Unwilling to leave the lap of luxury, we asked for a late checkout from the Hilton and spent another few hours on the beach/in the water/in the buffet :-). We finally got on the road at ~3:00p and headed toward our next night in Kaş, largely following the coastline.
A tentative sight we had on our list was ancient Phaselis - we were certainly glad that we stopped. This site is from ~700 B.C. and has essentially taken advantage of the multiple bays of the geography to turn the ruins into a public recreation area.
As a citizen of the U.S. it is amazing to see such incredible relics being so accessible to the public in a non-institutional setting. Here are a few of the stunning pics:
Part of the central aqueduct (you park in front of it)
The theater
Some of the many shops complete with their upper and basement level structures
Look at the clarity of the writing on these ruins
The structures ran up to and and sometimes into the surrounding bays...and you could swim in these waters without restrictions!
So we did :-)
It is hard to describe the sense of history you feel when surrounded in this setting. After taking in as much as we could, we got back on the road to make it to the hotel before too late in the evening.
We drove into Kaş before dark (thankfully) to find more narrow streets that we had to wind through to reach the Payam Hotel. We got checked in quickly then walked down the steep hill into town to have a late dinner. We found a nice place in the center of town (Çınarlar Pide) and tried not to order too much, but were given complentary ”puffy bread” with all the condiments and an additional dish of grilled mushrooms - so much for a small meal.
After rolling ourselves out of the restaurant we walked more of the town then made our way back to the room at nearly 11p - figuratively and literally full from our day. 😊
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