Antalya, Oct 9-10

İ made it to the Mediterranean! On Tuesday İ hopped a short flight slightly east and then south to the port city of Antalya, where İll be staying with some family of a friend of a Houston friend. They have an English-speaking daughter whos around my age, though she has been working crazy hours at her veterinary clinic so İ ended up having to depend largely on her mother, who understands only a little bit of English and speaks even less. İt was a challenge, to be sure, and on more than one occasion made me wish Id just been left to my own devices rather than feel like a burden. But it worked out in the end, as they were extraordinarily patient and hospitable with me and I really enjoyed my stay.

On the first day İ wandered around Kaleici, the old city by the old harbor and savored my first glimpse of the Mediterranean in the hot afternoon sun (seriously, why anyone would plan a vacation here in the middle of summer is beyond me -- youd be roasting the entire time). When İd had enough, I wandered into the local archaeological museum, which is truly wonderful and very complete, where İ passed a blissful few hours ruminating over the statues and artifacts and learning what would turn out to be very useful tidbits about the various civilizations -- Hittite, Hellenic (Greek), Classical (Roman), Selçuk, Byzantine (Middle Ages, Christian), Ottoman (Middle Ages, Muslim) -- that have left their imprint on these shores.

The next morning İ hopped a tour bus to visit the old sites of Perge, Aspendos, and Side... and İ remembered why İve been wanting to come to Turkey for the past 10 years! There is so much history, so much old life, here, you can hardly believe it. Perge, for example, a city that reached its peak during Roman times was actually established as early as 1500 BC, and saw the pass of 9 different civilizations before it was finally abandoned. All you have to do is close your eyes, quiet your mind and you can practically hear the passing, the bustle, the changing of hundreds of generations before you as they went to market, worshipped their gods, defended their cities and lived their lives. Its awe-inspiring and humbling. İ was also very lucky to end up with a small, really great tour group (including a guy who used to be a guide too, and so added to our guides stories) and we all got along fabulously. The last stop, Side, rewarded a 10-minute walk past interminable souvenir shops hawking gold, evil eyes and fake designer goods with an image straight out of myth and imagination: four pristine white marble columns, topped by an intricate frieze, literally at the foot of the ocean. Breathtaking!