Fantastic Gilindire Cave, and up into the mountains

First thing we did was to go for a short walk around the park at the beach where we had overnighted. It's a really pretty bay, and I'm sure the place is packed with tent campers and picnickers on a summer weekend. 

But yesterday morning, there was just us, one couple in a tent, and a guy picking up trash.

Cloudy with sunny breaks chance of showers, and a high of about 16C (61F). Not bad.

Max, overlooking the beach.

You can see Max on the right.

Strange rocks!

The bay at Aydıncık.

Aydıncık looks like a nice little town.

Our stray dog buddy having a snooze beside Max.

We drove about 20 minutes east to Gilindire Cave where our friends Katja and Yves had been a week or so ago. They said it was a worthwhile stop, and boy, they weren't kidding! We have been in a lot of caves, so we didn't have high expectations, but this one was really different for a fairly small cave.

Scenery along the way.

At the cave parking lot, I almost ran over this little fellow!

Notice another stray dog is very interested as well.

We relocated the tortoise to a safer spot.

We paid 12 lira ($1.05 CAD, $0.82 USD) each entrance fee, and headed down the rusty metal staircase to the cave entrance on a cliff.

Gilindire Cave was only discovered in 1999, and only opened to the public in 2013. Why they built the staircase out of steel is beyond me, because after less than ten years it is just about done already! Salt water and steel don't get along, and the salt water always wins.

Staircase leading down to the entrance.

I bet they didn't use Tremclad!

A few of the supports had rusted right through!

Heading inside.

There were a couple of other vehicles in the parking lot, but there were two guys in the office so we thought we were alone in the cave. But about half way through, we heard voices and two men passed us on their way out. 

They've done the inside really well. Minimal lighting, and only a few spotlights on some of the better features. 

Lots of steps. And it's warm and humid inside the cave. We had read reviews that said "you will sweat", and "bring water", and it was all true!

I took too many photos and tried to whittle them down for you. 

But there is still a lot.

Me!

The stairs lead down to an underground lake!

Wow. Very cool!

Its hard to show perspective, but the column on the right is about 30' high.

It doesn't show up in the photo, but the formation on the right was sparkling.

The lake at the bottom.

Viewing platform at the bottom.

Also, about 30' high.

Wow.

For such a small cave, it was really good. I mean, you're not really in there for very long. It was less than an hour that we were away from Max. but it was a really good hour. A worthwhile stop!

From there, we drove to the port town of Taşucu. This is where the ferry leaves for North Cyprus. We made a stop for a fruit and veggie store, and wandered around for a bit. Not much to see though.

Little seaside cove along the way.

This little town is having a major construction headache.

Heading into Taşucu.

The beach at Taşucu.

We walked until the path ended, and turned around.

We made a decision to head inland. Of course we have been staying along the coast because that is where it is warmest, and you don't have to head very far inland for it to become too cold. But there is so much more to see inland, and we feel like we're missing a lot by having to stay on the coast.

So we headed up to the ancient city of Uzuncaburç. It's located about 40 kms (25 miles) inland at over 1000 meters (3,500') altitude, so we knew that it was going to be colder up there. But we figured for one night it would be okay.

We had to drive right through the fairly big city of Silifke (pop 114,000).

But soon we were heading uphill on a secondary road.

Right at the side of the road!

This tomb dates to the 2nd century.

Still standing, but just barely!

And further along we saw three more tombs, but they were further from the road. We found a spot to park Max and went for a walk...

These ones are two stories.

Then we walked about a half a km on a goat path to get to these ones...

And yes, there is a storm coming!

All original.

Two lion statues inside the tomb.

The one on the right is missing his head!

The one on the left is partially falling over.

Intricate stone carving at the top of the roof pillar.

When we arrived at Uzuncaburç it was too late in the day to visit. We found somewhere nearby to park up for the night. Just a few locals and sheep and goats for neighbors.

And sure enough, it got cold overnight. The low was -1C (30F) and an expected high of 7C (45F). And that is why we will be heading back to the coast this afternoon!

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White Noise Sound Machine

And in Canada...

A good selection of Board Games.