Turkey > Boat trip in Manavgat

We both slept restlessly last night. The sounds of nightlife smoothly transitioned into the morning cleanup crews. It’s a nice hotel, a great location, and friendly staff, but I’ve never experienced so much noise in a hotel room before. At the reception, they are eager to help. They apologize for the disturbance. It’s the old town, and there’s always some noise there. We can switch rooms for the coming night. One room is above the restaurant, another more toward the back. We choose the latter. However, the staff member warns that sometimes trash is thrown into the containers right under the window. Everything seems better to us. After breakfast, we head to our car. We turn the vehicle into the alley and drive through the narrow streets to exit the old town. We start recognizing the route. Just outside Antalya, just past the airport, lies the archaeological city of Perge. Perge was once the capital of ancient Pamphylia, founded by the Greeks and later expanded by the Romans. The remnants of the round towers of the city gate rise more than twenty meters high. Behind them, the colonnades mark where the roads and the agora (market square) once lay.

Turkey - Perge was once the capital of ancient Pamphylia

The stadium gave spectators a view of running competitions. The ancient Roman theater lies on the opposite side of the road. The theater from the second century once held 15,000 spectators. About twenty kilometers further lies one of the best-preserved and restored historic theaters from Roman times. The theater of Aspendos is still used for performances today. It has a capacity of 12,000 spectators. The stage wall behind the stage is still intact in this theater. From the highest row, you can clearly see how large the theater is. Behind the theater are also excavations. The remains of the basilica are the most important among these. As the last stage of today, we visit the town of Manavgat. Here we take a boat trip to the waterfall. We don’t know the exact location where the boats depart, so we drive to the center on a hunch. And successfully so. From the bridge over the river, we see the tour boats. It’s harder to find parking, as it is not allowed in this area.

Turkey - The theater of Aspendos is intact and seats 12000 spectators

We follow a sign ‘Otopark’, but the path ends at the next intersection. Eventually, we find a spot where we think we can park. We walk back to the river. Two tour options are offered: a short one of 80 minutes and a longer one of four hours. Since it’s already three o’clock, the short route seems sufficient. Boats lie everywhere. Normally, you would be constantly approached, but now this doesn’t happen. The boats are empty. Fortunately, we see people on the last boat, so we board as well. The trip on the Manavgat River goes upstream toward the small waterfall. The captain moves the boat slowly forward so we can enjoy the town of Manavgat. The small waterfall seems like nothing more than a rapid in the water. The water level is extremely high, so the water actually flows over the waterfall. The captain docks the boat at a pier. From here, we are taken by shuttle bus in five minutes to the larger waterfall. The driver gestures and speaks a little German to emphasize that he will return in twenty minutes.

Turkey - Due to high water the water flows quickly over the dam

Be on time! The larger waterfall also suffers from the high water level. The lower viewing platform is underwater. Some people venture into the swiftly flowing water. With a loud roar, the water cascades over the barrage. Around the waterfall, it feels like an amusement park—food, drinks, and fairground attractions. Everything is there. We make sure to be back on time for the shuttle. The bus brings us back to the boat, and we sail back to the pier. At the end of the afternoon, we drive back to Antalya. The traffic is considerably heavier than we have been used to so far. In the villages near the traffic lights, cars always use the right-turn lane to cut in line, quickly taking off first. What a strange and annoying habit. Also, in traffic jams, cars drive on the emergency lane. Throughout the past week, we have encountered many police checks. The police randomly stop cars. We were never asked to stop. The police would be better off focusing on this behavior. Exactly at six o’clock, we enter the small parking lot in the old town again. We park the car so that tomorrow we can easily drive to the airport. Unfortunately, this does not happen. A man on a scooter comes by asking what we’re doing.

Turkey - The final meal at Luna Garden in Antalya

We are only allowed to park in the very last spot in front of our hotel. We follow his instructions. Hopefully, no other car will block us tomorrow morning. For the last evening, we go to the Luna Garden—a garden full of terraces. Along the edges are various stalls. Everyone seems to be preparing something different. We take a seat at a table. The menu is only accessible via a QR code. The waitress activates the WiFi on my phone. When scanning the code, I can’t open the page. Marco can’t either. The waiter has a solution. He comes with a local phone. The menu is compiled based on the dishes from the different stalls. Waiters deliver the orders to the correct table. Some do this on roller skates. It’s impressive how they maneuver through the people with a tray full of tea. We order some food and accept that no alcohol is served here. Fortunately, we don’t need the local phone or the menu anymore to end the evening with a cappuccino. The cappuccino is brought with a small cotton candy—a special combination. It doesn’t surprise us that the garden is almost completely full, mostly with locals as far as we can tell. Back at the hotel, we have a beer while enjoying live music. Our new room is much better soundwise. Now we only hear the dull thumping from the disco. The street noises remain.