Ephesus

After a four hour drive from our night in a family owned hotel in Pamukkale we arrived  at Ephesus excited and with high expectations and it didnt let us down.  Parts of the city ( founded 11th century BC) that have been excavated and restored so well it was easy to take yourself back in time, particularly during the roman era ( Ephesus became roman in 133 BC.) It took us three hours to walk from top to bottom along roman streets paved with marble passing shops, bath houses, latrines, terraced houses and various temples , culminating at the great theatre which could hold up to 25000 spectators.  Elton John and Pavarotti have performed here. A hot and tiring day but well worth the pain of swollen feet and tight skin on lower legs.
Our night in the hotel at Selcuk was entertaining as a turkish wedding was being held, complete with fire works, a 6 tier wedding cake which stood about a metre and a half high, turkish wedding dance where money was thrown at the newlyweds and very loud music till midnight. All this was observed from our room terraces that overlooked the venue by the pool. We missed out on some wedding cake though!!!!

Pamukkale

Firstly we have missed blogging the last few days due to very poor wifi connections so we are updating retrospectively now we are back in Istanbul. Secondly, we notice some of the blogs are out of order because of problems with wifi, sometimes going and sometimes not. (Quite frustrating for us)
At Pamukkale we visited the unique white terraces that flow down the mountain making it look like snow.
This natural pnenomenon is created by mineral rich thermal waters (calcite) that flows down the mountain side forming a myriad of pools and terraces which we were able to walk barefoot on (hard on Maries soft feet) and very slippery. The bigger pools you could bath in with the hoards of other tourists. By the way, according to our lovely tourguide Eskander, we are travelers not tourists as we are interested in the culture , history and food rather than having our selfie sticks out all the time!!!!!
Adjacent to the terraces are the ruins of ancient Hierapolis which were founded in 190BC. The original bath houses had been converted into what is now an excellent archeology museum which house items dating back 3200 BC Well worth the visit. Then we walked up to the roman theatre to watch the sun set which wasnt as spectacular as we anticipated due to  cloud cover. This theatre could seat over 12000 people and was in remarkable condition.

Pics from Fethiye

Fethiye

After leaving Kas we visited Xanthos, once the capital city of the Lycian federation . It was once a city of 50000 people in the 6th century and at least twice when attacked by enemy forces, the citys population committed mass suicide and burnt the city . The usual roman theatre and bath houses can be seen. Incredible examples of early terracotta plumbing still remain. Then it was back over the Taurus mountains. A visit to a rug cooperative was fasinating. We saw all the wool and silk preparations and dying that is needed to waeve a carpet the traditional turkish way. These carpets were beautiful but very very expensive.  Then on to the greek ghost town of Kayakoy.  It was a thriving township with a population of 3500 until 1924 when Ataturk instituted the exchange program with greece, where greek and turkish populations were repatriated to  county of origin. Kayakoy became a ghost town and was further destroyed by an earthquake. We walked  up and down pathways through the village in 36degree heat. This was the village where some scences from the movie  the water deviner  were shot. Also the inspiration for Louis de Bernieres novel Birds without wings. A swimming pool in a nearby resturant was welcome relief after the walk. We spent the night at seaside town of Fethiye. Never seen so many tour gulets (turkish sailing boats) touting for business.

Kas/kekova lsland

Our day started with a bus trip through some rugged country side and some magnicent scenery with huge areas of tunnel houses used for mainly growing tomatoes. They manage to grow 3 crops a year with dirt bought in for the plants as it is mainly rock surface. We arrived at the sea side town of Simena
and boarded our boat for a day of cruising and swimming. We were treated to a beautiful lunch on board the boat which everyone enjoyed because we had worked up an appetite swimming in beautiful bays in the lovely warm turquoise Mediterranean sea. We even had turtles for company. And a surprise visit from the icecream man in a boat. He had a chest freezer on his dingy and was going round all the boats anchored in the bays. We also  visited the partly sunken city of Dolchriste that was damaged by earthquake in the 2nd century and partly covered with water as the sea levels rose following the quake.

Kas

From Saint Nicolas town  we had anther hours drive to the  fantastic sea side town of Kas (pronounced karsh), with is Turquoise blue waters (due to limestone in the local rock) .
This tourist town of 33, 000 just seems to come alive after dark with all shops open till midnight.after a meal we wander back up to our hotel along cobbled streets passing whitewashed houses covered in  bougainvilleas.
We are all looking forward to our day tomorrow on the water ..

Antalya- Phaselis - Kas

After arriving in Antalya we have time for a swim in the hotel pool before going on  an evening walk around the old town  and  enjoying another Turkish dinner.
  Today we depart Antalya and travel along the coast to the Lycian city of  Phaselis. This ancient port was built by the Rhodians in 700 BC.
The port and city was an important trading centre between Greece, Asia and Egypt. It came under Roman rule arround 160 BC until the 3rd centry AD when its trade declined due to the threat by Pirates.
Remains of the 23 mtr wide main street  turkish bath house, theatre and the Hadrian waterway can still be seen today.
It is nice to get back on the bus again with temp arround  42 deg.After another one hour ride we arrive in the town of Myra, the home town of Saint Nicolas the patron Saint of children and sailers .We visited a loverly church built in his memory as a bishop in the 4th centry.