Scenic coastal views along the highway into Kas |
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?
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.
View from our balcony |
Anchored in the small but ancient boat harbour, Kekova Island |
Pirate caves, |
blue water, sunken cities |
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...
Kalekoy (ancient Simena) & Byzantine Fort (1440) |
Old and new...what scenery! |
The next day we could look forward to 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.
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.
This icon is a 13th c depiction of Saint Nicholas from St Catherine's Monastery in Egypt (from Wiki)
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.
This icon is a 13th c depiction of Saint Nicholas from St Catherine's Monastery in Egypt (from Wiki)
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