9/20 & 21 Sunset and Country Driving

 I decided to combine these as they are both small.  

The first 2 weeks + here in Alanya we had just blue skies - no clouds and the light seemed harsh.  As the days get shorter it seems that the evening light is more muted, almost mysterious.  And we have had more clouds to add a little interest.  These sunset photos are from 9/20.

This morning Michael had arranged for a car and driver to take us to a couple of tourist sites and wait for us in between. The price was steep - 150 euros - but after experiencing the roads we were so glad we did not try to drive ourselves!

We were using a transfer company - they usually transfer your from your tourist destination to the airport or the reverse.  This old van had seating for 8 teeny tiny people!  The cushioned seats made you feel like you were constantly sliding towards the floor.  The seatbelts were a struggle to put on.  And the vehicle had no shocks - you felt each and every bump.

Inside looks fairly nice.  And the driver did have a good supply of cold water.

I took photos with my iphone as we drove through the country out to Sapadere Canyon and a waterfall and then to the ruins of the ancient city of Syedra.

It seems that every time I would have a decent shot of something we would hit a bump or make a sharp turn.  There were a lot of switchbacks on these mountain roads!

This is an agricultural area - there were a lot of green houses.  I didn't manage to get a photo of all the banana trees - some with huge bunches of bananas - but there were a lot of them.

A house with one curler.

A terraced hillside.  Note mountains behind in distance.

Lots of little places that sold food as well as full on restaurants.

We passed many mosques.

A mining operation.  It could have been for Bauxcite or aluminum ore.  They also have marble and other stone quarries around here.

More green houses.

The next two posts will be on the sites that we did see.  

9-19 Alanya Old Town around the Castle

 The second part  of our tour yesterday was walking from the castle down to the Teleferik (Cable car) through the Old Town.  We then took the cable car down to the Alanya beach area where we stopped for drinks before catching an uber back to our apartment.  Ubers are not cheap here - it was about $25 each way.  

We exited the castle through the main gate and started down the hill.  Most tourists take the teleferik from the beach to the old town - walk up to the castle and then walk back down to the old town to catch the teleferik to the beach.  I am so glad we took the on-line advice to take a taxi/uber to the top and walk down to the Teleferik.  It is a long way!  This photo is of part of the castle wall.

This is a replica of an Ottoman style house.

There were signs pointing out various ruins -Michael is an area that has cisterns.  There was no natural source of water at the castle or old town.  These used cisterns to store rain water.

Not so old cemetery.

Narley Tree

The old bazar has been updated and still sells stuff.

Michael making a very hard decision-which magnet is the best bargain?

Views along the way.

It was really very busy with tourists going up and down the steps - not sure how I was able to get this shot.

Another palace

This is just a small section of the pathway down - it was a very long ways!

Getting on the Teleferik.

Heading down.

Passing another car

Views through the incredibly dirty windows.

Departing the cable car!  You did not have much time to get into or out of the car as it did not stop moving.  And it picked up passengers on the other side of the pole on the right.

We stopped at a bar for drinks - Michael usually has Turkish coffee.  It is a small cup of strong coffee usually served with a small sweet and a tiny glass of water.  I get cold coke zero.

9-19 Return to Alanya Castle

 Today we decided to return to Alanya castle and also do the Old Town.  When we went with the photographer we focused on taking  good photos of the buildings not the history.  Michael especially wanted to go back and take a deep dive into the history. When he gets his post done I will put a link here so you also can get the history if you like:

I like a little history along with photographic opportunities.  But I also like to include photos of what the Archeological site looks.  Many people never have the opportunity to see one.  When you look at the photo below you can see areas of stone and areas of brick in the buildings.  The stone is original.  The brick is new - to show you what it must have looked like.  The artifact in the bottom of the frame is probably a replica.  All real artifacts are now in museums.

Moody mountains

This is part of the castle complex - but a long way away.  There is a mosque here as well as another castle. We will go there in my next post.

Close up of above - I was hoping you could read the descriptions of the weapons.

Mosaic or painting on wall.  

What it looks like now with all the signage.  But - sigh - it is all in Turkish.

The church

Does this mean:  Don't throw stones while you are taking a selfie - or don't through stones at people who are taking selfies even if you find it very annoying!

From here we headed out of the old main gate to walk through the Old Town to the tram down to the Alanya beach area.