Mediterranean Trip - Part 1 (Nov. 26/27)

Nov. 26/27

For photos of the first day of our Mediterranean trip, see "Mediterranean trip – Part 1" at: http://www.anatolianphotos.shutterfly.com/

For more information about the Lycians of Turkey, see the web site: http://www.lycianturkey.com/index.htm

Kurban Bayram, the annual holiday, Feast of the Sacrifice, is celebrated this year in Turkey beginning Nov. 27. This is an important holiday, equivalent to Christmas at home. Banks and retail outlets close, and people travel all over for the four day holiday. So did we. But, rather than spending time first slaughtering a sheep for the feast, and sharing the meat with neighbors and the needy, as is customary during this holiday, we decided to head to the southwest Mediterranean coast of Turkey, to the Teke Peninsula. If you look on a map of southern Turkey, it is the bit of land bulging into the Mediterranean, between Fethiye (ancient Telmessos) and Antalya. (I.e., east of Fethiye and west of Antalya). This is the country of the ancient Lycians, a generally peaceful ancient people, whose republican Lycian League (or Federation, or Union) was mentioned in Hamilton’s and Madison’s Federalist Papers and became one of the inspirations for the founding of the U.S. Constitution and our republican form of government.

Lycians were one of the few non-Roman peoples not considered "barbarians" by that Empire, as they were a cultured, fiercely independent, group, who generally disdained empire building. This is not to say they were always peaceful, but battles were generally fought to preserve their way of life from onslaughts by other civilizations.

The Lycian League was formed in 168 B.C.E., and consisted of 23 autonomous city states. It was administered along democratic principles; each member state sent 2 or 3 representatives to the parliament, located in ancient Patara. The League was formed for purposes of common defense, trade, and other common matters of interest to the otherwise autonomous city states. Major cities of the League were Xanthos, Letoon, Patara, Pinara, Olympos, Myra, Tlos and Phaselis.

Above is a map of the Teke Peninsula.

Fifteen years ago, we visited the eastern part of the peninsula, basing our travels in the resort town of Kemer. From there we visited the Lycian town of Phaselis, and Mount Olympus, with its perpetual fires emanating from escaping gas in holes in the mountain—giving rise to the legend of the Chimera. (Ancient mariners used these fires to orient themselves when approaching land). This time we will visit most of the rest of the peninsula and many of the other important Lycian sites.

Recently, a footpath called the Lycian Way, about 500 km long, was marked in southwest Turkey and has become a popular trekking path. Much of the path travels through the Lycian cities we visited; it also winds up and down mountain passes to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Our trip often crossed segments of the Lycian Way, as we traversed the area by bus. We had planned at some point to hike parts of this footpath, but it may be superfluous now that we have seen so much of this beautiful mountainous countryside, spilling down to the Akdeniz (meaning pure sea), the Turkish name for the Mediterranean.

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The bus taking us to this part of the world left Ankara at 11:30 p.m. on November 26—our Thanksgiving Day. Since our point of departure was a five minute walk from the apartment of our friends, the Nelsons, we decided to accept their invitation to join them and 20 or so other people for the Thanksgiving feast. We arrived with our luggage and two containers of potatoes oreganato we contributed to the meal, ate lots of terrific food, then left at 11:15 (after I changed my clothes into something more comfortable), and boarded the bus to the Mediterranean.

After some fitful dozing on the bus, we awoke in Fethiye, where we breakfasted at the Bogazici Restaurant, with tables on the boardwalk overlooking the Fethiye bay. Two white pelicans greeted us and the new day. The water in this bay is somewhat dirty, but it’s still the Mediterranean, so it didn’t discourage us from taking an after-breakfast stroll along the boardwalk, breathing in the fresh salt air, and identifying other fauna, including large schools of tiny fish (smelts?), one crab, and one – ugh! – swimming water rat (!!!). This doesn’t look promising for swimming.

This day (Friday) being the first day of Kurban Bayram we saw our first family walking its sacrificial sheep, presumably home for slaughter. My goodness, sheep are a lot bigger close up than they seem at the usual distance. Behind the restaurant, we also saw several men contemplating another sheep. Friday morning is the traditional day to slaughter the sheep—the rest of the four day holiday is just relaxing, eating, and for many, traveling. All day long thereafter, we saw various manifestations of the annual ritual of slaughtering: beheading, eviscerating, skinning, butchering and wrapping pieces of sheep (sometimes a cow, although we didn’t see any)—some of which are later cooked for the family’s Bayram feast, and some given away to neighbors and the needy. Not everyone slaughters an animal, only those heads of household who can afford to—or wish to. All of this is in commemoration of Ibraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in Biblical times. As we saw all this – many times over – from the bus, I was unable to get a good photograph of any of the process. Thank heavens for small favors.

Letoon

Our first historical site was Letoon, the spiritual center of the Lycian League. Here are the remains of three temples, devoted to Leto and her two children, Apollo and Artemis. Leto was apparently mistress to Zeus, much to the displeasure of Zeus’s wife, Hera, who banished Leto to a life of roaming from country to country. Settling for long stretches in what later was called Letoon, Leto caused some consternation among the local populace, who feared retribution from Hera for hosting the goddess in their community. After they informed Leto of their fears and displeasure, the goddess, in a fit of anger, turned the people into frogs. Alas, the descendants of those frogs can still be seen in the nymphaeum, (a monument to nymphs) which is currently filled with water and makes for a comfortable abode for the descendants of those hapless Letooners. Imagine that.

