Antalya (Perge & Termessos)

We devoted today to visiting a few nearby ruin towns. We were originally hoping to visit Pamukkale, but restricted by time and discouraged by pricey entrance fees and the warning from our current hotel owners that all the published pictures available are decades old and that the site is rather dirty now, we decided our short time in the area would be best devoted to places nearby. We rented an economical and downright ugly little Fiat from our hotel (motorcycles, for some reason, are almost twice the price per day here, and it's too darn cold anyway). First stop was Perge. As far as Greek/Roman era ruins go, Perge isn't that remarkable, but it was a wonderful morning exploring the crumbling old structures none the less.

With the exception of his oddly stumpy legs, this guy had a lot going for him in the cute mutt category. Sorry if our journal often turns into a tribute to the world's cutest strays. 

Translation please?

This guy (I'm pretty sure it's Ataturk) watches over Antalya from his mountain perch. Reminds us of this (best picture we could find)

The drive to Termessos was only about 40km or so, including a long, switchbacking narrow, often cliffside road up the mountain on which the ruins sit. One of the ancient city's first historical references was from Alexander the Great who wrote the city off as unconquerable due to its extreme position. Although cold and very windy, it was a stunningly clear day and the views from the site were phenomenal. Almost didn't feel real. The amphitheater was the clear highlight - puts the Red Rocks venue in Colorado to shame. Can't even fathom how beautiful it would have been in its time. 

The sprawling set of ruins was dotted with enormous cavernous cisterns that  have been all but buried with time.

One more day around Antalya, then back to Istanbul to take care of some unfinished food-quest business. Then it'll be time to figure out how the heck to get from Sofia, Bulgaria to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Suggestions are welcome!