Priene, Miletus, Didyma

From Kusadasi we drove to the South Aegean region to see ruins at Priene--the Temple of Athena and a Greco-Roman theatre. It was a bit of a hike up to the theatre but worth it, as usual. From Priene, we visited Miletus, birthplace and/or home of some of Turkey's ancient scientists and architects. Finally, we went to Didyma and saw the Temple of Apollo after a lucn of mezzes and roasted fish. The Temple of Apollo, right in the middle of town, is gigantic. Originally it had 122 columns, five less than the Temple of Artemis that is a World Heritage site.

Parmukkale and Afrodisias

Muzo, our bus driver, picked us up here at our Kusadasi hotel at 7 o'clock this morning. He drove us to Parmakkale, about 3.5 hours away. When we arrived, he dropped us off at a spot that was formerly a graveyard for Roman citizens--an area filed with empty sarcophagi. Also, we saw a tumulus reminiscent of grave mounds that I saw a few years ago when I visited South Korea. After a 1.5-hour hike, we came to the travertine flats and healing waters of Parmakkale, once the ancient Roman city of Hieropolis. I stepped into one of the upper pools, but wasn't as adventurous as some of our group members who waded through several tiers. In the healing waters tourists were swimming over ancient columns.

At 12:30 we boarded the bus and drove until 3 o'clock to reach Afrodisias. By that time, we were famished and tired. Turkey is European in eating habits. Lunch is never served before 2 o'clock, and it's taboo to eat dinner much before the sun goes down. We enjoyed a light lunch of fresh ekmek (bread), salata, and either chicken on skewers or a mushroom and cheese dish, with choice of yogurt and honey or watermelon for dessert.

Afrodisias, curently under excavation, was the capital of the Roman province of Caria by the end of the 3rd century AD with a popultion of 15,000 at its peak. We sat in the stadium, saw the remains of the gigntic Temple to Aphrodite, the bouleterion (council house), and the sebasteion (originally a temple to certain Roman emperors). We also saw wonderfully preservged freizes in the museum at Afrodisias. We were fascinated as we watched Turkish anthropologists with New York University graduate students and various laborers who were carefully working in two areas.

The weather is not as hot as it was a few days ago, thank goodness. We've had a breeze most of today, too. We've been on the go so much that we have not had an opportunity to even take photos of the lovely Aegean Sea.

Ephesus

To enter ancient Ephesus, one had to be able to touch both columns of Hercules. The library was everything we thought it would be. I think it gave us chills to walk the agora, turn the corner, and finally see the library. Evidence of the double walls to protect scrolls from moisture is still visible. I initiated the visit to the terrace houses that most tourists bypass. When one faces the library, the houses are on the hill to the left. The Fulbrighters thought seeing the excavation in progress was the best part of Ephesus. The mosaics on the floors of the ancient Roman houses were unbelievably beautiful. Many walls were tiled with marble. Houses had running water, including hot water, and sewage. We assume that many Roman senators would have lived in the terrace houses.

Dalyan to Kusadasi

Yeterday our minibus driver drove us from Fethiye to Daylan where we boarded a water shuttle to Iztuzu Beach. Along the river we saw the ancient ruins f Kaunos that date from the 9th c. BC--temples carved into the rocks. We could only look from the river and not actually hike up to see them. The highlight of the day, if one could call it that, was the trip to Sultaniye for the mud bath and hot springs. Dustin Hoffman's pictured was plastered on two bulletin boards attesting to his trip to the mud bath. About half of the Fulbrighters jumped into the mud pond, but it turned out to be less pleasant than they'd anticipated. They were, however, good sports about the experience.

Friday, July 10 - Saturday, July 11

Phaselis, 56 km from Antalya, a Lycian port city under the protection of Alexander the Great in 333 BC, was our first stop on Friday. We saw ruins in the national park and contemporary sailboats framed by mountains in the cove.

Demre, the location of the Byzantine Church of St. Nicholas, famous for its ancient frescoes, was our second stop. It was crowded and hot as Hades and loaded with Russian tourists, and we could hardly wait to get out of there! They love St. Nicholas, had to have pictures made next to his statue, and pushed everyone out of their paths to the souvenir stands. We were there a grand total of 20 minutes!

Our third stop was on the Mediterranean for a boat ride. Fabulous afternoon for all, including those of us who didn't jump into the salty sea! The boat owner and a teen prepared lunch while the younger Fulbright scholars swam. The highlight was not the pottery shards that we could see through the clear water; rather, it was the Turkish ice cream man who pulled up beside us in his little speedboat and ripped us off with ice cream bars at five lire each! At 5 o'clock in the afternoon with the temperature soaring above 100 degrees (116 degrees on our bus in the parking lot), we gladly gave him our money for frozen ice cream bars.

