call this Alexander Falls, after Alexander the Great.

Lots of day-tripper boats come to see the falls from the sea. We watched one guy in a jet ski zoom straight into the falls at left, probably with a selfie stick, and then zoom out again.  (The world is full of them.)  Beautiful falls and the sea is a wonderful turquoise-blue color.

Haha, the guard dog, which prefers lying on the cool tiles in front of Tuvana Hotel's reception desk!  It didn't move much at all -- till nighttime, and then it apparently patroled the alley, chasing away any pirates or bad guys.  We don't see many dogs.

Here's a plus:  We had our sweaty clothes washed, dried and folded for $30 -- trust me, it was a bargain!

Oops!  We invaded this couple's bridal photos.  The alley served our Tuvana Hotel, and the door to our room is at left just past the couple.  We enjoyed our stay in this city of over a million people, but realized early on that it's a young folks city, a sometimes noisy place to party and play.  Jimmy and I were glad to visit, but we'll be happy to climb aboard our gulet (boat) when the time comes.

Love Meadow and more! To 9/23/25

Today is Wednesday, Sept 24th, and we're on the bus heading from Antalya to Fethiye, Turkey, where we'll board our private Turkish gulet (boat) and stay aboard for four nights.  Looking forward to this journey on the sea along the Mediterranean coast.

The bad news is when I was downloading photos from the past few days onto the computer, I got an "ERROR" message and both my photos AND the link to post photos disappeared.  Into some other world.  And they are gone, all the way to 2021. (I have backup at home) I've been using this system and this computer for ten years,  I've known for quite a while it wasn't going to last, this antiquated system.  This will probably be my last post for a while.  When I get home in October, I'll have to find an entire new way to show you how we go Out and About.  For now, these phone pics from our last days will have to do.

Still in Cappadocia, we continued touring the tufa hoodoos and crazy formations.  Our guide said he'd take us to see Love Meadow, well, all right.  When we saw this landscape below, we understood why it's called Love Meadow.   

Most of us are gathered here for a group photo,

but we're missing a couple strays.

A quick stop for a fresh-squeezed pomegranate/orange drink.

  

A few pics from our visit to Ozkonak, one of the remarkable underground cities in this area.  These multi-leveled complexes were built as uniquely defensible communities -- all had heavy millstones for doors that could be rolled in place to seal off the outside world.  Look at Ulaş and Andrew trying to move one!

Air vent.

This pot was so large, they believed it was made INSIDE the underground village!

I could only go so deep through the narrow and short passages before feeling claustrophobic and returning to the surface.  Kinda creepy.

My days are probably mixed up, but I wanted to show you what we've been doing.  Here we added a few stitches to squares for a quilt -- visiting a woman's sewing co-op helped out by OAT.

This was a fun stop -- experiencing "A day in the Life" of a rural village.  We met Suat and Emel in Karacasar at their farm, met the family and their animals, picked our tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and enjoyed them for lunch, along with a tortilla-like flat bread filled with a veggie-type paste.

Emel making the tortilla pastry.

Suat cooking each one on the outside fire.

 

Their daughter-in-law had the cutest three-month-old baby!  Here we gather together after our lunch.  Suat and Emel were in their early 60's, had eight grown children (seven girls, one boy) and had such a great story about how they got together to marry.  The son and his wife and baby live on the farm, too.

One evening we attended a Whirling Dervish show, complete with Sufi music.  I found it soothing and I was moved by the show.  Jimmy not so much.  We stopped at the famous literary and spiritual leader, Rumi's, grave and museum. 

We stopped at the ancient site of Aspendos, with roots dating back to the Hittite Empire (800 BC). Such an impressive site -- love being a part of all this antiquity.  (below)

The Aspendos Theater is the best-preserved Roman theater of the ancient world.  Built in the 2nd Century AD during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the theater once hosted attractions for more than 10,000 people!  It still hosts plays and operas today.  Bring your own seat cushion, that marble is hard!

Nice picture!

I climbed to the level where the big white "box" is.  Jimmy is down on the stage.

Once in Antalya, we registered at Tuvana Hotel in Old Town, another "boutique" hotel, not far from the sea.  We were privileged to have an hour's talk by local archeologist, Edip Ozgur, who stands behind me in the white shirt for a group photo.  Believe me, we were all happy we attended his "lecture."

