The local sights and sounds still have us under their spell and haven’t yet failed to raise a smile as we immerse ourselves in this cultural city. It’s also finally begun to warm up. After visiting the museum last week, we couldn’t not go to Perga, especially after discovering the majority of the artefacts within the museum had been unearthed there. So on Saturday we left the apartment at around 10am and headed to the taxi stand on the edge of the old city, where I secured the services of a driver for most of the day. It was about a 30 minute drive along the highway to Perga. We parked beside an impressive 15K seat Greco-Roman amphitheater (The romans put their stamp on it by adding a 3rd tier and frescoes to the existing structure during AD 1-3) it was allegedly used for gladiatorial & wild animal fights and remains pretty well intact. To the right of the amphitheater is the ancient city, which must be spread out across a good 4 hectares (circa 10 football fields) The dig started in the late 1940’s and given it’s huge size, only 30% of it has been uncovered. A short walk in and you find yourself between the two Hellenistic towers, which are not only the oldest part of the city 300 BC, they also act as the gateway into the intriguing columned avenue, which has an interesting water channel running through the middle of the avenue, which sits above the sewers. There are generous walkways on either side and small alleyways with some larger buildings set back on one side and what would have been small shops on the other. As I meander down one side of this well worn road, I can’t help but imagine how impressive this place would have been at the height of its popularity and it is for this reason I chose not to use a guide….I’d rather see it through my eyes and draw on my imagination, rather than someone else’s, specific detail I can find online. We ended up spending almost 3 enjoyable hours wondering around this incredible site. From here we made another 30 minute drive to see the Kursunla falls. As you enter the protected forest, you walk along canopied pathways that wind down into an enchanting little grotto. There you meet waterfalls that cascade down the rock-face before falling into an emerald green pool below, which wouldn’t have looked out of place in a serene movie scene. There were also several smaller falls and little pools dotted across the area. After an hour or so of enjoying this tranquil place, we decided to head back into Kaleici for a debrief over another delicious lunch.
Dream Chasers 