Antalya and a Turkish Bath!

Trip Start Apr 25, 2007
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Trip End Jun 20, 2007


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Flag of Turkey  ,
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Arrived into Antalya yesterday evening after a loong 10 hour bus ride from Silifke.  Great way to see the country though as we followed the coastline very closely (too closely!) in some instances.  Passed through primarily agricultural farm land and then some super developed pieces of coastal areas with tons of hotels apparently catering to Germans and Russians.

Apparently this part of Turkey is the most fertile with volcanic soil supporting the country's consumption of tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas (on terraces) etc.  Fantastic clear waters of different shades of blues and it gets better the further west we travel.

The inn we're staying at is in the old section of Antalya (old walls remaining dates back to 1244 AD) called Kaleici.  It sits on cliffs next to the marina and is a pedestrian only area A bunch of tired travellers
A bunch of tired travellers
 .  From here one can look across the waters to the Taurus mountain range sitting imposingly on the other side of the coastline.  Lots of old old houses dating from the Ottoman period - some in absolute states of disrepair while the ones that have been fixed up are very nice.  All of them have their own courtyards as well which adds to the charm of these old places.  The inn we're staying in is approx. 130 years old and was the location of the Ottoman consulate for the region. For these 2 nights, I get to sleep in my own room :)

Visited the Archeology Museum today - an amazing collection dating back to the Stone Age (50,000 years) when man first inhabited the region all the way to the Ottoman empire.  Highlights include huge marble sarcophagi from the Hellenestic and Roman periods(?) with intricate carvings, coin and pottery collections from different periods of civilizations inhabiting the region.

It was finally time to visit a hamam (turkish bath) today after all the days of sitting on coaches for extended periods.  Mike, our friendly Australian host at the inn, recommended one where the locals go (not the touristy ones) and where the men and women are in completely separate locations.  This may not be the case for the tourist ones.  Had the full works (sauna, lie on hot marble slabs, bathe, shampoo, mask and massage with a great body oil that does wonders for the skin) and it came up to 35 Lira.  Recommend:  Halk Hamami (0.242.243 61 96)  Note: They don't speak any English.
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