Antalya (Termessos), Turkey
The morning fog burned off before breakfast, revealing the dramatic Taurus Mountains in all their glory. We had docked overnight at the Antalya pier, and the limestone peaks that reached over 6,000 feet were inspiring in every direction.
A person could spend weeks in the Antalya area, with all its archeological and cultural riches, so we offered a few different options for the morning based on interests and physical abilities. Many of us drove into the mountains for a rugged hike in one of the most remote of the ancient cities: Termessos. The city belonged to Pisidian people, and was not conquered by Alexander the Great on his racing conquest of the east in the fourth century b.c.. Termessos then established an independent alliance with the Roman Empire, controlling the mountain passes and winter trade routes when the Mediterranean fleets were taken out for the rough winter months. The city declined and fell into disrepair in the fourth century a.d., and has had only minimal excavation.
The setting was spectacular as we hiked up through the Mediterranean pines, Arbutus, and juniper forest, with limestone ruins strewn about like the discard of a Hephaestean workshop. One could not help but ponder the daunting task of any clearing, excavation, and restoration when you see a site as it would have been found in the wild.
And then we reached the theater. Entering over the crest of the highest seats, the theater looked out on stunning peaks and down a long valley that stretched to the Mediterranean Sea. The view was riveting, the sensation Olympian. Greek theaters were always built into the natural settings to create inspiring and contemplative backdrops, while the later Romans then closed them in. We all spent some time walking up, down and around the theater before moving on to the vacuous and gigantic city cisterns, and then hiking back down through the refreshing forest.
But Antalya offers so much more, and others spent the day in the Ottoman Turk antique quarter of Kaleici, or Old Town Antalya, with its many mosques and narrow Turkish alleyways built over the ruins of the preceding Roman harbor. Hadrian’s Gate remains an impressive reminder of the earlier Roman dominance, but the character of the old town is decidedly Ottoman today. The rich and complex history of the Antalya region is gloriously displayed in the recently renovated Antalya Museum, which many of us visited this morning.
In the afternoon we shared stories of our morning adventures, while Captain Pushkarev sought out the perfect position to anchor the ship for a swim stop. Just off the ancient Roman double harbor of Phaselis and under the 7000- foot, snow-covered limestone peak of Tahtali Dag (“Wooded Mountain”), he anchored the ship with a sunny lee on the starboard side and the bravest and most enthusiastic swimmers were quickly afloat in the saline Mediterranean Sea. The water was warmer than the anticipated 19 degrees Celsius, luring more and more of our shipmates into the sea. The view and sensation as we lay on our backs and looked up at the Sea Cloud’s masts reaching up to the Olympian heavens is indescribable. Just another day on the Sea Cloud.
