TURKEY'S MAGICAL HIDEAWAYS
May 22 - June 7, 2009
Page 17
Mediterranean Cruise, Aegean Sea, and Ephesus
Late afternoon, we hiked up about 400 feet to the top of Gemiler Island. On the island, we saw a 6th century
Byzantine monastery and ancient churches. Here we see a view of the azure sea and coastline.
Gemiler Island, also known as St. Nicholas Island, was inhabited until about the 12th century. Some
believe that St Nicholas (of Santa Claus fame) lived here for a time, as well as 300 monks.
Group shot of those on our tour that hiked to the Gemiler Island summit. It was hot and sunny. On the
way down, our tour guide Rana and Pat saw a small poisonous Turkish snake cross the trail in front of them.
The following morning, June 3, we cruised to Aga Limani "Friendship" cove and took the motorboat dingy
to the beach where we saw small tortoises mating. We walked through forests and meadows to Greco-Roman
ruins from the 3rd and 4th centuries, hearing the music of goat bells in the distance. We stopped at the home
of a nomadic goat herding family. Here their 5 year old girl is having fun chasing one of their young donkeys.
Our tour guide Rana has been stopping at this nomadic home since this girl was a baby.
The 5 year old sitting on a rock. She had such energy that
it was hard to catch her sitting still.
A view inside of the nomad's one room home. They sleep on the floor on futon type mats.
One corner of the room holds the fireplace and cooking area.
Mother and child outside the home. Her husband had a cold
and stayed back from us with a handkerchief over his mouth
so we wouldn't catch it.
A view of a sailboat on our way to our next mooring site.
Our yacht in Ekincik Cove, where a small riverboat met us to take
us on a side trip upriver on the Dalyan River.
We docked temporarily to visit the ancient Lycian site of Caunos dating back to around 600 BC.
While walking into a theater dating from the 2nd century BC, we came across 3 donkeys, one of whom
was young. The young one followed me into the theater area and the other 2 then followed. They surrounded
me as I was trying to listen to our tour guide, and the young one kept nuzzling one of my arms and my waist
with his forehead.
Link to next page of Mediterranean Cruise - Page 18
Link to first page of Drive from Cappadocia to Fethiye on the Mediterranean - Page 11
Link to first page of Cappadocia - Page 6
Link to Page One of Turkey- Istanbul
Pat's Home Page
