Day 23: Olympus to Cirali

Thursday 24th April, 2014

Loved my stay at the Blue Bay Motel and was so excited that I got up to watch the sunrise from my verandah.

The hotel manager organised a taxi for me and the only other guest in the establishment, a German/Turkish woman, to share to Olympos (20TL each).

But first, she and I had breakfast together, communicating in Gerglish - not very extensively.... She seemed keen to make her food-related rules clear: the omelette was for me, and the boiled eggs for her, because she only eats omelettes once every ten days; the pide bread was her special order because she doesn't eat white bread - but I was welcome to have some, too; if I wanted to smoke, I would need to sit elsewhere - but, in any case, the ashtray with used butts in it was absolutely unacceptable on the table....

She was also keen to establish my personal food-related rules. Ummm, I was trying to think quickly, "I don't eat too much sugar?" (Lame!) "And I watch how much bread I eat? (Wishy washy!) "I never eat too much fat!" She lost interest, but I felt the weight of the nation's reputation for rigour on my shoulders and desperately searched for a robust rule - either personal or cultural, about anything. The one I came up with indicates my form under pressure - but, at least it allowed me to exit purposefully: " I always pack my bag before I leave hotels!"

I think she made a personal leap in tolerance, because she gave me a big, warm hug when we went our separate ways at Olympos.

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around the extensive ruins at Olympus. I only had a 3km walk to Cirali, so I settled into my favourite pace - plodding, and pretty well covered it all. Found myself, again, wishing I could time-travel and see how life was, in these sophisticated cities - it seems like aesthetics was the absolute priority in urban design.

Lots of pansiyons on the way in to Olympos, with a distinctly young, hippy feel about them

 

 

 

 

These places would be very much at home in the Daintree

 

 

 

 

A path lined with ancient tombs

 

Love the Lycian walls. The Roman blocks were symmetrical

And a Byzantine wall

 

Attempts to secure arches

 

 

Mosaic floor

 

 

The beach. Cirali at the far end

 

A beach vendor brought these along. I couldn't resist, and hope I don't live to regret it. The mussels are cooked and served with nicely spicy rice and lemon. (The rice mixture is inside the shell.) made by a Kurdish woman and sold by her son. He also gave me some melon seeds. I loved my impromptu beach picnic

You use one half of the shell as a spoon

 

This is where I am blogging from - a coffee stop, on my way up the beach to Cirali. It's 3pm - will plod off and continue this later...

In Cirali, I have chosen a pansiyon that's down by the the beach, rather than in town, but it's quite basic. It feels like it is not quite ready for business - grounds are still tired-looking and the room is not welcoming. (60TL B&B.) Never mind - there are some nice restaurants along the beach where I can linger tonight. I can hear some pleasant jazz music already....

Tomorrow, I'm planning to do a day walk, sans pack, to see the Chimaera - a continually-burning natural gas flame that comes out of cracks in rocks. My guidebook tells me that this is where, in 1200BC, Bellerophon defeated the mythical Chimaera, with the aid of his winged horse, Pegasus.

Then, it will be back here for another night.

 

Town is cute. Very relaxed

 

 

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