Kalkan's Happy Hotel or Harpy Hotel--both names appeared on various brochures--was a tiny boutique hotel for tourists where we stayed overnight. Set on a bay, Kalkan is a charming town with miraculous views, but no wireless access! We have to remain connected. Selim, our Fulbright coordinator, says he has vacationed there with his family.

This morning, Saturday, we made stops at Patara, Latoon, and Santos. We saw the harpy--mythological bird with female head who distracted sailors to the disastrous rocky coastline--incised among the rocky ruins. Latoon with its temples to Lato (mother of twins born to Zeus), Apollo, and Artemis was the most interesting of the sites. Apollo's temple is on the left, the one to Artemis is in the middle, and their mother's (Leto) on the far right (in sepia-toned photo). According to folklore, Hera was a bit miffed with Leto (mistress to Zeus) when the twins were born and not only banished her, but also turned her into a frog.

Lunch was outside at Kayip Cennet (Hidden Paradise),a restaurant in a tiny town called Saklikent where tourists, especially Germans, go for white water rafting. The baked trout, locally raised, was to die for! Martha, sitting beside me, even ate the eyeballs on a dare! No kidding! Martha is the one who was not about to let that pesky pigeon that landed on our outdoor table in Ankara touch her food. She picked it up by its ankles and threw if off the table! In my memory, Martha will always be the bird lady! Or, maybe I'll think of her as the fish-eye eating lady! She's a trip--good sense of humor and extremely intelligent!

Fethiye, another port city, is where we're spening tonight in a quaint hotel overlooking the harbor. It's called ATAPARK. I guess that's a play on words, since we see Ataturk's statue or bust everywhere. Ataturk, of couse, is the George Washington of Turkey.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we leave for a loooooong ride up to Kusadasi. I hope Baki continues to drive our minibus. He is skilled and knows how to handle that vehicle in every situation. Some of these roads are barely wide enough for the bus, let alone another vehice heading towards us. We will stay at Kusadasi for four nights and take day trips.

Marmara Antalya Hotel, Antalya, Turkiye

Yes, that's the calm Mediterranean in the background. Yes, the dining area actually has a bed in it. Yesterday morning at breakfast we saw a boy asleep in that very bed!

Free Day in Antalya on the Mediterranean Coast

Gunaydin! Merhaba! Turkey is a land of contrasts as the pictures show. The Taurus mountains are close to the Mediterranean. We're here in the resort town of Antalya through tonight, July 9, 2009. This is the most luxurious place in which we've stayed.

I twisted my ankle and skinned my right knee yesterday on the brutal descent along a rocky trail from Termessos, an ancient Anatolian ruin situated about 3,000 feet above sea level and 34 km inland from Antalya. All one needs to do is to see the terrain to understand how the ancient Termessians successfully fought off Alexander the Great in 333 BC! They certainly couldn't grow crops, but the fierce Termessians robbed unsuspecting caravans of food and anything else they wanted!

When they told us this was a rock beach at Antalya, I immediately pictured Etretat on the French coast where sunbathers lounge on pebbles the size of grapes. Not so in Antalya! At the back of this luxurious hotel, the Marmara Antayla, one jumps into the Med from a manmade patio platform situated between giant rock formations. Some of our Fulbright members have already been swimming in the salty Med, but I didn't even bring a bathing suit! There is also a gorgeous outdoor pool. The pool would be tempting in the early morning if I had a bathing suit.

The contasts in terrain, living conditions, food, and degrees of civility are marked. Watching peasant women dressed in salvar (baggy pants) and headscarves toil in the Anatolia fields is quite the opposite of watching the upper middle class play tennis and luxuriate in poolside amenities. And television, even if I don't understand all of the spoken Turkish, is not that much different from some of the ridiculous American sitcoms! Arabesque music is played everywhere.

Well, I guess I'll dress and drag myself to the magnificent array of Turkish breakfast foods awaiting us in the sixth-floor dining area overlooking the outdoor pool. We'll never stay at another hotel in Turkey as grand as this! C'est la vie! Oops! French is not spoken here. Cay serviyorum! (I love tea!) Ekmek serviyorum! (I love bread!) The language is agglutinative, meaning that a lot of information is added at the end of words and sentences. Cay, the word for tea, it's pronounced like chai. Cay, lutfen simply means tea, please.