Day two on the Gulet. We moved in the morning to a scenic cove which shelters the sunken baths of Cleopatra built for her by Mark Antony. Legend says that he gave her the entire Turquoise Coast as a wedding gift. Today’s hike went up the “hill”, down a bit and up another “hill”. Sue choose to stay home on the Gulet. At the top we visited a mountain home where we enjoyed visiting with the home owner. His wife had hurt her back and had gone to the hospital via donkey, boat and bus—some two hours journey. We bought bells on woven rope with goat hair tassels. She does the weaving. On to more ruins including cisterns which look like domes scattered around the hills. The ruins were Greco-Roman called Lydea. The boat moved during the hike and met us in Friendship cove as we came down, down, down the other side. Hard hike because of the loose rock but well worth it.
The prize at the end was a swim in the cove off the gulet. Brrr. To prove she wasn’t a total wimp, Sue jumped off the top of the steps, what a wedgie.
We set sail, without motors, for the afternoon and enjoyed the glorious quiet and view, not much wind so we did not go very far. Off to the next sheltered cove for the night. When we set anchor the food appears. Apo, the chef has a small kitchen and works wonders. We loved the eggplant dish and rice. Twice they grilled kabobs—delicious. Too much food but we all wanted to take Apo home with us. And oh yes, olives for breakfast.
Day three—We made a landing on a small beach in the bay of Gemiler and drove to the “ghost town”. Up and down the hills, switch backs all the way. The hike was in Kayakoy once inhabited by Anatolian Greeks. They lived on the hillside and were the craftsman of the area. The turks lived in the valley and farmed. It was a perfect arrangement and friendship among the residents. During the 1920’s the entire Greek population was relocated to Greece in the aftermath of the Turkish War of Independence. Turks living in Greece were relocated to the hillside. The valley Turks missed their friends and continued to hope for their return. The two groups of turks never messed and eventually the 600 hillside homes were abandoned. 
They are kept preserved now as a reminder of the friendship of the two nations. It was fascinating site and Sue was especially proud of managing the hillside hike. Patty convinced Nancy to go the highest point and after much huffing and puffing they and others made it to the top—what a view off both sides, into the valley and off to the blue waters.
Day four, disembarkation day. We traveled overland from Fethiye to the resort town of Antalya. The mountains grow out of the sea with the road hugging the hills. Much like Route 1 in California, but the road is much closer to the water. A few stops for pictures of the turquoise water and we arrive in Myra. The Roman ruins here are quite interesting with it’s large theater and mask friezes scattered around. It also features Lycian house tombs carved into the cliffs. This was all built in the fourth century BC. As with all ruins, there is an amphitheater. Helenistic theater seats are built into the hill while Roman theaters have back walls to support the upper seats.Then off to Demre where we went to the Church of St Nicholas. St Nick loved children and was known to give them gifts at every opportunity. The church is full of beautiful frescoes featuring St Nick as well as other religious figures. The statue outside the church is dedicated to Children of Peace throughout the world. St Nick was the model for the modern day Santa Claus, he is also a favorite saint of the Russians who come in masses to visit this site.
After a great lunch we are off to Antalya. We are staying the in the old town which requires us to walk to the hotel, no busses allowed. We stop at the harbor and wind through old streets with shops, restaurants and hotels. Our hotel is quite charming and we enjoyed dinner on the patio.Much to our surprise along came a garbage truck, that was not the surprise, the surprise was that is sounded like an ice cream truck except that the tune playing was Vivaldi. Go figure that one out.
In the morning we are off for a walk in another direction through old town to a set of gates in the city wall. On the way we saw the ruins of a church turned mosque—they add minarets and often new arches. Pointed arches are indicative of Islamic design. The old city, like the balance of Turkey, is filled with beautiful flowers wherever we look. This is also a good time to talk about the cats—everywhere we go, on every street, in every restaurant, in every ruin, in every store and just plain everywhere, there are cats. All appear to be healthy and we fed our share. The people of Turkey seem to love them and let them roam about. Many leave food for “regulars” at spots around town.
Our goal for the morning is the Antalya Muzesi. The museum is full of artifacts from the stone age to the present. One room contains statues from one of the larger temple excavation sites. They are beautifully sculpted and are of the gods from ancient mythology. One of the early stone age pieces depicts an early full-bodied goddess. Quite amazing. 
The afternoon was time on our own. So Sue decided, when in Turkey, take a Turkish bath. She went with Patty, nicknamed Boo and her mother Carolyn, or Mother Boo, to a local traditional bath house which was at least 100’s of years old. Women on the left, men on the right. You quickly loose any modesty you had when they take you to a large domed room made of marble where you sit buck naked and pour hot water over yourself for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Then one by one they went into another room to lie on a huge marble slab and your entire body, except head, is buffed with a sand paper type mitt by a Turkish woman. Then once again you pour water over yourself to wash away the dead skin and get back on the slab. Next thing you know, you are covered in bubbles. They are hard to describe but feel like you are floating in effervescent bliss. Then more water over yourself and wash your hard, wrap in a towel and off to a room to be oiled and gently massaged. Heaven, I’m in heaven.
That evening after a short walk and dinner on the patio we packed for our next day’s journey which included a home stay. We drove to Lake Beysehir and into the Taurus mountains. The mountains are quite spectacular and the topography changed as we rose in elevation. We stopped for lunch at another ruin and walked down to the seaside through a road that reminded Nancy and many seaside resort towns. Rounding the corner we were greeted by the remains of Apollo’s Temple. Today’s discovery. We went off to have lunch by the waterfall and enjoyed the kabobs, cats, baby ducks and all the little kids they attracted.
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