Turkey -- The Mediterranean Coast

Antalya

We crossed the rugged snow-covered Taurus Mountains and, once we reached Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, every meal we had and every room we stayed in had an incredible view of either the Mediterranean or, as we headed north, the Aegean. The sobriquet “Turquoise Coast” is most suitable. Tans colonized these coasts extensively, and although it felt like we must have visited each and every Graeco-Roman site, we really only went to a fraction of them. All told, we saw 16 classical theaters! Each site had its own charm.

Many of us fell in love with Termessos, a largely unexcavated overgrown site reachable only by a steep hike -- it’s so hard to get to that Alexander the Great gave up trying to conquer it. The craggy mountain setting is sensational. Pergamum is another site located high up a mountainside, so steep that the Romans created a terrace on a system of vaulting in order to have a flat space big enough for the Temple of Trajan. Despite the crushing weight of this temple, the vaulting is still standing – wonder what the Big Dig will be like in 2,000 years?

Ephesus is huge and very well preserved. The Library of Celsus, the fountains, agora gate, etc. are all just as stunning in person as they are in photographs. I especially enjoyed the mosaic sidewalk and the “slope houses” that are in the process of being excavated. The latter are upper-class houses with mosaic floors, delicately frescoed or marble-sheathed walls and even some faux marble walls.

Myra’s rock-cut Lycian tombs, Aspendos’ well-preserved theater, Phasalis and its harbors, Perge, Priene, Miletus, Didyma’s huge columns, Euromas, Kas, Patara, Letoum, the meager remains of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Xanthos and its upright sarcophagi, Claros – the list goes on and on. Even one of our hotels (L’Ambiance in Bodrum) was on the grounds of an ancient necropolis.

Some of the earliest Christian proselytizers headed to Anatolia, and we visited several churches associated with them. Basilicas were built at most of the ancient Roman sites. St. John took Mary to Ephesus and the remains of his large basilica (built with stones raided from the Artemesion and in turn raided for a 14th century mosque) are in Selcuk. A few of us also paid our respects at the house in which Mary allegedly spent her final days. We got up extra-early to complete this mission before our tour left for the day and so arrived just as it was opening. The remote small site is charming; the three-room house completely unprepossessing. As we were leaving, one busload was arriving and we passed four more en route; from what I understand it would be jammed with tourists the rest of the day. Another important basilica is that of St. Nicholas in Myra, where his bishopric was located. It was undergoing restoration, but the frescos and mosaic floors were lovely.

 The Underwater Archaeological Museum in Bodrum  is a real stand-out. It is in a Crusader castle on the water (built with stone raided from the Mausoleum), and each tower contains a discreet exhibit – glass, pottery, the Uluburun shipwreck, the tomb of a Carian princess, etc. – all beautifully displayed. The best craftsmen in the area all have stands here, so it’s also a great place to shop.

Two important military events occurred close to the Dardanelles. The first was at Troy – another of the sites Larissa and I had dreamed of seeing. It has a long prehistory, culminating in the important Hittite city that was attacked by the Greeks in the war immortalized in the Iliad. The site is a dramatic one, high up on a hill. Now a big tourist attraction, there is excellent signage explaining the various archaeological levels and excavations. The second was the Battle of Gallipoli at the start of World War I, during which the Turkish forces led by Ataturk repulsed the ANZAC/British/French attack on the peninsula. The battlefield is a moving commemoration of this grueling campaign.

We ate a lot of good food along the coast. One particularly outstanding lunch was at a trout restaurant called Selale between Phasalis and Myra. You sit at tables on platforms erected over gently cascading streams, dining on trout raised on site.

We had several experiences that just don’t fit into my narrative, but I would be completely remiss to leave out. We went on a gulet boat ride along the Aegean coast – I’m told that people will often rent a gulet for several days to visit the coastal sites. What a way to travel! Several of us went to a hamman in Bodrum for a traditional Turkish bath. Quite an experience – after being thoroughly scrubbed down, you get massaged through a blanket of bubbles, then massaged again with oil. You end up squeaky clean and completely relaxed. I highly recommend it!

Mimi Santini-Ritt 2009