Day 146: Monday 11 August – Termessos and Aspendos, by Ken

We retreated indoors in Mabel around 03:00 when we woke feeling cold.

We planned to be on the road by 8:00 in order to visit Termessos while it was still relatvely cool. In the event it was nudging 8:30 before we headed out in Smarty. Jane had decided she wanted to do all the driving today to try and close the gap between us in terms of kilometres driven. That was in spite of me saying it wasn’t a competition, we were only keeping a record out of interest.

Jane found the camping ground showers so dirty that she showered wearing her Croc lookalikes. I couldn’t face showering at all.

The late start was fortuitous as shortly after 8:00 Mabel’s fridge started beeping signaling something was wrong. It turned out we had lost the power supply to Mabel. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the cable, or its connection to the camping ground’s supply and assumed the fault must lie in the camping ground, or beyond. If the fault had occurred after we had left we would have returned to spoilt food and, worse still, no ice for our evening G and T’s. I switched the fridge to gas, it’s a pity that Auto Trail don’t install fridges that detect the best power source automatically.

Antalya is a big city with a population of just over 1 million, and Turkey’s largest resort. The roads were becoming busy as we drove along the sea front where people were making their way to the shingle beaches that didn’t look particularly inviting. The temperature was already in the mid 30s and it was just 09:00. It was about then that I remembered I had left my hat in Mabel, but it was too late to turn back.

Marble Blocks On Their Way To Be Processed

Anatalya Beach

We left the coast and headed inland in a northwesterly direction for about 30km until we came to signs directing us to Termessos. We soon came to a pay booth where for 5 lira each we had access to the Güllük Dağ Milli Parki (a national park) and were told it was about 9km to Termessos. The narrow road climbed steadily into the mountains bringing kinder temperatures. By the time we reached the car park Smarty was showing it was down to 29°.

We changed into our tramping boots and started to climb a rough steep path that would take us to the city of Termessos built close to the summit of a mountain 1,000 metres above sea level. Even though it was relatively cool, the climb was hard going requiring regular stops to catch our breath.

Starting The Walk Up To Termessos

We passed through the city gate and twenty minutes after setting off we arrived at the ruins of the gymnasium. Unlike other sites we have visited Termessos has not been restored or excavated, only surveyed. Thus, the ruins are the result of earthquakes and weathering.

We continued on up to reach the theatre which is the crowning glory of Termessos. Situated on the edge of a steep gorge with stunning views down two valleys it is quite magnificent. Considering it’s 2,000 years old, the 4,200 spectator stadium is in a remarkable state of preservation. 

Here's some shots of the theatre:

Stage

We spent quite a while in the theatre wandering up and down and around its tiers of seats. While Jane waited at the top, I walked down and sat in the ruins of the stage. Jane could hear what I was saying while speaking without raising my voice.

Jane Waiting For Performance To Start

While I was sitting on the stage a group of young French women and their two male guides we had seen earlier in the car park appeared at the top of the seating. One of the men signaled me to speak by raising and lowering both hands, palms upwards. I asked what he wanted me to say but didn’t get a response. Then I said “Je ne parle pas français” which was greeted by laughter from the women.

My French Audience

From the theatre we made our way around the remainder of the ruins that included massive buried cisterns for storing water delivered to the city via an aqueduct.

Here's something of what we saw:

Looking Down The Valley From Termessos

The site had few visitors and we only passed a few people on their way up as we walked back to the car park. We assumed the lack of visitors was a reflection of the difficulty of getting to the car park for tour buses and the tough walk up to the city. We weren’t complaining, it was good to visit somewhere that wasn’t heaving with tourists.

We debated what to do next. We were both sure the last thing we wanted to do was to go back to the awful camping ground. We decided to return to Antalya and then drive 50km east to Aspendos to visit what is reputed to be one of the best preserved theatres built in the 2^nd century AD.

As we drove into Anatalya Jane began to regret her decision to drive. The traffic became increasingly more dense and the driving increasingly worse. The Turks must rate as some of the worst drivers in the world and in Anatalya they were particularly bad. Car indicators seemed to have been disconnected and the key driving rule appeared to be it’s up to you to get out of the way of anyone that cuts across you, usually coming very close. There was no way of knowing when someone would decide to stop suddenly, or when they would pull out into traffic with no regard for others. Lane markings might as well not have been there as cars drifted from lane to lane and frequently added additional lanes of their own. Overtaking on the inside was a regular occurrence. Even with two pairs of eyes keeping a lookout, driving was hard work.

