Heaven Sent - Day 4

The night passed quickly because we had to be at the Izmir airport by 7 in the morning. Heavy eyed, we loaded ourselves into the bus and made our way to the airport. 

By the time we made it through the double security checks we realized that our tummies were rumbling and that we had plenty of time to grab a bite. Of course, we all beelined (more like beelined like bees who had yet to have coffee) to the Starbucks. And we think it's expensive in the States! None of us were any too impressed by the options, but luckily right across the way was a littlel cafe called Cookies and Cakes. They had a wide selection of Turkish breakfast goodies, so this was where we ate. I was able to order most of my food in Turkish from the cafe bar, which made the servers smile. 

We ate our yummy goodies then headed to the plane. It was a really different experience than that of which I've experienced in the states. We went through the standard ticket line, but then we had to board a bus that took us to the stairs of the plane. We were loaded in both the front and the tail of the plane, which made the passenger loading process much faster.

Our flight was extremely quick and our unloading was done in a flash. We had landed in Antalya, the southern city on the edge of the Mediterranean. Had we known that morning how epic our day was about to become...

So we hopped in our little bus and drove into Antalya, and we were immediately taken by all of the solar panel heated water tanks on top of all the buildings in the city. Mesut informed us that solar panels have been common in Turkey for the last 20 years. There is a bit of a dichotomy here in Turkey - you can really get the sense that the people are energy conscious, what with many of the hotels not allowing you to turn on the AC if the door is opened so much as a crack, but plastic waste is evident everywhere. The people primarily drink bottled water and there are plastic bottles EVERYWHERE. The streets and sidewalks are kept spotless, but if you look over the curbs and over the cliffs, there they are. Not terribly different from many a sad scene surely replicated all over the globe.

The van took us to a college where we met our day's guide over a much needed brunch. Our twenty year old guide was a well spoken young lady who was studying economics and wanted to pursue her master's degree in the States. While Antalya was not her home city, she sure knew the history! She took us to a castle that sat on the edge of the sea. There was a path that led through what is called the old city inside the ancient castle's walls. The castle and mosque was dated back to the 1300s and was highly developed in terms of heating systems and layout. 

In the background of my "Daily selfie" is the tall minerette - one of the trademarks that suggest the ancient age of this mosque is that the minerette is completely detached from the actual mosque. All the city buildings over my left shoulder are the city inside the castle. 

We walked through the madrasa, a school that accompanied a mosque, designed to teach the students about math, science, religion and literature, and we were all hit with a bit of sadness. Inside the beautiful hall, which should have been a museum, was a store full of touristy goods. I thought of the Christian story where Jesus came to the temple to see it turned into a market. From his anger at what had been allowed to happen to the sacred place, Jesus throughout the money changers. I'm sure that many Muslims would have felt the same way about this place.

We left the madrasa and walked through the winding, downward sloping streets of the ancient city. Numerous vendors lined the streets and our guide informed us that this was the way it would have been in the old days.

The path finally leveled out at a bit of an odd place. It was a marina with very strangely decorated ships. I started laughing because of my work with ships, I thought of my fellow crewmates back in San Diego and the laugh they would have gotten from looking at these vessels.

(Yep, that's a Pirates of the Carribean themed boat. Much of the boat was blanketed in Pirates paraphernalia as were the subsequent ships beside it. 

But the ships were very entertaining and a very welcoming sight for me.

To all of our delight, Mesut hopped on board one of the ships. With enormous smiles on our faces, we followed suit. The boat was ours for the following hour and the smiles on our faces and the chorus of our laughter pursued the whole way through. 

The photographer on board asked who wanted to be the first to go out onto the jibboom while the theme from Titanic began to play in the background. So of course, I volunteered to be the first. I tell you, that was one of the most freeing experiences I've ever had. 

Yes, I bought the touristy goodies and I was not alone, because the photographer captured the happiness that was beaming out from all of us. 

Mesut being a daredevil out on the jibboom. 

Rosemary learning from the pro.

Walt, Rosemary, and our sweet guide whose name I cannot presently remember due to severe lack of sleep.

Margie, Carole and Mesut taking in the views. 

Margie and Rosemary with the waterfall and the ancient castle's walls in the background. Many hotels have renovated the ancient walls of the castle and have steps that lead from their rooms straight to the blue waters of the Mediterranean. 

The sighs we saw boating on the Mediterrenean were indescribable. There was the Taurous mountains, waterfalls, castles, caves, and the bluest water I've ever known. Mesut and I were joking that we were going to jump in and trust me, it was hard not to. 

The ship provided us so much joy and laughter! Museums are wonderful and I am an enormous proponent of having historical tours, but sometimes, you just need to have a good time.

Disembarking was sad, but we all left with souveniers and vivid memories that will last us a lifetime. 

We hiked up a hill and waited for the van to return, but our day was no where near over yet. We were bound for a fall. 

