Sunday, July 4, 2010
KURSUNLU Falls near Antalya Turkey
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Post #14: The Romantic Road To Cirali Part Two... The Beach Video
Post #13: The Romantic Road To Cirali Part One... Finding it!
Finding Cirali wasn’t an easy task. You always hear about Antalya and when you search for nearby areas on the Turkish Mediterranean Sea, you will find other places. Cirali isn’t usually a place people talk about. After I stayed there I think I understand why it’s a hidden secret, because I too was left with a feeling that I want to keep it for myself, so that it wouldn’t be ruined by floods of tourists that cause it to lose its charm.
It all began when…
I had a few days off after my work related trip was going to finish. I was going to be passing through Turkey on my way back and felt that I was in need of a place to rejuvenate, lay back, and relax. That’s when the thought of Antalya and the Turkish Riviera sprung to my mind. I wanted sun and beach. To become disconnect from the world and disappear for a while. With that thought a decision was made, the destination to accomplish all that will be The Turkish Riviera.
I looked for airline ticket fares, and found that since I was booking two months ahead I found cheap seats to and from Antalya on Turkish airlines online. I booked it right away and that was quickly checked off the list. Now the task of finding a hotel. I wanted something peaceful, romantic, authentic, and on the beach. That was when the problems started and hours of searching were spent. You find Authentic and quite hotels in the old part of Antalya called Kaleici but no beach of a walking distance away. Then you find sun and beach in all inclusive crowded resorts which all to me looked the same with no genuine authentic character. Don’t get me wrong I have times when this is where I will be looking for to stay, but it mainly depends on the city and the type of trip. This was not that kind of trip. Mushkillah (means problem in Arabic).
How to solve the problem, well for starters may be divide the trip into two parts, part in Antalya’s old town Kaleici (because I wanted to see the city) and part somewhere else much more calmer and away from the city atmosphere. I have heard of such places but don’t know any names. Now was the hard part searching the internet and everything being scattered with info here and info there. I was looking for somewhere where it is a close drive from Antalya, not too far but far enough.
Finally I stumbled upon a travel forum in Trip Advisor with destination suggestions on traveling the Turkish Riviera by car and suggested stops. There was an expert on the area that suggested few stops and one of them was Cirali. Others were Patara and Olympos.
Patara was closer to a town called Kalkan which is very popular with the British tourist, many own apartments and villas there. To get to Patra it was closer to fly in by Dalaman airport. Antalya airport was further away. Cirali and Olympos were closer distance (1 and ½ to 2 hour drive) from Antalya airport. All areas had small pensions and inns close to the beach away from all the city lights. Olympos was mainly a backpacker’s destination with their much favored tree house accommodations. I liked Cirali which seemed a very romantic option. It is situated off the main road going down a small very curved road and you will find it hidden between the mountain and the blue turquoise sea…
That’s when the charm of finding a little cabin hotel called Kibala a very special place started but that’s in one of the next posts in this series, so stay tuned…
Suggested Links:
Antalya Website
Cirali Tourist Site
Turkey Travel Planner by Tom Brosnahan is a very informative site to look up when you are searching to go to Turkey.
Go Turkey
Write to you soon…
Monday, October 19, 2009
Post #5: "Sightseeing The Turkish Riviera... Aspendos Theater Video Part2 of 2"
Transfer post #5
Sightseeing The Turkish Riviera.. Aspendos Theater Video Part 2 of 2
This is a 360 degree video view of The Amphitheater from the ground floor...
Suggested Links:
Efe KISLALI - Nessun dorma - ASPENDOS Festival listen to the strength of the vocals in this theater.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Post #3: "Sightseeing The Turkish Riviera… Aspendos Theater Part1 of 2"
This is a post on my previous site "Travel Sights With Lilliy.com"
Transfer Post #3:
Previous original post and link:
Sightseeing The Turkish Riviera… Aspendos Theater Part1 of 2
Do you want to be taken to ancient times and experience how entertainment was in the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD then if you are ever in the region and in mid June- early July you can with the little help of modern technology. Attend an opera at Aspendos Theater in the ancient city 50 km east of Antalya.
The Aspendos Amphitheater located on the Euromedion River (now the Koprulu River) was constructed around AD 162 by the architect Zeno during The Romans in the era of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-80) and restored during the 13th century.
The stadium has unique acoustics and lighting that changes when night falls. Attending an opera at night gives remarkable effect with the magical atmosphere of the ancient architecture and the strength of the vocals through out the stadium which was tested even during those ancient times by the architect to asses the power of the sound, its echo and reflection backwards at different parts of the theater and made adjustments to give the desired remarkable effect.
The theater was ruins for a long period of time till Ataturk came while touring the region in 1930’s declared that it has to be used, and restorations were started. Since that time it stages operas, concerts, ballet, and folklore festivals till today. One of which is a very popular festival worldwide The Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival, It is the only festival of its kind in Turkey, which hosted its 16th Anniversary this year, is still running this month. The last two performances will be Romeo and Juliette Opera (30 June 2009) and A Journey with Magical Music of Disney Movies and Dance Music (3rd July 2009). The best performance of this festival is The Opera Aida that reflects the theaters antique atmosphere with the costumes and music, every one who has attended this performance raved that it was unique. If you are visiting the area with in these days I highly recommend that you check it out, or if you are planning a trip to Antalya try to make it during the time when you can attend one of these performances.
When I walked through the doors of Aspendos into the ground floor of the theater I was astonished by its grandness and how even that long ago The Roman Civilization had set the standers to be followed afterwards by so many in architecture, physics, and entertainment. I stood there in awe of its magnificence and wondered how will our times be remembered hundred of years from now, have we left anything that will stand through out time that the generations of hundreds years to come, will they too stand in awe of what we have left behind.
Suggested links:
The official site for The Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival
Tickets with hotel pick up and drop off can be arranged by this touring company which I highly recommend:
Solymos Travel
Tel:+90 242 248 17 48
Fax: +90 242 248 19 17
e-mail: info@solymostravel.com
Part 2 of 2 of this post will be the panoramic video of The Aspendos Theater.
