Antalya

We woke up this morning to the sound of the call to prayer emanating from the loudspeakers on the local mosque. There was still ice from the hail storm on the ground but it quickly melted and the day remained sunny and clear.

Turkey is definitely a multi-cultural experience. Our first stop of the day was Perge, the site of ruins of a town and marketplace complex that was created by the Greeks and expanded by the Romans. St. Paul delivered one of his first sermons here and gladiator fights were held during the late Roman period.








Then it was on to Aspendos where we explored the ruins of a beautifully preserved 12,000 seat Roman amphitheater. The theater is still in use and annually hosts an Opera and Ballet Festival each summer. The nearby aqueduct was built around AD 100 and incorporated a 1 km siphon system.










Lunch was in a peaceful waterfall park where we had "street food" made by local residents at that site. A large "pancake" is rolled out, filled with a cheese and spinach mixture, cooked on a flat metal surface, rolled and served wrapped in paper. Yum!









Tomorrow we will visit the Antalya Antiquities Museum and then ride the bus to Fethiye on the Lycian coast where we will live aboard small boats called gulets for several days. We will probably not have internet access while on the boat so this narrative will resume the next chance we have.