Lycian Way

Today was a rest day, so we really took it easy, not having breakfast until 9am. We thought the others would be long gone by the time we arrived, but they were also lingering over breakfast. Canan brought us cereal and milk and then a square china platter filled with tiny bowls of all sorts of preserves, olives and some butter. Canan makes preserves out of all sorts of unusual fruits, for example, watermelon, sandalwood berries, myrtles, peaches, orange peel as well as several others. There was also some freshly squeezed OJ; a plate of beautifully arranged cheese, figs and apricots with raisins and walnuts in the middle; bread, and tea and coffee. Canan also asked us how we wanted our eggs, but we declined. There was plenty to eat already.

We lingered over our meal, second cups of tea and coffee, as the others were preparing to leave or so we thought, but C and M went round the pool and sat on the swing seat , and P & R engaged with Suleyman. We decided to take a stroll along the path round the estate,and met Canan who pointed out the honeymoon house, their new house and some more of the guest accomodation - some rooms like our and some suites with a sitting room. There is also an artist's cottage, which has a kitchen so that the artist/writer/composer can come and stay for a while and cater for themselves if they wish. We followed the path round past their house, and met up with Suleyman who was taking P & R to the cottage, and he invited us along. It is a lovely place with a roof terrace overlooking the bay at Demre. The spiral staircase has no hand rail, so extra care would be needed if you went up there for sundowners!

We pottered on around the garden finding terraces of marjoram, thyme and also the sage from which we had tea last night. There were some beautiful insects flying around us, and the noise of the bees made us think of Yeats' poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree and the 'bee loud glade'. Eventually we arrived back at the terrace and Canan showed us that there was a socket, so I could sit and write up this journal, so we stationed ourselves there and she brought us some coffee. P & R seemed to have left and then C & M also went out, leaving us on our own. As we sat there we saw Suleyman showing some people around, one with a clip board. Later we discovered that this was the man from Lonely Planet. I hope they give them a good write up. We declined lunch as we had eaten so much so far, and at 2pm we decided it was time to go walking around the ruins of an ancient Lycian city on the hillside above the hotel.

We discovered all sorts of tombs, both free standing sarcophagi and some carved in to the rock wall itself. We scrambled all over, going up and up to the acropolis at the summit with spectacular views down to Simena where we walk to tomorrow. Although we got a little of the normal track, we were able to find a way through the undergrowth and around, eventually ending back on more level ground again after a couple of hours or so. As we walked down the road to the hotel we spotted an owl on a tree in a courtyard of one of the houses. It had caused quite a commotion amongst some of the other birds. We thought it was probably a Little Owl. Back at the hotel we read on our terrace for a while, but with the breeze and sitting in the shade it got a bit too cool, so we moved over to the poolside, and C & M had come back and were also there. And Canan served us tea and sesame topped cake in the late afternoon sun. Dozing over our books, suddenly we were roused by Kevin. They had just arrived with Ismet, after their walk from Adrasan. They were duly impressed with this place and we met again over dinner with C & M, too.

Everyone had had a lovely day and we had a delicious meal: Minestrone type soup, salad with aubergine salad and stuffed green and red peppers, a sort of sausage roll - pastry stuffed with a savoury mince, and a blancmange with chocolate ice cream. Plenty of chatter and really pleasant evening. Now we are in our room listening to the owl hooting in the background. It will be hard to leave this wonderful spot tomorrow when we move down to Simena.

In the stones around the house we also saw quite a lot of fossils ,which we have discovered to be nummulites. In fact Suleyman has used the shape in the sign for Hoyran Wedre, incorporating it as the 'O'. These were ancient sea creatures (marine protozoa) and these are their fossilised shells from between 65 and 25 million years ago.The name nummulite comes from the Latin word for coin as that is their shape. (Google 'nummulite' for more information.)

Hoyran Wedre information
About the Lycian ruined city

Lake Isle of Innisfree by W B Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core