gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

There was no doubt that the carpets on show were beautiful and would be greatly valued by some people ….

…. or that the ladies that weave them, (often taking months or even a year to produce one) are highly motivated, highly skilled and highly underpaid (a point that was repeatedly made) but it was the enforced demonstrations and the hard sell that lasted well over an hour that annoyed me. The salesmen simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. We had no intention in paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds for a carpet, but they just wouldn’t listen. This ‘lock in’ was all the more annoying as I would have liked to spend a further hour at the ruins of Laodicea.

Later we crossed the Anatolian plateau as we headed for the Mediterranean. Scenery was lovely, many raptors were seen but of course there was no stopping. This photo was taken from the bus window.

We stayed at a beautiful hotel to the west of Antalya.

A small ‘volcano’ has been built over the site of a hot spring and you can take an outside dip in a steaming hot pool, the temperature of which was just about tolerable.

We were entertained with a belly dancer who insisted on audience participation (both male and female). I hid behind a pillar in case I got selected.

The following morning it was the hard sell again – first a jewelry factory ….

….and then a leather factory where we were obliged to watch a fashion show first. With a salesman shadowing us just three feet behind, Margaret told him that ‘my philosophy in life is not to buy anything I don’t need and I don’t need a leather coat’. He replied ‘the exit is over there madam’

In the afternoon we were free to explore Antalya, although much of the city is tourist development, an ancient centre with its narrow streets and quaint shops still exists.

We were dropped off a square near the old town ….

…. dominated by a huge statue to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern secular state of Turkey in 1923 after the demise of the Ottoman Empire

…. we wandered the quaint streets ….

…. and pretty courtyards ….

…. photographed ancient minarets ….

…. until we came to Hadrian’s Gate built in honour of the Roman emperor.

Retracing our steps ….

…. we headed for the harbour ….

…. with its old ships ….

…. and even older buskers …

…. but the ‘ancient galleon’ with its diesel engines appeared to be of more recent construction.

In a park overlooking the harbour we found several White-spectacled Bulbuls, a common species in parts of the Middle East, here at the extreme western edge of its range.

Along the cliffs were a number of Crag Martins, the only hirundine of the trip.

As the sun set over the distant mountains we headed eastwards to our hotel.

I have already stated that I was very impressed with the standard of hotels on this tour, especially given the cost. The best of all was the Hotel Lykia near Aspendos where we stayed for the last two nights. The dining room (above) was massive with the biggest buffet I have ever seen. You would think you had inspected every dish but still others on your table would come back with food you didn’t know was there.

The view of the swimming pool from our room ….

….and the pool in the daylight.

A late start the following day allowed me to do a bit of birding first but there was nothing on the sea except a few Cormorants.

Our fist stop was at the ruins of a Roman aqueduct, with its attendant souvenir stalls.

But it was the partially restored Roman theatre at Aspendos that was the focus of the day, said to be the best preserved in the world.

As a measure of how multi-national and multi-cultural we have become, we discovered that although all but one of the group lived in the UK they originated from Canada, China, Cyprus, Gambia, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Malta, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Trinidad (plus of course the UK) so with our Kurdish guide and Turkish driver there were 16 nationalities represented out of 34 people. We all (with possibly with one exception) got on very well.

After the obligatory lecture about the archaeology we were free to climb to the top if we wished ….

…. to explore ….

…. and photograph the colonnade that surrounds the structure.

Built in AD 155, the theatre was used for artistic performances rather than the gladiatorial combat. In the latter the seats would have been raised above the height of the stage to separate the crowd from wild animals.

We were amazed that 90 year-old Anne made it to the top of the steps, indeed I think she had to help Yin (who must have been a third of her age) get down.

If you have any doubt how high up it was, look at the two of the them in the centre of this photo.

We had our lunch by a restored Roman bridge ….

…. with a beautiful view of the river and the mountains beyond.

We returned in time for a sunset walk around the gardens and on the beach.

With quite a large group and the trip only lasting a week we were just getting to know people as the trip ended. Although from very different backgrounds and with different interests, I think we made some nice friends that week, although it is unlikely our paths will cross again.

As our departure to the airport wasn’t until the late morning there was time for some final birding in the scrub and fields around the hotel. Birds like Common Kingfisher, Wryneck, Stonechat, Cettis and Sardinian Warbler, several races of Chiffchaff, Water Pipit, Serin and Corn Bunting were seen but the best photos were of Crested Lark  ….

…. and Wood Lark.

So all that remained was to fly home to Gatwick. Almost all the trips I have done have either been self-drive, self-led tours or commercial birding tours. Apart from one day guided trips around a city, I haven’t done this type of sightseeing tour since the seventies. Was it a success? undoubtedly, with the exception of the retail outlets, all the places we visited were interesting and photogenic, the company good, the hotels excellent and it was very good value. Would I do similar tours again, yes, especially if it was something that Margaret was keen to do. Finally as Margaret’s daughter and her husband are away at Christmas, we headed straight from Gatwick to Maldon in Essex to spend the next four days with them – but that’s a tale for another day.