Antalya

August 4, 2023

We slept like the dead last night. There was a violin and cello performance on the terrace right next to our room but, after initially waking up as they tuned their instruments, we fell asleep again before they had even started playing.

First task this morning was to assemble the bicycles. Normally this would take half an hour but I took my time and must have spent two hours on the job. It was over thirty degrees by the time I had finished. I am so glad we decided against putting them together at the airport yesterday.

After cooking up some oats porridge found in the free-to-use leftover section of the hostel kitchen we cycled off to the Antalya Archeological Museum to test the bikes and soak up a bit of ancient history. After a hall or two of pre-classical era artifacts we were blown away by the amount and quality of items from the Roman Empire found at Perga about fifteen kilometers away.

Leigh sizes up a pre-classical buried urn. Judging by the size of the aperture obesity wasn't a problem five thousand years ago.

There were a number halls full of statues.

Many of the female statues had their pubic areas defaced.

Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft, represents birth, life and death. She was supposed to bear the souls of the dead which reminded me of once being called a soul collector (see https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/fourthstep/rio-ibanez-wild-camp-a-few-things-went-wrong-today/).

Part of a magnificent frieze depicting priests offering animal sacrifices.

After the statues came two halls full of intricately carved sarcophagi.

We were exhausted and had yet to finish what was on offer on the ground floor. We took a few breaks at some of the benches that were available but we were getting thirsty and hungry too so we started to rush through exhibits.

The exhibits upstairs were mostly of coins but there was one wall dedicated to the Church of St Nicholas at Manavgat which we hope to visit in a few days time. These are icons from the church.

We were surprised to find a cat refuge outside the museum.

After leaving the museum we stopped for an ice-cream and some water before heading back to the old town.

The view from our ice-cream and water stop.

This pedestrian street that we passed on our way back to the old town was covered by umbrellas and full of friendly touts.

It was now about four o'clock and we had yet to eat lunch. A stop at a local grocery store resulted in some fruit, bread and olive oil made even better by the friendliness of the grocery store proprietor.

Nectarines and figs. Just what we needed.

We spent what little there was left of the rest of the afternoon resting in the comfort of the airconditioned room before heading out to supper. A walk of a few blocks took us away from tourist town and into a residential area where we enjoyed a tasty adana kebap with all the trimmings. Tomorrow will be our first day on the road but it is going to be a super short one.

Today's ride: 9 km (6 miles)
Total: 9 km (6 miles)

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