Our time in Antalya was very relaxing: a nice hotel, a sea view and not long on the bus for a day! We visited Perge and Aspendos. Perge had the most intact Roman Baths we’ve seen to date and a cistern in the centre of the agora (town square) that supplied the water to the different parts of town. Investigations have revealed that if the water level dropped in the cistern, first the poor part of town lost their water supply, then the wealthy part of town, then the palace and lastly the public fountains! At least one could always collect water from the fountain I suppose. (Check out the pipe holes at the left of the photo.)
Aspendos had a stunning amphitheatre. It is the best preserved one known. The backdrop wall is still standing and the theatre is used regularly for theatre and dance performances. You literally could hear a pin drop – if everyone else wasn’t talking, that is. OSH might not let you climb to the top seats if this was in NZ, but in Turkey, it’s safer than crossing the road!
We drove for a LONG time the next day, via Konya to Cappadocia. In Konya we stopped to visit the Mevlana Museum. This museum was originally the mosque and monastery for an Islamic sect known as the whirling dervishes. They spin on the spot as a form of meditation. This is where their leader, Mevlana, is buried and we also saw some beautiful calligraphy, and walked across a 16th century silk carpet that looked hardly worn.
Aspendos had a stunning amphitheatre. It is the best preserved one known. The backdrop wall is still standing and the theatre is used regularly for theatre and dance performances. You literally could hear a pin drop – if everyone else wasn’t talking, that is. OSH might not let you climb to the top seats if this was in NZ, but in Turkey, it’s safer than crossing the road!
We drove for a LONG time the next day, via Konya to Cappadocia. In Konya we stopped to visit the Mevlana Museum. This museum was originally the mosque and monastery for an Islamic sect known as the whirling dervishes. They spin on the spot as a form of meditation. This is where their leader, Mevlana, is buried and we also saw some beautiful calligraphy, and walked across a 16th century silk carpet that looked hardly worn.
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