Turquoise coast and Gullet (Viago Nella Esperanza) Day 10 and 11

Nov. 6 - Day 10

We left Antalya and drove along the Mediterranean coastline.  Most of the towns in this area have very large greenhouses where they grow vegetables, mainly tomatoes.

All the grey areas above are plastic greenhouses.

Our first stop was to view Myra (7 BC),an old town that is famous for its Lycian house- tombs carved into the cliffs.  Built in the fourth century BC, they contain the earliest examples of Lycian script and funerary bas-reliefs.  We also walked in the large theater, still very much intact with marble seats and masked friezes scattered around the stage area.

Tombs -

Theatre -

Barb, Lynn, and Carol on the marble seats of the theater:

Our next stop was the Church of St. Nicolas in Demre.  In the 4th century AD, St. Nicholas was the bishop of this area and was known as a protector of children, showering them with gifts.  He was declared a saint, and is now known as the model for Santa Claus or Father Christmas.

More greenhouses below on our drive:

After an all day drive we arrived at our gulet-style yacht (Viago Nella Speranza) at the harbor of Fethiye. Our gulet is a teak and oak beauty with both sails and motor, an outdoor eating area, and comfortable cushions for relaxing.  We meet our crew - a husband and wife team ( Captain Mehmet, Cook Sevim) and a very strong deckhand (Sevki).  We were assigned rooms and had dinner on board.

Day 11 - Nov. 7

We left our boat and drove to Kayakoy, a Greek "ghost town".  Anatolian Greeks once inhabited this city of about 600 houses.  During the 20's, the entire population was relocated to Greece in the aftermath of the Turkish War of Independence.  While we were there we had opportunities to buy items made by locals.  I bought clay pipes and leather bracelets from one lady.

The below picture is of a painter who is trying to restore this ruin and make a museum out of it.  All money from his sales will go into the restoration.

At this point we said good bye to our bus driver, Sinasi, that we had for 7 days.  He did a great job.

We did another hike thru the Greek ruins of Kayakoy to Soguksu Bay where our boat was waiting for us in this beautiful cove.

After lunch, we cruised to Gemiler Island, where we hiked to ancient churches on St. Nicholas Island.  At the top we had a beautiful view of the azure channel below.

After the hike we swam in the very cool water and headed to Cleopatra's Bay for the evening.