Antalya - Back to the beautiful Aegean - but Turkey's this time

The words of the day are Plan B.

As we left Cappadocia, we found out that air travel is so dependent upon technology.  This is a small airport in Kayesari.  Our flight on Pegasus to Antalya was scheduled to leave at 12:30 pm.  When we got there around 11:00 am, there were three lines backed up to the ticket counter.  They remained backed up for about two hours, well past the departure time.  It turns out that their computer was down and there was nothing they could do without it.  We finally got on board and and departed and did not need a plan B but we came to the conclusion that Pegasus had no Plan B.

We made it to beautiful Antalya by the sea around 3 pm.  On the Aegean Sea, Antalya is a peaceful town of approximately 2 million people.  Slightly smaller than Denver, it is also spread out and abuts the mountains surrounding it.  Maybe this is what Denver looked like when the ancient inland sea was alive.  

Antalya was founded in the Hellenstic period and was enhanced during the Roman period.  It was known then as Attalia.  It has an ‘old town’ that was the inner city contained within the fortified walls for security.  We spent two nights here.  During our first day there we went to a waterfall above the city and just relaxed next to the water while having lunch. That evening we had dinner at a small restaurant that had a band.  As in so many other places of the world, the music was throw-back American music.  

Old town:

Shopping is big in Antalya

Mezes - small dishes

The Upper Duden Waterfall

A view through the waterfall from a cave you could walk to behind the waterfall.

Lunch on the river.  The place reminded me of Landa Resort in New Braunfels, Texas 40 years ago.

We also spent two nights at a hotel on the beach. It was swing season and fairly empty and the rate was cheap when we got it the week before we arrived.  This was a place for us to relax.  We swam in the Aegean Sea again.  The water was 79^o and perfect for swimming.  It was even warmer than in Greece. 

The view  of the Aegean from the pool.

When we use the word beach, keep in mind that there is no sand and no surf.  There may be gravel or  just ladders into the water.  Here it was mostly ladders.  So more like a big pool than what we know as beaches. And swimming here is really swimming or treading water. So we swam out to the boundary lines and sat on them for a while.

We also took advantage of their spa and had a Turkish Bath.  It is similar to a massage, but you are first heated in a steam room until sweating to open the pores. As you lay on a heavy marble slab, they use a luffa sponge to scrub the dead skin away.  Then they wash you with heavy suds to cleanse the body.  This includes light massage.  Finally, you are rinsed with warm water and capped off with cold water to close the pores.  I can’t say that I have ever experienced anything quite like it. Fortunately for you there are no pictures of this.  Unlike a massage table, turning over on a towel on a marble slab was indeed trying but we both succeeded. The break from the hectic pace was re-energizing!