Destination #6: Kas
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| Scenic coastal views along the highway into Kas. Can we live here? |
After "Chilling Out" in rural Kayakoy, our next stop was
the laidback seaside resort of Kas. We
were told to expect a mix of expats and local “funky” Turks so it was no surprise that some of our restaurant owners lived up to
this reputation. GS was served “magic”
mushrooms – perhaps she had on her hippy era gear that day? Anyway, they were magic in name only; just the chef adding an odd touch of humour to his menu...
The village has no beach but the waters are deep and
warm, so most waterside hotels and restaurants have decks. Our pansion was further up the hill, compensating
for lack of waterfront, with great views over the bay.
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| View from our balcony |
We were disappointed not to be doing an overnight
gulet trip (the seasons had changed and there was a definite chill in the air), so after thoroughly exploring Kas and its silver shops, we embarked on a
day trip by tourist boat . How nice not to
be making any responsible sailing decisions!
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| Anchored in the small but ancient boat harbour, Kekova Island |
Our boat left from the tiny port of Ucagiz and motored
over to Kekova Adasi where we anchored (with
our Cap’n monitoring maritime procedures) in a small cove for a swim (no-one did) or a
chance to explore the ruins. From here
we sailed over “the sunken city”, now a fiercely protected archaeological site
(no scuba diving allowed, thanks) and on to stare into the gloom of a pirate’s
cave (Well, it sounds good doesn’t it?).
Swell from the ocean made our stop here short and we beetled off to find
a remote cove (we know there is no such thing!) for lunch and another
swim.
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| Pirate caves, |
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| blue water, sunken cities |
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and someone else cooking lunch.
What else could a girl ask for? |
On our way back, the boat docked in the quaint town of
Kalekoy accessible by motorboat. Here we
could explore ruins of ancient Simena, a Byzantine castle (1440), a small
theatre and several sarcophagi & Lycian tombs, some sunken probably due to
earthquake activity. GS sent the Cap'n to take photos as she was a little worse for wear - the obligatory tour flu had taken a firm hold...
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| Kalekoy (ancient Simena) & Byzantine Fort (1440) |
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| Very old and new...what scenery! |
Our final stop was for a swim in waters shared with
turtles (we saw at least 3 mooching about for their lunch quite near the boat - all sadly camera shy)
before heading back to Kas to prepare for the bus trip ahead, our longest ride of the
tour.
The next day we took off on a 3.5 hours by dolmus
to Antalya, then a further 5.5 hours (thankfully by private bus) to Konya. Not a good day to be suffering the worst
effects of this group-shared flu, still,
a stop at Aspendos to see the magnificent Roman amphitheatre (162 AD) built
during the time of Marcus Aurelius, would break the day admirably. Unlike most theatres we had seen so far, this
one is enclosed by a stage building.
Our
lunch hosts farmed in and around the remains of a nearby aqueduct that also dates
from 100 AD. We couldn’t resist taking
photos of their turkeys in Turkey, as one must.
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| Large Roman theatre under renovation in Aspendos |
Fact File: Father
Christmas. Our dolmus stopped briefly in the
little town of Demre. In Roman times, it
was called Myra (name derived from myrrh that was grown there). One of its
famous citizens (in the 4th c) was a bishop, later to become Saint,
Nicholas. He is said to have given gifts
(anonymously) of coins to young village girls providing a dowry thus enabling
them to marry. The legend of course grew
and now Noel Baba (in Turkish) is the patron saint of virgins, sailors,
children, pawnbrokers, Russia, bakers, brewers and brides (& possibly lots more!). It appears our current image of St Nick as a
jolly old fellow in red is a relatively recent concept, perhaps dating from the 1930's.
The icon above is a 13th c depiction of Saint Nicholas from St Catherine's Monastery in Egypt (from Wiki)
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