Turkey, Day 6

Our one and only trip East. Yes, you guessed it, another ancient city. This one is called Syedra and sits about 400m above see level, above the banana plantations that the region is known for.

Fairly small compared to what we have already seen but still sporting a colonnaded main street. It was very hot again and very hilly, so regular shade breaks were in order.

Main street Syedra

In addition to the usual, there was a cave with a spring in it, which fed 3 enormous cisterns. They weren't visible from the path but following the sound of water and scooting around the back, their true glory became evident. Each was about 25 metres long and 10 metres deep, quite spectacular.

On the path to the cisterns, we came across a tortoise. A fair size, about 9/10 inches long, he was seeking shade. Looking around, we came across two more empty shells of similar size. Such a shame.

A live tortoise

From Syedra we made for Alanya and its castle. Promising so much, we paid to go in a bit, half of which was closed to the public and which offered little more than a view over the beach below. 

Looking west from Alanya castle

There's quite a bit more to see over the rest of the hiilside, within the 6km wall but we didn't have time to check it out, as we had an 80 minute drive and I wanted to be back before sunset. It's bad enough driving in daylight, so at night it would be almost suicidal I reckon.

Dinner was another small affair, in little more than a kebab shop. As the guy spoke good English, Cath was able to explain what she wanted, so basically a cheese salad doner. Cheap as chips.

Turkey, Day 5

Back on the road towards Antalya. First stop today was at the Lower Duden Waterfall. This is a spectacular waterfall, where the Duden river cascades over a cliff edge into the Mediterranean Sea. It would be best observed from a boat, of which there were many but we still had a decent enough view from around the cliff a bit. Even sidewaysish on, it knocked spots off the Manavgat one. Catherine was impressed this time. Well worth a visit if in the area.

Duden Waterfall

If you get bored with water, look to the sky and spot aircraft, as it is directly under the flight path.

On the way to the falls we drove through a Vegas like area, with massive, lavish Hotel resorts all vying for best location and trying to outdo each other with glitz. Quite impressive. No shortage of cash has been spent on them.

From the falls, we drove inland to another ancient city, that of Perge. I'd seen they had a teatro and a stadion but hadn't realised the full extent of this massive site. The main colonnaded street is 400m long! There are remains of shops down both sides but most impressively, a water carrying trough runs the entire length. It also has side streets running off it. Where these occur, a bridge crosses the water channel. Brilliant. Around halfway up, there's another wide colonnaded street, leading to the gymnasium and baths. It's a huge site, akin to that at Pompeii and there is still lots not yet uncovered. It was another 35 degree day so we did have to take it slowly and once again Catherine really felt bad. It clouded over a bit though, which made things easier. 

Perge Main Street

Dinner was, as I suspected yesterday, pizza. 2 medium pizzas, a plate of chips and litre of soft drink for £6.75. We're not looking to skrimp but if Catherine can get something decent to eat, then it doesn't matter so much where we eat or how much we spend.