Hello Again!
Let’s see…I think we left off before dinner last night. We went down to eat at the hotel about 8 p.m. and got our “usual” table next to the water. For starters this time, R had grape leaves stuffed with haloummi cheese and with a chili sauce, served warm; they were delicious, and I’m not normally a lover of stuffed grape leaves! I had the artichoke starter – two artichoke stems served cold with diced carrots and potatoes; very good, but the grape leaves were better! For main courses, I had the spaghetti bolognaise (comfort food wherever you are in the world! I wasn’t in need of comfort food, but it did look good on the menu!) and R had lamb shish kabob, which he said was fabulous. Dessert for R was raspberry cheesecake (which I’d had the night before) and I had baklava, which came cut into little squares and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – YUM! We did meet a British gal at the table next to us, who was showing her family and friends that Jupiter was up, and could they see the moons? R just couldn’t help himself, as she was, in fact, looking at Venus, so went over discreetly to let her know…as it turns out, she is a fervent albeit uninformed sky-watcher, and lots of fun. She and her family are in Fethiye for a yachting extravaganza which will take them through Turkish waters to Cypress, and then on to Lebanon and Israel – what an adventure! I went and got my iPad so that she could see the Star Walk app, which she is going to download to her iPhone as soon as she gets it back from the shop she left it in today! Then up to the room and bed, a very full day!
Awoke to a stunning Saturday – in fact, we’ve been SO incredibly lucky in all the weather we’ve experienced so far! Certainly hope it holds!! Today, after breakfast, we decided to head to Kaunos, about 50 km north of Fethiye. The roads were lovely and certainly uncrowded once we got out of town, and it took about an hour and a half to find the small town of Dalyan. Along the way we passed through several coastal towns that were really amazingly beautiful! Even Fethiye has a housing boom going on – we’re thinking possibly of Househunters International and those kinds of places that people look at. I’d love to know how much they cost…may Google and see what I can find!
Approaching Dalyan, we were able to see the tombs that had been carved out of the rock across the river and above the town. They are really amazing to see! HOW, we asked ourselves, did anyone make those wonderful monuments? Dalyan is a very interesting small town, right on the edge of the Dalyan River, which winds itself back and forth making its way out to the sea. There was a l-o-n-g row of tourist boats, with all sorts of different offers – see the ruins, go to the beach, see the Loggerhead turtle nesting site, go bird watching, BBQ, etc. We, however, opted for the unusual method of taking a row boat across the river, and then walking to the Kaunos site; much cheaper, keeps us away from crowds, and allows us to return when we want. So…first, find the boat. We managed to find a parking space right in the middle of town, near the river. As it turns out, we were supposed to pay for parking, but there was no signage and we didn’t know. (Although there could very well have been signage, and we just couldn’t read it!) I was just hoping the car would still be there when we got back, with all the people in town for a Saturday and market day!
So…a nice man told us where to find the row boat, and by golly, there it was – with a WOMAN doing the rowing! We scrambled into the boat, and off we went! Unusual oars – not like the ones we’ve used in the past – rather like long sticks about 8” wide, the same width all the way to the end! And instead of oar locks, rope seemed to work just as well! An interesting way to cross the river, that’s for sure!
Got out (carefully) and followed the road – the only road, I might add! -- which led directly to Kaunos. The monumental tombs were above us; very interesting, especially the “Royal” tomb that wasn’t finished. Nobody knows why it was abandoned before being finished. The top is complete, and the columns were in process – then nothing! The road was fairly sunny and very nice, as there were several folks with stands set up along the road, selling honey, olives and cold drinks – very necessary on a warm day like today! We did pass one older lady who insisted on giving us a lemon for free! It smells HEAVENLY! The walk took about 20 minutes to get to the site, which is still being excavated through one of the Turkish universities. Some signage, a lovely theatre and good strong city walls. The site was inhabited as early as the 9th century B.C. by the Caunians, and passed through various hands over the years. It was never Roman or Greek, but instead the people are believed to have originally come from Crete.
Had a good look around, then stopped for our Magnum Classic fix in a covered, shady glade by the side of the site. On the road back, R took a photo of something that he has been wanting to include in the blog – the odd barrels and apparatus on almost every roof we see! As he describes it, this is solar water heating on a massive scale – and probably saves these people a great deal of money!
Back to the row boat launching area, stopping first for wonderful glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice – just the thing for a hot afternoon! Got into the row boat again – same lady! – and she paddled us over to the Dalyan side. Found the car right where we’d left it, with a nice man responsible for parking coming up and collecting the fee – no problem! Have to say, these are truly incredibly nice people! Back to Fethiye – R doing some Caltech work, and I taking a nap. We’re just about to go down for glasses of wine – it turns out there is a wedding here, and the music is beginning to pick up…we’re hoping we don’t have to close the door tonight and turn on the a/c, as it has been heavenly leaving the door open – but we’ll see! The bride was being photographed in the lobby when we came back from our jaunt; she’s just lovely!
More later!
m
xxxx
Wow! The tombs carved from the rock are amazing!!
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