Monday, September 29 –

Another transition day, excited to be heading to the sea. Konya is basically a big, industrial city, primarily just a good halfway point between Cappodocia and Antalya. My run this morning was by a series of high-rise offices and hotels–boring, but nice and flat.

As with dinner, the hotel had an extensive selection for breakfast, almost too many options. Despite this, we were all fine to move on, as it was basically your standard business hotel, nothing particularly charming about it.

We drove through the Taurus Mountains and saw some lakes that were in desperate need of rain–we did have some rain along the way, but it didn’t last long–makes me realize the beautiful weather I am enjoying has some downsides for the residents.

Lunch was tucked away along the river. Didn’t look like anything I might venture into on my own, but the food was cheap, plentiful, and tasty. That’s a definite benefit of having a local tour guide leading us

We then spent some time at Aspendos, a Greco-Roman city, at one point (5th c), the

most important city in the region of Pamphylia. Most of our visit was focused on the theater, considered best preserved theatre of antiquity. It really is in wonderful shape, with perfect acoustics, so good the symphony orchestra of Antalya uses it as their summer home.

We could also wander behind the theatre where archeologists continue to dig. Remains of the stadium were a bit sparse, but we could also get up close and personal with the acropolis, which we had seen from afar at lunch. Definitely an interesting and worthwhile stop.

We were then on to Antalya, for two days at a resort city on the Mediterranean. After we arrived, Taylan took us on a little orientation walk before setting us free on our own.

First stop, happy hour at the hotel bar set in a lovely outdoor locale. What started as a handful grew to become a crowd which just made it more fun.

Dan and I eventually broke off to find dinner. We stopped at one of the places recommended on the orientation and had a fine meal with a great ambiance. When we finished, we strolled a bit and did a bit of souvenir shopping (our rug is the big kahuna).

Tomorrow is our “vacation from our vacation ” day. The big question? Does Chris actually go through with the Turkish bath?? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

18,985 steps

10.4 miles