We took photos at Hadrian's Gate and of the beautiful azure sea at Antalya, and more.  Perge.  Many pictures. So much I'm leaving out, so many pictures and sites.  The Taurus Mtns we crossed and are now crossing to get to our destination. 

We had a wonderful home-hosted dinner with the family, above, at their apartment in Antalya.  It'd tell you their names, but, no surprise, I couldn't quite catch them (or spell them).  Their two girls, ages six and eight, reminded me of our own eight-year-old granddaughter, Evie.

Soon we'll be at our gulet, and no internet, which is why I'm hurrying to post this.  If I can post again, I will, but it'll be different.

ADDENDUM:  JUST NOW:  The photos and link are back!!!  NO MORE ERROR message.  But, I'll post this anyway, as we near our boat.  So, see you later, alligator!  Love to all.

Göreme! 9/18/25

 

I caught the sun peeking through the clouds at breakfast before we left Istanbul and flew to Kayseri in the Cappadocia region.  One of my favorite things about Istanbul was watching all the river traffic, boats of every size and description plying the waterways, every minute of every day.

We had a short, smooth flight in late morning, only an hour-plus, and Turkish Air still managed to serve us drinks and a sandwich!

Photo from the bus on our way to our hotel, which had been "upgraded" to a fancy new Marriot, rather than a cozy ol' cave.  But, hey, what can you do?  At least we had lots of plug outlets at this one, though we never did figure out how to turn on the heat.

Before we left home, we looked on the map of Turkey for Cappadocia, but ixnay, no luck.  Turns out that Cappadocia isn't a town or city, it's a semi-arid region in central Turkey (Anatolia).  Generally our elevation was about the same as home, a bit more, around 3400', and the climate was vastly different than Istanbul.  The temp the next morning was 44° F.  Definite jacket weather.

Our first look at the caves.

Jimmy in front of the nunnery.

Göreme Open Air Museum is filled with rock-cut churches and Byzantine frescoes from the 10th to 12th centuries.  People lived and worshiped in these cave homes!  Oh my goodness!  We entered into several of the churches and chapels, gaped at the frescoes and came away in awe of what humans can do.  Totally amazing.  No photos were allowed in the churches.  Check out the art work in the photo above.

Yup, we'd go up there.

We could take pics in the other cave homes, but there isn't much to see.  It's crazy to think of an entire village of people living here.  They had amenities, such as wine and oil presses, stables, cellars, storage rooms, and chapels.  Also, a monastery and a nunnery.

Göreme and Cappadocia National Park was on the World Heritage list as a natural and cultural asset from Dec 6, 1985 to Oct 22, 2019, but why it was removed is beyond me.

Our group of 12 scattered as our paces directed.

I'm sure some of our people are in this pic.

Okay, here you go.  To prove it can be done, this is a cave coffee shop!

If you see that white shirt in the middle of the photo, then you will see where I climbed (up to and down from, treacherous) to look inside.  You might be able to discern a fresco above the white shirt guy's head.  I forget which church this was.

Wind and rain shaped the soft volcanic rock (tufa) into an other-worldly landscape.  But think about it.  The caves offered a place to live, as well as protection from weather and invaders.  This is truly a natural wonderland.

Above is the Dark Church, which we didn't enter (extra charge and not enough time).

Those dark clouds didn't bode well for us, as we had reservations to fly in a hot air balloon tomorrow.  We didn't favor that wind, either.  [spoiler alert:  too windy to fly]

Well, we left Göreme, still shaking our heads, and on the bus to lunch I caught this shot.  Look closely and you'll spot a balcony.  Yes, some folks remain in these cave homes.

Lunch time!

Ah, the pot.

Our guide advised us not to have Turkey's famous TESTI KEBAB (pottery kebab) anywhere else, 'cause that's what we'd have for lunch today.  We didn't know what it was.  Here I am wielding a cleaver, above, actually the back of a cleaver, to knock the top off the pottery.  It's a delicious lamb, garlic, peppers and tomatoes stew baked inside the vase-shaped clay pot.  The pot is then thrown away.  They also serve great bread in Turkey.

This was actually our first stop in the morning, overlooking the strange land.

What a day we had.  And there will be more tomorrow.