Sunday 6th December – Patara – “Turkey orgy”

I spoke too soon about the hot water.  Our host forgot to switch on the electric water heater for us this morning, and when I popped down to remind him the electricity promptly went out, so no showers.  We did have a lovely breakfast, which, in addition to the usual sliced tomatoes, cucumber, boiled egg, feta-like cheese, olives, bread and honey, included a plate of chopped fruit and stewed apple.

First stop on our Lycian tour was Letoön, which was the least impressive of the three sites we saw today.  A theatre,

the remains of three adjacent temples

and water logged nymphaeum made up the small site,

although the turkeys going for it as we arrived kept us amused. SPOT

Xanthos was next, once the capital and grandest city in Lycia, and, whilst many of its best bits were removed for “safe keeping” by the British Museum in 1842, the pillar tombs and Roman theatre remain.

You can also get up close to some rock tombs. SPOT

Back to Patara to visit the ruins by the beach (which is a nesting site for loggerhead turtles from May to September).

We had a quick walk on the beach, but it’s not really the right time of year to appreciate the 20km of sand.

Back to the ruins and another theatre,

a lots of baths, a nice column lined Roman road for Anne,

and a granary across the mosquito infested marsh (needless to say we decided to give that a miss),

as well as numerous tombs and a triumphal arch marking the entrance to the city.

None of the sites took more than an hour to visit, so we were back at our pension by 1500, giving us a nice relaxing afternoon before we enjoyed a lovely chicken casserole with salad and bread, which really hit the spot as it had been overcast all day (nice comfort food).

We were a bit perplexed by the references to Santa Claus in Patara, before we read that St Nicholas was born here (and apparently still shops here).  This sign is great for so many reasons.