Parker didn’t sleep well last night. Must be the combination of a new place, and sour Mommymilk from all the stressing yesterday as a passenger in the van. But he woke up happy so I’m OK with being sleep deprived!
Today we had a delicious beautiful breakfast (and got the song “That’s Amore” stuck in our heads), and met Aktay in the lobby. He apologized and assured us that all the bad is over and he will be very careful today. We requested a baby seat but can’t get one until tomorrow. There are no seat belts anyway so I’m not sure it would be safer. Daniel demanded that he drive very slowly.
I’m pleased to say Aktay listened. And today was a blast. He really is a great tour guide, with lots of knowledge and patience. We first went to Aspendos, one of the only 4 ancient theatres left today.
A Roman Gladiator met us to say hello!
They had festivals for the “wine god” here. Can you imagine celebrating WINE on THOSE steps?! Was it an attempt to lower the population?
This is where I would stand if I sold cotton candy at Gladiator events:
This is paint from the 13th century.
This used to have lots of columns and statues or Roman gods.
Then the Stadion outside of Perge.
It was U-shaped and many athletic events were held here.
Then we visited the remains of Perge, which was built in the 1st and 2nd century AD, but destroyed by an earthquake in the 1200s. You can still see how beautiful it must have been. Paul preached here!
Then we ate a typical Turkish lunch, and they gave us Free Baklava! YUMMM. Another display of wonderful hospitality. They were playing racy music Turkish videos (no turbans on That channel) and a Domino’s commercial came on! Go American franchises!
At the restaurant, Daniel had his first experience with a Turkish toilet. What is that, you ask? Oh, it’s a hole in the floor with a water hose so you can wash away whatever may hit the sides. Maybe the point is for the people to have super strong hovering muscles in their legs? Anyway, the girl bathroom had a regular potty with pH balanced hand soap—whew. All of it was “normal’’ except the mothballs in the drain.
We got to visit a local village, mosque, and a kind Turkish woman’s house, and she fixed us tea and store cookies. She talked to Parker but he didn’t quite understand. She had both a European and a Turkish toilet. Her Turkish potty was a hole in the ground, too, but it looked like there were “feet slots” on either side, and it was made of ceramic with a large-ish oval hole. I didn’t feel right taking pictures. Her floors were covered with Turkish carpets everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms. Those rugs sure are beautiful.
So then we went to a Turkish carpet distributor, and we learned how the rugs are made. They were very pretty. Daniel, Mister We-are-not-even-going-to-Think-about-buying-something-there, decided to REALLY LIKE this one shaggy WHITE wool rug, then decided that Parker really liked it, and after seriously thinking about spending $2500 and selling our Lederland couches for a big impossible-to-comb-or-vacuum rug , we walked out of there still bearing our status as hardwood floor-ists. Whew. I don’t think I could handle cleaning that. But I will say, it was very comfy to lay on, and it WOULD be fun for family camp-ins. But we’re tough enough to stick with a blanket on the floor for camping and movies. And an air mattress is looking much more affordable now!
I must say, today was Very fun, and I’m so glad we did not cancel on Aktay. He is very nice, and I even got him to sing to us today. I sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”—he had never heard that! Can you imagine not knowing that song? Well I didn’t know what he sang to us…
We got back just in time for a beautifully-set dinner with American background music. I chewed on delicious crepe with “A Moment Like This” playing and we left the room to the sound of “Gangster’s Paradise”. Seriously. There’s nothing like an exotic vacation spot to remind you of middle school 5th quarter dances.
Now the boys are asleep as I write this, so I’m tempted to sneak down to the midnight snack bar. But since I’m sleepy too, I will wait ‘til breakfast. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day, and I’m very excited about it! Aktay will be here at 9am, and he’s taking us to try the Best Baklava in Antalya!
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