Old Rocks and Big Hills

Wednesday’s 51-mile ride included visits to several archeological sites, including the Temple of Apollo and a large relief of Medusa:

The Miletus amphitheater:

The Temple of Athena at Priene.  

And for all my forester friends - a Turkish clearcut:

We often see shepherds tending their flocks of goats and sheep along the way.  But we weren't expecting this.

George Clooney is vacationing in Turkey but got tired of the paparazzi so he went undercover as a shepherd.

We spent the night in the British resort town of Didim and drank extra strong gin and tonics.  And beer.  And wine.  And a good time was had by all.  Apparently I was too “busy” to snap any photos.

Thursday was our first (but not last) hill climbing day. 

We all thought the graffiti was brilliant. [The original sign doesn't include the bicycle or the extra zero.]

Took a break in the small mountain town of Kizliki at the top of the first and toughest climb.  Joined the local men who seem to always be on break whenever we pass a tea house.

This is our support vehicle “Maggie” barely making the turn in Kazliki. She’s a retired “dolmus” which translates to “stuffed.”  Dolmuses are the privately-owned transit vehicles that you see everywhere.  They will stop anywhere to pick you up or drop you off.  I expect to become very familiar with them toward the end of my trip when I’m travelling on my own along the south coast.

After Kizliki it was down and then up and down again before stopping for lunch at the fish restaurant in the harbor town of Iassos. Of course, getting out of town meant riding up and down yet another hill before reaching our destination of Guvercilnik. We stayed at a small hotel on the bay and relaxed with a cold beverage before dinner.