We had a busy day yesterday and there is a lot to share with you. It was moving day, and we stopped at another interesting and quite different ruins site along the way, so we have quite a few photos of that. And, our fantastic little apartment where we are staying for the next two weeks.
Overall, it was a great day... but it was made even better when we got some exciting news... our new motorhome has arrived at the dealership in Germany!
Of course it will just sit there for the next four months or so until we arrive in Germany towards the end of March.
Our contact at the dealership has promised to send some photos, but they haven't arrived yet. Just to refresh your memory, here is what we are buying...
2021 Adria Matrix 520 ST
Citroen chassis - 140 hp.
€52,700 ($81,700 CAD, $62,800 USD, £47,000).
As soon as we get photos of our actual unit, we will be sure to post them for you.
Boy, that news has made the whole thing all the more real! I can't believe how excited I am.
But, there is still four months of other activity ahead of us. So, back to the present...
We completed the deal for our car rental so that we now get to keep the same car until January 10th which is approximately when our 3 month Turkey visa expires. For the balance of the trip, we are paying 67 lira ($11.00 CAD, $8.50 USD) per day for the car.
We headed out around 10:30am. It was only 100 kms (62 miles) or so to Kas, so we did some research to see what there was to see along the way. We decided we would detour to the little visited ancient city of Tlos.
Traffic!
Making our way around the obstacles.
We arrived at Tlos, and we were the only ones there other than a guy in the ticket booth, and a girl in a little souvenir shop. In fact, we were the only tourists there for our entire visit!
We paid the 10 lira ($1.65 CAD, $1.25 USD) entrance fee and headed in to explore.
Wow.
The stadium.
Tlos had no official archeological excavations to speak of until 2005, so most of what you see is unrestored.
Our tour guide!
That friendly pup stayed with us for quite a while.
Ruth getting a closer look.
Nice views in all directions.
This ruins site had both sarcophagi and rock tombs.
These tombs date to the 2nd century.
However, they have found indications that there was a settlement here dating back to the bronze age... 1,500 BC... 3,500 years ago!
An overview of the site.
I climbed up to the top.
You can see the old stairway carved into the rock.
This is the remains of a mansion that was built by an Ottoman ruler in the 18th century.
Ruth, enjoying the view.
Our doggie friend took off barking like crazy, so we went around the corner to see what had excited her so much.
Goats!
She was barking at them, and the goats didn't quite know what to do.
Funny goats.
They sure are good rock climbers!
Ruth, playing fetch with our doggie friend.
The structure at the top.
Some of the sarcophagi
We haven't quite figured out this building style!
Lots of puzzle pieces.
The stage area of the theater.
Have a seat!
How violently would the earth have to shake to dislodge these huge stones?
This theater is left in a very natural unrestored state.
There was a sign at this temple saying that the stairs at the base of it were buried for such a long time that they are in exceptionally good condition.
"If you don't make it perfectly straight, we will throw you to the lions!"
Not much left of the basilica.
Pretty butterfly.
The baths.
Lots of old writing.
Me!
Ruth, outside the baths.
Look at the size of those blocks of stone.
Another great ruins visit. It's fun trying to visualize what life was like here 2,000 years ago.
Back on the road, we made our way to the coast and on to the coastal resort city of Kas.
This is a tomato growing region.
The coastal community of Kalkan.
Scenery along the way.
More scenery.
Pretty beach!
Arrived at our Airbnb around 3:00pm. Our host came out to meet us, and we went up the stairs to our very modern third floor apartment...
Bathroom.
Bedroom.
View.
Kitchen.
The kitchen/living space is a combined room.
What a great spot. And, it's the cheapest place we have stayed in yet. It's low season, so there are a lot of empty rental places. The smart hosts realize that it's better to make a little money than no money at all, so we got a deal at 110 lira ($17.90 CAD, $13.80 USD) per night for a 14 night stay.
Yesterday's drive, 113 kms (70 miles).
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Great Black Friday deal on Classic Ray-Ban Sunglasses.
And in Canada...
Oh my, I feel giddy for you. The new MH is in, spectacular ruins in a lovely setting (I think they may be my favorite so far), another glorious coast drive & an absurdly inexpensive apartment with a wonderful view? For eye candy addicts, this is nirvana.
ReplyDeleteTHIS is living the good life, boys & girls. You don't need to have millions in spare cash lying around to do it, today's lesson is you just... do it!
We are pretty excited about this news too. We are loving our trip here but now we can't wait to meet up with our new motorhome.
DeleteWe really enjoyed these ruins as well. We both think that the Aphrodisias ruins are still our favourite, but then each site we have been to has had it's own unique qualities.
