TURKEY December 30, 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 13

Greetings –

Dined last night at a wonderful waterfront restaurant in the Keilici (old town) near where we are staying — Arma — quite good — For appetizers we had a local fish in honey that was fantastic (sashimi cut so thin it was like paper) and also an octopus sashimi. We strolled back to the hotel in the total quiet of this picture-perfect old section of town that is probably about 10 square blocks (totally oblivious that just 200 meters away is a huge, bustling real working city with a million people that seems to function 24/7 and that feels a bit like a combination of the Lower East Side of NY about 40 years ago and miles of strip malls).

This morning we headed out of our little paradise and drove down the coast (south) stopping from time to time to admire the absolute beauty of the sea and beaches as well as the cliffs and mountains that surround them. We stopped at Phaselis (sp?)– which is situated on three small bays, protected within a  national park. In Roman times this was a thriving port town. Today the bays, ruined limestone aqueduct, a great amphitheater whose stage is framed by snow capped mountains are clearly the remnants of once-prosperous Phaselis.

We walked through the site from one bay to the next.. and then headed out to Chimera and Olimpos. En route, we stopped at a tiny little roadside, family-owned “café”… a sort of wooden platform with about 5 tables totally open. No menu, only one dish is served (Turkish pancakes) and two kinds of juices that are constantly being squeezed fresh (pomegranate and orange). Mom sat on the floor cross-legged and rolled the pancakes – one at a time; son pressed the oranges and pomegranates; daughter-in-law filled the pancakes with just a little spinach and feta and rolled them up — kind of like a very thin quesadilla.  The setting was wonderful — for those of you from California, think Nepenthe before they started getting totally yuppie and charging $20 for a hamburger.

We left (after paying $7 for two pancakes and two really large and wonderful juices) and traversed dirt roads and even drove through a washed out road with water several inches deep in an effort to reach Olimpos.. only to hit a total dead end with a washed out road. We did get to the village of Olimpos and the tree house pensions (which seemed to wreak of hippiedom) Someone had built a foot bridge, but we decided to avoid this, and instead just meandered back through some small towns, eventually finding our way back to Keilici and the Tuvana Hotel (which was truly a miracle).

Dinner tonight in one of the small restaurants in the old town and then we prepare for New Years tomorrow, and a very very early (7 am) departure from Antalya to Istanbul and Istanbul to London on January 1. Dinner in London (Jan 1) and a morning flight to SFO on January 2 —

Will try to send one last note tomorrow or when we hit London. If not, have a happy, healthy, peaceful new year — See you back in the US —

Fern