Statue In Atalanya - Almost Certainly Mustafa Kamal (most statues are)

Satellite TV Seems To Be Popular In Atalanya

As we drove Smarty’s outside temperature gauge climbed to 40°. Fortunately, the road leading east out of Anatalya was stop start traffic through roadworks for a long way, that made the driving less demanding. We drove past the airport that looked very busy with a lot of aircraft on the tarmac. Overhead a Ryanair 737 was on its final approach – Ryanair seem to get everywhere.

40 Degrees Outside!

The traffic eased as we drove along a dual carriageway. It was lunchtime and I spotted a roadside sign advertising a restaurant ahead. We parked outside but the restaurant appeared deserted and we started to return to Smarty. As we did so a man came running out and invited us in, they were serving lunch. We took a table in the shade outside, we asked for a menu which resulted in a woman coming out asking if we wanted chicken. I asked what else there was which turned out to be köfte. Then the woman disappeared returning a few minutes later with a large casserole dish – she pointed to the contents and said ”köfte”. We ordered one köfte and one chicken with beer and water to drink. No drinks appeared and after a while Jane went in to investigate, there was no beer, only soft drinks. Just when I could have done with a nice cooling Efes! We both settled for water.

Our food arrived after a while and was very good. My köfte came with potatoes while Jane’s chicken was accompanied by tomatoes and rice. There were also side dishes of tomatoes and long green pepperlike vegetables.

Our Lunchtime Host

It was stinking hot by the time we got to Aspendos. While there were a few tour buses outside, it wasn’t particularly busy. We started our visit at the theatre that had been extensively restored. Restoration work was still going on with a large tower crane standing behind the stage and some of the seating was in the course of being replaced. While it was the most complete of all the theatres we had visited, and gave a real feel for what the soectators would have seen, it felt rather artificial to us. We agreed that we liked the ruins at Termessos better.

Aspendos - Theatre Stage

Stage Frieze Detail

Aspendos - Theatre

Aspendos - Theatre Entrance

Some Of The Seating Had Been Restored

We walked up a steep track that led us to the entrance to the city where the original road and its drainage system were evident. We wandered around the ruins of a basilica and other buildings on the acropolis. 

Aspendos - Road At City Entrance With Drainage Beneath

Here's some of the buildings on the acropolis:

Then we climbed a hill that overlooked the theatre. I had originally planned to continue on up to an aqueduct but the heat beat us, it was so draining.

Aspendos Theatre From Above

Hot And Bothered At Aspendos

We walked back down to the entrance. We were stopped on the way by a man that wanted to sell us Greek coins at a special New Zealand price. He hadn’t spotted we didn’t have ‘Stupid’ tattooed on our foreheads and we walked on. (I read subsequently that it’s illegal to sell real ancient coins, but perfectly legal to sell copies).

There was a small café by the entrance where we took very welcome seats in the shade, rehydrating with very welcome cold drinks.

Our drive back through Anatalya was even more fraught than our outward trip. But Jane doggedly stuck to her goal of doing all the driving while letting out gasps at regular intervals as Turkish drivers got up to their usual tricks, as well as some new ones.

Irrigation Pipes On New Road Embankment 

We weren’t hungry after our lunch out and settled for bread and cheese for our evening meal. The music was just as loud as the previous evening but two women were going through dance exercises that by the look of it they had done many times before. They kept it up for the best part of an hour which we found incredible with the temperature still in the 30s. Not content with that, one of them continued afterwards doing sit-ups and crunches.

Most of the time we had been back at Mabel a man was working on his car nearby. After a while he came over with a pair of pliers asking if we had anything with a finer jaw. I leant him my Leatherman and wandered over with him to see if I could help. His starter motor had just been repaired and was re-installing the motor although he was dubious a good job had been done on it. He didn’t need any help, but wanted to get the job finished as it was his wife’s birthday and they were going out to celebrate. It was almost dark by the time he was done. He was right to be dubious about the quality of the repair, the motor wasn’t working. Sometime later the man returned with three women, two of whom had been exercising. He got in the car while the women pushed and he bump started it.

Can I Help?

It was still hot and humid by the time bedtime came around. We slept outside again.