We made our way to Turkey

I've (Ellen) lost all concept of what day, time or season it is. In the Mediterranean every beautiful hot sweaty day rolls into the next. We have been in Turkey for almost three weeks - every day in the crystal blue sea. We started off on the south coast in Antalya with intentions to go straight to inland Cappadocia, but the calling of the cool blue sea meant we cancelled our plans and instead made our way around the Turkish south coast.

Within our first few days in Antalya we had already gone quite brown. View looking over the port.

Antalya was a nice town to commence our Turkish tour from. Antalya is a totally tourist built city with sparkly fountains, shiny lights and a coastal tram service that takes you from one end to the other for less than $1.

We lived in a hostel that was right under the main tourist attraction, Hadrian's Gate, in the old city area. The gate was built in the name of the triumphant Roman emperor Hadrian who visited Antalya in the year 130, we used it as our front door. Formerly the city walls enclosed the gate and it was not used for many years. It is believed this is why it is in such good condition, as it was only revealed after the city walls collapsed. 

Little restaurant street in the main area of Antalya.

Hadrians Gate. Part of the original old city of Antalya.

Detail in the amphitheatre.

From Antalya we made a fantastic day trip to Aspendos.

This ancient Greco-Roman city was situated on the Eurymedon River, 16 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. In the 5th century BC, Aspendos became the most important city in Pamphylia because the river was only navigable as far as it. Consequently the city derived great wealth from trade in salt, oil and wool.

To see in Aspendos is an ancient amphitheatre that is the most well preserved ruin in Asia-minor, well preserved buildings, a basilica and a huge aqueduct. These ruins were incredible and the photos don't give justice to their enormous size and detail.

Today the theatre is still used for concerts by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet for audiences of 10,000 people.

The amphitheatre in all its glory. Still used today for special concerts.

The ruins of buildings in Aspendos

The absolutely awesome and massive Roman aqueduct.

Making our way two hours west of Antalya, we found our next destination in the tiny "town" (only 80 people actually live there, the rest are tourists) of Olympos. What more could we want but ancient ruins conveniently located next to the beach, not more than 10 minutes down the road from our bungalow style guesthouses. Olympos is a bit of a dream, totally surrounded by nature, off the beaten track so very small, a crystal blue sea and the only 

accommodation available is bungalow/treehouse style guesthouses with hammocks everywhere, which include HOME COOKED UNLIMITED BREAKFAST AND DINNER in your boarding price. A two night stay quickly turned into a four night stay and ever since we left we dream of our swims, the animals we saw, the food we ate and the great people we met.

The view of Olympos from the top of the ruins.

Since we arrived in Olympos I have taken on the role of official tour wildlife photographer. Here are some of the incredible animals we saw living among the ruins in Olympos.