DAY 12 -Does the Easter Bunny Even Come to Turkey?

March 31 - Easter Morning with 2 Americans + 1 Russian + 1 Chinese + 1 Turkish-American = FUN! FUN! FUN!

We started the day with a wonderful Russian breakfast that Alla fixed. She is quite the cook!

We began with porridge served with cream, whole wheat toast with a quail eggs and cheddar cheese on top. She had made a zucchini type salsa and a beautiful salad with avocados and cheese. Then we had braised chicken breasts. Everything was amazing! She brought out a tray of Russian sweets afterwards.

We went to the village of Gozleme and had tea at Ispanale, a little museum portraying Turkey 100 years ago. It was very interesting with tents that had wax-type figures with their authentic clothing and doing their chores of the day.

It was interesting to watch a man and a woman cleaning and polishing their pots. The woman sat like this for hours doing her work. They were shiny and beautiful afterwards!

The final product - beautiful pots!

Turkish Animals - these are for the grandkids to see!

This one was trying to hide

YUM YUM! Lambs for Easter Day!


Oops - don't go in there!

View from the point of the private museum land

Mary and Grace have a way with people and somehow we all got to go into the "no entry" place. We were given a tour of the grounds which lie on the most beautiful area around. The land had been in the family for a long time and the government wanted to take it from them and sell it to private companies to put hotels on it. So they poisoned the trees, but the family kept the land, rebuilt the vegetation and is trying hard to hold onto it by having a museum to share with the public.

Tea Time with Grace and Alla


Easter Excursion


Apartments similar to Alla's in the newer part of Antalya

Boats in the beautiful harbour

On to the Olympos area and site of the famous Chimaera Flame. Though a very ancient city, the early history of Olimpos is shrouded in mystery. We know that it was an important Lycian city by the 2nd century BC, and that the Olympians worshipped Hephaestos (Vul-can), the god of fire. No doubt this veneration sprang from reverence for the mysterious Chimaera, an eternal flame which stili springs from the earth not far from the city. Along with the other Lycian coastal cities, Olimpos went into a decline in the 1st century BC. With the coming of the Romans in the 1st century AD, things improved, but in the 3rd century AD pirate attacks brought impoverishment. in the Middle Ages the Venetians, Genoese and Rhodians built fortresses along the coast (bits of which still remain -see below), but by the 15th century Olimpos had been abandoned.

Mt. Olympos through the bus window

Follow the beach to the ruins of Olympos

In the distance is the city of Olympos. We were not able to go to it, unfortunately, but took a steep hike up to Chimaera Flames and were not disappointed.

992 - 993 - 994 LOTS of steep steps up to the top!

The Chimaera, a cluster of spontaneous flames which blaze from crevices on the rocky slopes of Mt Olimpos, is the stuff of legends. It's not difficult to see why ancient peoples attributed these extraordinary flames to the breath of a monster - part lion, part goat and part dragon. Even today, they have not been explained. In mythology, the Chimaera was the son of Typhon. Typhon was the fıerce and mon-strous son of Gaia, the earth goddess, who was so frightening that Zeus set him on fire and buried him alive under Mt Aetna, thereby creating the volcano. Typhon's off-spring, the Chimaera, was killed by the hero Bellerophon on the orders of King Iobates of Lycia. Bellerophon killed the monster by aerial bombardment - mounting Pegasus, the winged horse, and pouring molten lead into the Chimaera's mouth.

Today gas still seeps from the earth and bursts into flame upon contact with the air. The exact composition of the gas is unknown, though it is thought to contain some methane. Though the flames can be extinguished now by being covered, they will re-ignite when un-covered. In ancient times they were much more vigorous, being easily recognized at night by mariners sailing along the coast.


The Eternal Chimera Flame in the rocks


What are you doing Rich?

Can you believe that Alla packed caviar and crackers to have at the top? It was an interesting celebration for our special Easter excursion.
(It was my first time tasting it and I wasn't so sure about it, but it got better the more bites I took).

Following are some of the ruins found nearby. I just LOVE imagining what each room was and wishing the walls could talk!

Cute little mountain Goat Man

Rich and I decided to go even higher to find "the big one" (larger flame in the rocks). We just kept going and going. Suddenly we saw a flock of goats and I started singing the infamous song from "Sound of Music" when appeared this cute little Turkish Man who yodeled back to me. Of course I had to have my picture taken with him. We saw the little flame here and just decided to turn around, so he walked alongside us for awhile, but he was too fast and went ahead.