I’ve wanted to visit Antalya Museum for months since several friends who’d visited gave us raving reviews. So I was very excited to spend time there on our second day staying in Antalya.
Museum exhibits to amaze
First of all Barry and I visited the restored Ataturk House Museum which was a fairly short walk from our hotel in the Old Town. It was interesting seeing how the house had been decorated when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (founder of the Republic of Turkey) visited in 1930. I also liked the displays of his clothes and was surprised at how slim he was judging by the size of waistcoats and his ‘dainty’ shoes. Small in stature maybe, but large in vision, courage and determination for his beloved Turkey.
From there Baz and I caught a taxi and headed for the Antalya Museum.
What can I say about that? Wow.
Wonderful displays, very well presented. I particularly liked the Hall of Natural History and Prehistory which had models of buildings in some of the ancient sites from around Turkey. I was also fascinated by the glass bottles and beautiful jewellery from different times.
The display of mosaic tiled flooring caught my eye, as I think it’s incredible that artists of the time could create such detailed pictures using coloured squares of stone and pottery. One in particular was fascinating because the size of the tiles was only about 0.5cm (0.2 inch). The time it must have taken to lay out the picture, never mind designing it, must have been quite something. I could imagine the artist ordering 150,000 tiles in mustard colour and 150,000 tiles in dark mustard etc!
Barry was particularly impressed by the level of workmanship of the carvings on the sarcophagi that were on display. Especially when you consider the simple tools they had at their disposal. We’ve seen many tombs along our travels, but obviously these are all the best ones that have been transported to the museum. You really have to see them to appreciate the intricate detail. The one with the many naked women and men feasting on grapes that lavishly cover all vertical walls was absolutely mind blowing.
Cozy hotel for dinner
After we returned to our hotel by taxi, we had a quick shower and then went down to sample another mouth wateringly delicious house-made burger in the restaurant. I absolutely love this little hotel, which is so nicely decorated. We chose to dine inside as it was quite cool and enjoyed our dinner while we gazed out through the glass wall at the log fire burning in the centre of the courtyard. As before, the service was quick and the staff were all very friendly.
After a delicious Turkish breakfast the next day (thanks to the chef – she prepared different traditional Turkish dishes each morning), we checked out.
Fortunately Sezgin the hotel and restaurant manager gave us helpful instructions on driving our car out of the Old Town. Taking the route he suggested meant Baz didn’t have to bend the car at right angles to navigate some of the narrow twists and turns!
We headed north east to just beyond the airport. We were going to Decathlon which is a great sports franchise store that we’ve visited in Spain and also Greece previously. I have some of their wet weather gear for sailing and we have both been wearing their Subea Snorkelling Aquashoes which were on sale for 65 TL (AU$6.60). We like them because they are made for water wear and more importantly have white non-stick soles which are great on A B Sea’s decking.
Baz also got himself a good pair of trainers. I want to say that I put on the video that I’d bought a pair of trainers there too, but now I remember I got them in L C Waikiki. However, we did get a bargain – two pairs of the aquashoes and one sturdy pair of trainers for 320 TL (AU$33).
Rain stops play
After that we drove to Aspendos which is the site of an incredibly well preserved, massive amphitheatre. It's so well kept in fact that the back flat wall, (which is usually reduced to about a metre or two high – in the ones we’ve visited previously) was completely intact. I was very surprised at how tall it was and how many floors it encompassed.
However when we got there the rain (that was forecast for two weeks) was so heavy that we decided to leave Aspendos for another visit. Even our waterproof jackets wouldn’t keep us dry enough for a comfy walk. And we’d just steam up the inside of the car for the 150Km return journey back to Finike marina.
The rain continued practically all the way home. And as we drove past the beach on our approach to Finike, the wind was blowing at least 30 knots from the south, straight onto the beach. You could see how strong it was because the palm tree leaves were bent at right angles to the trees! And the waves hitting the beach were huge.
Back at the marina
We were pleased to note that the water in the marina was very calm, as the marina entrance is at right angles to the way the wind was blowing that day. We parked the car, glad to have a break in the rain so that we could take our soft-bodied suitcases on board without them getting wet.
As we pulled up, our friend Giles walked past, so it was nice to have a quick chat and joke with him before returning to A B Sea.
If you’d like to see what I’ve just written about, then check out this week’s video here.
Until next week, I wish you health, wealth, courage and a healthy dose of wisdom, as you take the actions to bring your dreams to life.
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