Our apartment is fantastic, we are going to enjoy our two weeks here, especially when we are surrounded by beautiful scenery.
You said it, you don't need to have tons of money to be able to go out and enjoy life and we are proof of that. :-)
Oh wow. What a beautiful post! Thank you for all the photos. I can't imagine something so old. If only walls could talk. I think I need to watch Ben-Hur again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, we are glad that you enjoyed the post and the pictures.
DeleteWhen we are walking around these ruins sites, we are thinking the same thing. So much history over those years, it is really hard to fathom. Now that you have mentioned the movie Ben-Hur we want to see if we can find it. Kevin thinks that he may have seen it before but I don't think I have.
Your little buddy was protecting you from the goats. Is the kitchen fully function in this unit.
ReplyDeleteThe ruins are overwhelming. Amazing how so much endures through generations of earth quakes.
He must have been, goats can be so dangerous you know?! ;-)
DeleteYes, our kitchen here is fully functional, it doesn't have an oven but we knew that in advance so we are fine with that. It is set up quite well actually.
The ruins really were amazing. I guess when you build really, really thick walls they hold up a little longer, even with earthquakes.
What section of town are you in? We rented an apartment above Mencilis Art Silver jewelry store on the main pedestrian street in the old town section. Loved the town! We were there in October (not this year!) as the tourist season was winding down and many of the shops began closing for the season. Such a sweet town. I'll love seeing all of your photos.
ReplyDeleteWe are actually just a little west of Kaş, just up the hill a little from Akçagerme Beach. It is about a 5km walk into town itself but it is all along the waterfront. Other than the downtown section, it is a pretty quite little town. We are definitely going to enjoy our two weeks here. :-)
DeleteSo cool to visit mostly untouched ruins all to yourself. And they look neat! Also super great apartment - and that view!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sure was! That is the way we like to see the ruins, more or less in their natural state, it seems so much more interesting to explore them that way, especially when we have the whole place to ourselves. :-)
DeleteWe are really enjoying this apartment and our view. It is going to be a great two week stay.
Your motorhome is absolutely beautiful. And I can’t find any words to express the pictures you took. It’s just amazing the things you’re getting to see and do. I also love your apartment and you sure got a wonderful deal with that
ReplyDeleteOur motorhome does look beautiful, doesn't it?! I am not sure whether we want the next four months to fly by or not. We are really looking forward to traveling in the motorhome again but we still have so much more to explore here before heading to Germany to pick it up.
DeleteTurkey has surprised us in so many ways. It has definitely surpassed our expectations.
Our apartment is perfect. The only thing that could have improved it would to have been having an oven in it but we knew it didn't going into it. Not many apartments actually have ovens. And yes, the price is a fantastic deal.
i would be so excited i would be off to pick up the motorhome... but wait its cheaper to rent the apartment,, so many choices..
ReplyDeleteWe are excited too but we know that we still have so many fun things to do here, plus it is cold up in Germany right now!
DeleteNice knowing your new Motorhome has arrived. That will give you more freedom in your future travels.
ReplyDeleteAnimals are just as curious as Humans.
Modern buildings would not have survived that Earthquake.
Nice Looking Airbnb.
Be Safe and Enjoy the area.
It's about time.
It sure is nice, now we can't wait to see it with our own eyes but we still have four more months of exploring before that happens.
DeleteThere are many ruins that never survived the earthquakes here, so I guess some are just built better than others or maybe the earthquakes weren't as bad in some areas as others. I think that there are probably a lot on new buildings that would survive earthquakes now, especially because they have so many building codes that have to be followed in high risk earthquake zones. I guess only time will tell and we may not be alive when that time comes.
Our Airbnb is great and so is the price. :-)
I think these are the most impressive ruins so far. Congrats on the new rig. Do you have a name pick out yet?
ReplyDeleteYes... but we can't share it with you yet. We need to see the motorhome in person to make sure the name suits "him".
DeleteWhat views! Good job capturing history. I can't believe with all the stones and walking you don't use walking sticks. I'm impressed.
ReplyDeletethe views in this particular area are fantastic.
DeleteBack at home I have trekking poles but because we don't check luggage when we are flying, I can't bring them with me in my carry on luggage. When we pick up the motorhome in March we will buy a set of trekking poles for me, Kevin doesn't use any poles.
Another fantastic blog and photos all around. Like Garth, I found these latest ruins very impressive even more so than the others. However, I agree with your assessment of the Aphrodisias ruins. More power to you! Sat safe. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the post and the pictures Lynnette. We did enjoy these ruins and it was especially nice that we were the only ones there for the full two hour visit. It was also nice that we were able to wander around in amongst the ruins so much, we really like being able to do that, rather than having fencing or a barrier of some sort to stop you.
Delete