The waterfall was a highly touristic place, but it was still incredible. The water was much envied in other countries and many people to this day are trying to purchase this stream from Turkey. I could be wrong on this, but I believe these were the Duden fall of Antolya. 

There had been a large storm two weeks ago and much of the waterfall park was corroded or trees had fallen. One tree that fell was over 600 years old. The tree that you see in the top left of the photo was the fallen ancient. 

I asked Mesut if people swam in the river, but he said that it was so dangerous that anyone who swam in it died. The current was far too strong and the river was riddled with malestroms, those whirling vacumes that suck you down. It was a reminder that while beautiful, nature has a mind and a will of her own.

But boy, was she beautiful!

A second daily selfie never hurt anyone.

We were actually able to climb up into the cliff's crevice to stand behind the waterfall, which was a powerful experience.

Exploring makes bellies hungry, so we headed off to lunch. The restaurant was a mere few minutes away. We had a bit of a hike down to the place where we would be eating and we could see as we were getting closer numerous manmade pools where fish were being raised. Our guide said to us, "In Turkey, we catch everything we eat." She then laughed and said that she was only joking, but I think we would have not only believed her, we would have tried it for ourselves.

Right on the side of the river, we ate fish that was caught within the last 12 hours. The trout was very yummy. My companions ate the fish without the head, but I've been diving in to what the locals eat, so on my plate was a whole fish, head, eyes and all. 

We stayed at the restaurant for a long while, but then we boarded the bus, bid goodbye to our dear guide and embarked upon one of the most beautiful drives any of us had enjoyed in our lives. 

The mountains Taurous are indeed a bull. Titanic, proud, teaming with grace. The mountains were covered with dense forests, which was a surprise considering that we had only been in the presence of beaches and palm trees. The road was seemingly endless, but we were all quite fine with this. We drove and drove, stopping for a potty break, at a lovely spot. After several hours in the van, the other ladies and I went into the gas station and bought several bottles of water at 50* lira, which is 25* American. We successfully navigated without our translator, (a very empowering feeling), and returned to the van with waters for everyone! We've all come to appreciate how spoiled we are in the States to have access to water from our faucets. People don't drink out of their faucets here that we've seen - everything is bottled and it makes it difficult to have water during our travels, so whenever we have an opportunity to get water, we're taking it. Even as I type this on the van on our carride between Nigde (Wait to you hear about this place!) and Cappadochia, the back of my iPad is leaning against the top of a water bottle. 

These minor details all ended up resulting with a spectacular consequence. 

Our van made a turn around a bend and at one o'clock I spotted what would become the perfect ending for our perfect day. "MOON!" Was all I could shout when I saw the beautiful, enormous white eye rising from the peak of a cloud. I couldn't find or produce words because it was so incredible.

Mesut asked the driver to pull over and we all jumped out of the van and hooped and laughed and took photos. Breathing the crisp mountain air and watching a super moon rise over bluff and cloud was the most magical moment of our lives. The joy that filled us as we watched that moon was so heavenly. We later discussed how this was not coincidence. We were meant to be at that spot at that time to see the September moon reach the skies. 

Once I get back to the States, I'll upload Margie's video of the moon's rise and hopefully one of Walt's high quality moon shots.

We eventually reached our hotel and boy were we impressed compared to the hotel that we stayed the night before. The hotel was the equivalent to a 4 or 5 star hotel in the States. Our room was beautiful, the bathroom was big, and the dinner service was top of the line. It was there where we began to discuss the inefficiencies of our previous hotel. 

The shower at our previous hotel had 3 walls, but no door or curtain. There was merely an open space between the shower stall and the toilette. The first step I took into the shower was a prelude to what would come. I nearly slipped and fell instantly, but recovered. The shower head was attached to the pole on a long hose and as soon as I turned it on, the head went flying off and water went everywhere...every-where. I quickly turned off the shower than created a strategic plan for showering without creating my very own Niagra Falls. My strategy ended up working well enough, but there was still a decent puddle in the bathroom. I had to use a number of the towels just to create a safe enough route back outside of the bathroom.

I gave my roommate Carole the tips and hints of my strategy. While she was in the restroom I discovered a neon blue light on the back of the entertainment center that flashed intermittently like you would expect in a club. 

Margie  too had a series of odd experiences, everything from her shower spraying every which way but straight to having so little light in her room that she had to requet one from the front desk.

Even Mesut had difficulties. While face-chatting with his family, his little girl asked him, "Daddy, why is it so dark?"

The rooms may have been deficient and without light, but they brought us oodles of laughter as we shared our stories after a long and marvelous day. And then like tonight, it was time to go to sleep. I will try to get up early tomorrow or to take my iPad with me so that I may continue these stories. 

One final note, that day, those ships, the waterfall, the moon, this fantastic opportunity to see a country and a culture beautifully different from our own have truly been heaven sent.

Your humble author,

S. Faxon