Letoon remained an active town through the Greek, Roman, and early Christian period, up to Byzantine times. Each subsequent civilization added buildings, the ruins of which are still under excavation. Some of the ruins include evidence of a Christian church having been built on the site of the nymphaeum, as well as an impressive Greco/Roman amphitheater, among other buildings.

Letoon constitutes, with Patara (see below), a joint UNESCO heritage site, for good reason. Both sites are still under excavation and represent an important legacy in the history of an early civilization—the Lycians. In fact, a stele found in the theater at Letoon (and presumably in a museum somewhere) had long inscriptions in three languages—Lycian, Greek and Arabaic-- enabling scholars to crack the code of the Lycian language – somewhat like the Rosetta Stone. [Actually, I may be mixing up the significance of this stone with one found in Xanthos; my memory of some details of this trip is already fading, alas].

Patara

The ancient city of Patara was the birthplace of two significant figures, Apollo (Leto must have spent time here as well as in Letoon) and St. Nicholas, the latter becoming a beloved bishop in the town of Myra, which we visited on a later day. Two other figures, Paul of Tarsus and Luke, figure into the history of the town, as they were known to have changed ships at the harbor here. (This seems to be a somewhat gratuitous bit of trivia given the otherwise rich history of Patara). Patara is mentioned by the historian Livy as the capital city of the Lycian League. However, others indicate that Xanthos (visited by us on another day) was the capital city. At any rate, it is clear that Patara was the government center, as the League’s parliament building was recently excavated.

The site at Patara has been under excavation for only a short time by Turkish archaeologists working in the summer months. Discovered in 1962, excavations began as recently as the mid 1990s. Despite the short duration, it is evident that Patara is a huge site. Immediately visible are a very large Greco-Roman amphitheater; the parliament building, with its smaller semi-circular theater for parliamentary debate and decision making (sometimes referred to an Odeon); a Roman bath complex; a temple; a three-arched triumphal arch; and a large portion of the main, columned street leading, presumably to the agora, or marketplace. Records indicate there is also a large circular pit that may have been used by an oracle, but we did not see this.

Plans are in the works to make this site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into another Ephesus, the latter being a more renowned and historically important archaeological site. Maybe in another fifteen years, we can visit again and see the results of additional excavations; current digs are visible all over the place.

One comment about the amphitheater: As with most theaters in this area, they were constructed by the Greeks for the production of plays. The Romans later enhanced these theaters, adding a separate stage area and enclosing what had previously been an open stage area with a view of the countryside. In addition, they built higher walls at the bottom of the seating area to protect spectators from the bloody gladiatorial combats often held between man and beast. The Greeks would not have approved, I am sure. Another feature of the theater was a carved inscription with tribute to the individual who put up the money for the construction of the theater. I’d not noticed this type of inscription before, other than in large churches; I’ll look out for them in future visits to Greco-Roman ruins.

Leaving the site of Patara to its current residents – cows and goats – our bus passed many tall peaks. On top of one, I saw what looked like a lighthouse. "Not likely," I thought, as there was no water in sight. A few miles down the road, the bus stopped at a beach on the Mediterranean, where our guide, Onur, explained that the water once reached to the shores of Patara, but silted up over the millennia. That "lighthouse" that I saw was real and is believed to be the oldest Roman lighthouse in existence!

The beach near Patara is unbelievable. Fourteen kilometers long and 50 meters wide, it is totally undeveloped, as it is a wildlife refuge, designated as such for the protection of sea turtles that nest here. All along the gorgeous beach, with incredibly fine gray sand, are posts marking the exact spots where the turtles lay their eggs. In summer, the beach is well populated by sunbathers and swimmers in the beautiful, clear (unlike Fethiye) waters. The only amenity is a single building with restrooms and a small fast-food café. There are claims that some organization designated this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. (I’ve heard this often in my travels, but I always believe the claims because the beaches are so beautiful). Alas, the water was still warm, the air balmy, the beach and sand gorgeous, and my bathing suit remained in a bag on the bus. Sigh.

Kalkan

Arriving mid afternoon at our hotel in Kalkan, a resort community in a sheltered harbor, we find we have a small one bedroom apartment, with living room, and a fully equipped kitchen. For lunch we were on our own, but nearly all restaurants and cafes were closed either for the season or for the Bayram. So we bought some humus and simit (the Turkish equivalent of a bagel), banana and juice for a light (late) lunch, planning to eat it in the kitchen. Instead, we found outdoor seating at a closed café and ate our lunch facing a rock face and parking lot. Kalkan, especially with all the construction going on, is not particularly impressive. I wonder why it is such a well known Mediterranean resort town. (We learn why on another day).

The town seems nearly deserted, not inconsistent with a summer resort during a key family holiday. Construction of a newly widened road makes our hotel difficult to access to and from the roads leading down to the harbor. Our bus cannot navigate the roads, so we have to take mini-buses or walk to where the bus can fit. We are grateful that it is not raining, as the walks in the mud would be difficult. There is an eerie quiet in the town: shops are closed, so too most hotels, swimming pools are empty, boats are moored. Our imagination tells us, though (and the numerous closed taverns confirm) that in summer this town is one noisy, rollicking party. And the number of new summer homes and the road construction lead me to believe that the future will be even noisier and rollickinger. For now though, we will enjoy the quiet atmosphere, and watch the sun set from our balcony overlooking the harbor and the offshore islands in this beautiful Mediterranean bay.