Boat Ride on the Mediterrannean

We spent a couple of hours cruising on the Mediterranean, it was a beautiful day and lovely cruising around. Cruised past the remains of ancient cities that had been destroyed when earthquakes struck, much of the city crumbled down into the sea. We went past more recent settlements that are only accessible by sea. You can see the ruins of the old castles and forts from ancient times.

Church of St Nicholas

 Just outside of Myra was the town of Demre or Kale- here is located the church of St Nicholas were the tradition of St Nicholas or Father Christmas originates. St Nicholas was a popular Bishop in the 4th century AD. He was left a wealthy young man when his parents died, he was know for his charitable nature and kind deeds, he used to take presents to the children of the poor. The church was built 6th century AD. His body was buried her but the remains were stolen and taken to Italy. It is a real pilgrimage point for many Russians. Some beautiful mosaics were uncovered on the floor of the church.

Ancient Tombs of Myra

Myra was another fascinating lot of ancient ruins. Dating back to at least 1st Century BC it was one of the leading cities in the area famous for its export and trade. It had a large amphitheater and also lots of tombs cut into the rocks. The richer you were the higher up your tomb was which meant you were closer to the Gods!

Olympus

Next lot of ruins we visited were at Olympos- a harbour city from 2BC. They had to watch out for pirates as it had a harbour and was in an excellent location. It was located by the seaside, it was a lovely spot to wander through. It was also a popular beach spot, so it was quite strange wandering through the ruins with people walking past heading for a day at the beach seemingly oblivious to all the ancient ruins around them.

Side

Next lot of ruins was at Side, we drove through a couple of kilometres of ruins, then wandered through the touristy part of the town with plenty of shops including some lovely spice, turkish delight and tea shops till we got down to the harbour where we saw the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. Side dates back to the 10th century BC, it was an ancient Greek city. Alexander the Great took the city in 333 BC followed by the Romans.

Aspendos

Next stop was an ancient Roman theatre at Aspendos built in 155 BC. It is one of the best preserved theatres from ancient times.

East of Antalya to Perge

One day we headed east of Antalya to Perge where we walked among the ancient Greek and Roman ruins. Perge first settled in 1000 BC. Alexander the Great came through this area and pushed out the Persians. The apostle Paul is said to have preached here on one of his missionary journeys in 46 AD. It was fascinating to wander through all these ancient ruins- hard to comprehend the age of the ruins and the history behind it all.

Pretty amazing stuff- I hadn't been expecting to see stuff like this in Turkey, is just blew me away.

This photo above and below were off the Roman Baths