My Turkey Adventure...on the way to Kas:

The Lycian region of Turkey is the coastal region between Pamphyia and Caria and to the north is the Taurus mountain range....Lycia or Lika is very rugged and mountainous. The ancient people in 2M-BC were known as Lukka in the era of the Hittites and later as Lycians and they had their own hybrid language which is till not fully understood, but inscriptions depict this unique language. The region was  influenced by the Greeks and Persians up to 546-BC and Alexander the Great invaded in 333-BC. The area passed from Egyptian to Seleucids to the Rhodian rule from 166-BC to AD-43 when the Romans made Lycia a separate province.

Biblically this region was considered a stopping  place and not the area of an active Christain ministry by Paul however the famous city of Xanthus and the temple of Letoon are located in Phaselis, which we were able to view the preserved ruins. Phaselis was a strong commercial trading centre where apparently most anything could be purchased or sold including citizenships for 100 Drachmas, and they thrived until the 12th century when other sea ports such as nearby Antalya were developed.

The area up to Kas (pronounced Kash), is very much post card perfect with the small bays, woods and mountains, The hillside houses to the sea are white washed like Greece and the fishing village has been well developed to a town atmosphere with cafes and clubs and many merchants to accept a plethora of tourists. 

We had 2 nights in Kas, which included Saturday night which was beautiful and warm and the tourists and locals were enjoying the night life and as always table service and the local merchants would always stay open until the wee morning hours as long as people were buzzing about...I am sure they have no regular business hours in any of the toursit areas we visted!

The long coastal drive had us making the usual comfort breaks and our lunch stop was a very cool place and similar to the previious Asian Restaurant on the river...this place was like being in a tree house setting with waterfalls and streams and many small exclusive tables where you sit as a couple or small group on the floor and it was very unique and like eating in the rainforest...food was good and ambience was great! Our scheduled stop at Phaselis provided a beautiful coastal beach amongst the ancient ruins and another theatre...boy did the Romans ever love their entertainment cause every town they influenced had a theatre or amphitheatre for thousands! 

We checked in to our nice hotel and took our walking tour and relaxed with good food and strolling the beautiful seaside village. 

The morning after was sunny again and the air temperature easily reached 30 degrees and we had a large part of the day set aside for boating around the island areas of the nearby village Kekova. 

Our group enjoyed a very popular boat cruise with lunch on board and with the two decks there was amazing seaside views and plenty of opportunities to anchor in the many quiet bays and swim. 

We saw large sea turtles and ancient protected ruins from the boat, including caves and wild goats, we saw the ancient settlements of Ucagiz and the village of Simena from the decks and it was a very nice change to just relax and enjoy the amazing natural scenery and cystal clear blus and green waters, with no on/off bus touring and busily timed agenda...a great relaxing time in Kas for all!

Our last evening included a free night to stroll the sea side marina and grab whatever food you felt to have as they certainly had it all...lotsa walking and pics for me and stand by again as tomorrow we board the bus for a couple hour journey to the larger coastal city of Fethiye...