Blogging suspended - now resumed

I have decided to suspend the blog until I get back to the US. It is getting too difficult to upload the photos.

Be assured that I will continue to take plenty of photos and that I will blog them shortly after my arrival home on May 6.

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The blogging has resumed and there will be plenty of them. I will try to release just one or two a day.

I will also go back and touch up some of the earlier blogs and put in the usual links.

Fingers like bananas at the hi fi hotel

On one of the hi fi forums I visit, I noticed a message from a man who lived near Antalya which I planned to visit. I contacted him and he kindly invited me to be his guest at his hotel which was east of Antalya. I accepted and got on a bus to Antalya.

As you might imagine, this is a road to rival Big Surprise or the Great Ocean Road.

Antalya is a city of over a million people with a huge traffic jam.

Okan picked me up and checked me into my room. This is the view from the hotel.

After dinner we went to Okan's house where we listened to music for hours. I can not think of any system I have heard that sounded better.

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View at dawn.

Okan took me on a tour of the hotel that can accommodate 1000 guests and another 1000 visitors to the attached water park. The whole lot was built in 6 months.

He also invited me to try a full Turkish bath which was wonderful. First there was a sauna with a temperature over 60 centigrade. Then I lay on a marble slab and was sloshed with water. A layer of foam was applied and I was totally scrubbed with a coarse mitt. I then relaxed for about 30 minutes before I got the massage from a man with fingers like bananas. It was wonderful.

It was all a great experience and I am so pleased that Okan invited me to stay. In exchange I will be helping teach Okan how to build tube amplifiers.

A beer at Kalkan

After the hot walk we were ready for some cold liquid refreshment.

Kalkan is a coastal fishing port that became a tourist town.

Ashley took us to a cafe by the water. There are more restaurants in Kalian than there are days in a year.

The reward. I needed it.

Later that afternoon I relaxed in this tent thing.

I will find out the name of it when I return to the USA.

It was very relaxing listening to the sound of the bells on the goats.

Asyegul and Ashley run a wonderful place and treated me almost like a member of the family, only better.

Lycean Way - last day - aqueduct to Uzumlu

Ashley was my guide for this walk and I was very glad to have him along.

Early morning view. You could get used to this.

We both wore shorts because it promised to be a warm day. However, my legs subsequently got scratched a bit from low brush. We both had plenty of water.

The start of the walk.

We passed  a cemetery. The person was not 671 years old. The Turks have an alternate way of determining the date.

Ashley surveys the view. He was fun to walk with and he told me a lot about running the business.

Part of the aqueduct. Marianne, I don't think you would enjoy this bit. Part of the crossing was tricky.

For a while we walked in this 2000 year old structure.

Water has been running like this for 2000 years.

There was s good deal of uphill walking and clambering. We both got scratches on our bare legs and I was glad to have my hiking stick.

Ashley took me off the Way to see the source of the water where two underground streams join.

A damaged turtle but it seemed to be OK.

90% of Russia's tomatoes come from this plain.

The soil is very red near Uzumlu and with all the rocks I reckon you could make decent wine there.

Uzumlu means Grape.

Ashley called Aysegul who picked us up in the car and took us for a well earned beer in Kalkan.

Karadere - a picnic on the rock

I organized my walking trip through a group called Bespoke Turkey. They are a husband and wife team, Ashley who is English and Aysegul who is Turkish. They have a young son, Lucas and are wonderful hosts who made me feel like an honoured guest of the family.

View from the terrace. I mostly ate indoors with the family because it was a bit too cold outside.

Asyegul with her homemade lemon and orange drink.

Charlie, a rescue dog. Very friendly.

They picked up Lucas at school. Children all love to play.

There are square miles of tomato farms.

Patara beach.

There is not much accommodation beside the Way in this area. The Dutch woman was wondering if she would have the courage to stay here at this other pension because the reviews said the owner was strange. They also had fierce looking dogs barking.

They became  important.

Lucas playing beside a fire pit.

Delicious little fish.

Ashley and I went for a walk after lunch. When we returned we discovered that Lucas had a  fire in the pit. We managed to get most of the flames out but the fire was still smoldering. Asyegul drove off to get water to put the fire out completely but she did not see a large rock in front of the car as she put pedal to the metal.

The car was stuck.

We used stones to build a ramp for the wheels and a nearby shepherd helped us free the car. Lucas had asked the shepherd for help.

There was talk of a smacked bottom and it did not belong to Lucas.

Later in the day I walked with Ashley and Charlie on their loop around the hill which they do morning and evening. It's good for both of them.

It had been a lovely day.