Antalya - a Sweet Surprise

In the morning a tug helped us dock at Antalya. When you are on a tour you take your tickets to the theatre, hand them in and receive a bus ticket with a number on. Ticket numbers are called in order and people disembark and locate their bus at the dock. Sometimes the ship lays anchor away from the dock and tenders (smaller boats) come and pick people up to deliver them to the shore. We found our bus and were greeted by our guide. Antalya is a very large city but we were driven to the old town.

First stop was Hadrian’s Gate - build by the Roman emperor. It was very impressive. We then walked through the Old Town - the most interesting one so far. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The houses have all been turned into unique boutique hotels. There are ancient ruins under the entire place and one hotel owner has chosen to preserve the ruins and has glass flooring to highlight the structures in the basement. There were interesting shops along the streets.

We ended up at the old harbour - breathtaking view! Also, we enjoyed a glass of fresh orange and pomegranate juice which was very refreshing. We walked to a museum which was constructed in what was the train terminus which was moved as it was not large enough. Under the old station they found an ancient necropolis or burial site. The museum had several large rooms of artifacts and large areas where these artifacts had been buried.

We then headed back to the ship where we enjoyed an amazing sunset, delicious dinner and great entertainment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Athens - Day 1

Image
Yesterday was busy. We had a delicious breakfast at a quaint restaurant directly across from our hotel. It looks small, but there was seating inside, outside and around the corner. The street looked like a lane, but every so often a car or motorcycle would barrel down the street! We then headed off to the Acropolis where we purchased tickets for 5:00 p.m. Everyone wants to go there but it is better to wait til later as it is 31 degrees! We elected to go to the Acropolis Museum - air conditioned of course. Lots to see! Many of the pieces were collected and reconstructed. The Acropolis itself was built as a place of worship and, in fact, the entire hill was filled with temples. In 1867, the Turks bombed it and it was virtually destroyed. Later Lord Byron spent time in Greece and took some pieces back to the British Museum. Although they were lying on the ground, for some reason the Greeks are still upset. The building above is the museum. After the museum we went back to ou...
Read more

The First Days

Image
We drove to Calgary on Saturday morning with a short diversion to the family farm near Pine Lake. On the way we passed a large poster with the family name! We took a picture of the family to enjoy. Then we stopped at the grave of Tim’s parents. In Calgary we visited with old friends - TIm has known them for 70 years, when they all attended a private kindergarten in Medicine Hat. On Sunday morning Bob delivered us safely to the airport. The long flight transported us to Paris and we are now in the middle of a 7 hour layover which we are spending in a lounge. At 7:00 p.m. the flight leaves for Athens where a driver will be waiting to deliver us to our hotel. It’s hard to believe Tim, Bob and Anne are all 75 and that next year we will celebrate 50 years of marriage! How time flies!
Read more

Athens - Day 2

Image
Our second day in Athens began at a delightful restaurant named “Picky”. It spills out onto the shared walkway and road! All the lovely people seem to be there. The staff and food are lovely. We then headed off to explore the Agora or ancient market where the Apostle Paul would have preached to the Greeks! The two story building has been turned into the Museum of the Agora and stands under the shadow of the Acropolis. We passed some very extravagant baking in a coffee shop but resisted! We went back to the hotel for a shower and rest and then had an ice cream as we explored the shops. Planning a bus tour we went out for a “quick” dinner - gyro for Marija and gyro dinner for Tim! By the time we finished we had missed the last bus! Oh well, a wander in the shade of the evening through the busy Flea Market, and passing by more eateries with live music. Finally, we retired for an early night only to be awoken by a phone call at about 12:30 a.m. which one of you called?
Read more