ANTALYA: NOW AND THEN

Early this morning we walked around the Old Castle area of Antalya which is filled with charming restored Ottoman residences, lots of walled courtyards and a shopper's paradise of smart, hip shops.  Many of the narrow, winding streets lead  down to the harbor from which one can sail out into the Mediterranean.  In the morning quiet, the area's charm was palpable and hard to resist.

However, we had other places to go and other sights to see.  Our first visit took us north of the city to a national park and to the ruins of Termessos, a mountainside walled city built by a group of people known as Pisidians and the only city to successfully defend itself against Alexander the Great's military forces.  Our intrepid group of climbers soon discovered why: Termessos  is WAY up there in the Taurus Mountains, WAY, WAY up there!

The scramble to the upper city walls and beyond, however, was well worth the effort.  We were able to discern, among the heaps of fallen stone blocks, the Agora (market place), the Gymnasium (school) and -- most impressively -- the Amphitheater with it incredible view of the mountain peak across the valley.

Lunch nearby the park was followed by a late afternoon visit to the ruins of Perge, a Greek and Roman port city that once linked a branch of the overland Silk Road to the ships trafficking the Mediterranean.  The size of the baths, the agora and the city's Main Street, the latter two lined with shop after shop, was startling evidence of the city's importance as a commercial center.  The ongoing archeological work of discovery and  restoration should take many more decades of dedicated effort to achieve!

Our final adventure of the day took six women in the group (including Heidi) and Lee off to experience a Turkish Bath.  All emerged scrubbed, massaged and well oiled, looking ten years younger with skin as smooth as --well, you can imagine!

After all, when in Turkey, do as the Turks do!