The temperatures have now settled into the low, to mid twenties, which makes getting out to the great restaurants and local sights a lot more fun. We’ve also been trying to dip more into the local culture, the only downside with all this increased social interaction is the increased Covid threat, which I inevitably came down with when we got back from Termessos early on Saturday evening, thankfully it’s just me, as Rach and our driver both seem fine. We’d decided on Termessos during the week, as it offered both the remains of another ancient city and the beauty of the mountains. Two interesting points to note about the place; it was founded by the Solims, who were themselves mention by Homer in the Iliad, And in 333 BC it became one of only a handful of strongholds that Alexander the Great was unable to conquer “It was like an eagles nest” he said after. It took us about an hour to get there as we took advantage of stopping off along the way, to look out across the gorge that runs through the Gulliuk Dagi mountain, the landscape is covered with different shades of green cypress trees, against an interesting rocky backdrop. It was late morning by the time we arrived at Termessos mid point, we’d be hiking up the remaining 1600 M peak to look down on the city, that sits just below. After setting off, It wasn’t long before we encountered the lower city walls, about 3M thick and the only gateway into the city. We continued to wind up the mountain through the pine canopy for about another hour or so until we reached an opening that revealed firstly the old gym, before moving up to what would have been the Main Square (mostly rubble now), a market place and several other interesting buildings dotted around this rustic site. Out of all of the antiquities that we’ve seen here in Antalya so far, we’ve enjoyed the Termessos experience the most. I think it’s because it sits within a beautiful unadopted landscape and you have to work a little to get there. Sitting at the top and centre of the city is a 1000 seat theatre, perfectly placed to look out across the mountain range vista and down the valley….stunning! We were encouraged to traverse the mountain and take a less trodden route back down, which was a little more challenging but gave us a glimpse of the surreal burial chambers that had been carved into the limestone cliffs and also several interestingly placed tombs, which looked out across the mountains and down the valley, to supposedly keep watch from the afterlife. We spent about 4hrs here and if it wasn’t for the fact that I was fading fast, we would have stayed longer. We headed back to Kaleici and had lunch overlooking the old harbour, which was more for Rach than me.
Dream Chasers 