DAY 11 - 4 Ladies and a Little Gentleman

March 30 - Antalya - city by the Mediterranean Turkish Riviera

Bus Station in Denizli - we saw plenty of these in Turkey!

We took an early bus from Denizli to Antalya - about 6 hours and enjoyed Turkish luxury, again.  There are usually two hosts on these buses, who never sit down.  They serve juice and other drinks twice, snacks and water throughout the journey.  They are very helpful, but don't know English.  It's always interesting trying to figure out where we are and when to get off. 



 Antalya is Turkey's biggest international seaport and the 4th most visited city in the world by international visitors.  It's thought to have roots beginning in the 3rd century BC, with Christianity spreading after the 2nd century AD.  Paul of Tarsus visited the city as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.

We got confused as to where our couch surfing host was to meet us.  We thought it was at this HUGE mall, but she thought it was at a mini-market.

Shopping mall in Antalya - lots of people on a Saturday.

We were rescued by Mary, an American from Oregon (a soon-to-be CS host), and Grace, a CS from China.  They had driven from Kas, about 3 hours away, to also stay with our host, Alla, from Russia and to take us to our next town.


Alla put together a quick dinner, with the help of Grace, making a Mediterranean Salad.  all was dee-lish!

Russian soup - Borsch (YUM!), Mediterranean Salad, and Kabak

 Grace had just returned from staying three months in Greece.  She was couch surfing and traveling by herself.  When asked where she was going next, she said, "I live day to day and wait for the wind to take me."  Interesting lady - 50 years old, but looking and acting as if she were 25.
Alla and Mary decided we needed a Saturday night out on the town, so they took us to Old Antalya, the small historic section called Kaleiçi (KAH-leh-ee-chee) at the center of the  modern city.  Its history is very interesting.  First it was Roman, then Byzantine, then Seljuk Turkish,and finally the Ottoman Turkish town.
 
The huge, modern city of Antalya didn't really start to appear until after World War II. Until then, Kaleiçi was Antalya, with its massive stone walls, meandering streets, and picturesque old houses built so close they often overshadow the narrow lanes.

Hasırcı Sokak with the Broken Miniaret

The landmark stone tower at Kalekapisi

 

Hadrian's Gate- built in the honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the year 130.

First, alla dressed us all up in hats (she had many of them) - even Rich.  Unfortunately, I don't have the picture of all of us posed.  I will have to get it from Alla.  but we had a great evening touring Kaleici.  And it was a beautiful evening with very little tourists.

Grace from China, Alla from Russia, and me from Idaho.

Mary seemed to know everyone, but she did used to live here before moving to Kas.

The Dome Palace all lit up

Hand-Made Soap - so fun!

 It was very hard to choose which soap I wanted so I just took a picture of them all.  They were so beautiful I wanted to eat them all.

Beautiful hand-painted rocks by one of Mary's friends

This was Rich's favorite

This was my favorite rock!

This was one heck of an ice cream trick - but it sure was good!

WC - Rich is wondering which bathroom to go into.

A special fruit that is natural...mmmm!

 We went into a restaurant that used to be an old old building.  Here is the history.  The owner took us downstairs which was really interesting, especially the wine cellar with all of the cobwebs.  Not sure how old, but must be VERY old!

We had such a wonderful evening - one never to forget! Thank you NEW friends!