We left Antayla to head towards our next destination Kalkan which is where we stay for our last vacation night. Tomorrow we do a little touring, but fly back to Istanbul to spend the night and catch an early flight home at 6am.

We drove along the coast and along the mountains towards Calcituk. The coast line was beautiful with coves, tunnels, mountains. We saw ski cliffs, that often have snow on them in June. One hour you could be skiing and the next lying on the beach in 35 degree Celsius weather. What a wonderful way to live.

We saw the Turkish coast guard location where Sezgin did his national service. All Turkish men have to do 6 months of service. He just did it two years ago, because he was deferred for various reasons. So they gave him a lighter coastguard duty because of his age, but also more responsibility.

We stopped for a quick pee and photo break on the hill. You could see for miles…to the Mediterranean and all the greenhouses to the ski trails on the mountains.

We drove through Kumluca, a very wealthy town because of the farmers. They can grow tomatoes and aubergine or eggplant all year round. The farmers are very rich here. As the landscape changed again, we drove on a small windy road along the cliffs of the Mediterranean. It reminded me a little of the Almalfi coast, with out the towns on the hills. The coves and turquoise water were spectacular. The water is this color because when the snow melts from the mountain and the limestone is added to the water, it creates this color.

Next was a small town where St. Nicholas was born and buried. His father was the bishop of Myra and eventually Nicholas became The bishop also. He was known for taking care of children and the sailors. The miracle he performed that made him a saint occurred when a ship came to the harbor and was filled with grain heading to Constantinople. St. Nicholas asked them for grain, but they said they could not give the town any because it was already weighed. St Nicholas convinced then to give them half of the grain in the boat, and when it arrived in Constantinople it weighed the same as it did when they started their journey.

A church was erected in the town, and his body was in a sarcophagus in the church. In 1000ad, his remains were taken to Rome, but a few bones remained and are now in the antayla museum.

We left The church and went to Myra. Myra had a large 10.000 seat theatre and tombs in the shape of houses built into the side of the mountain. They were beautiful and high up. Not too easy to visit.

We drove by the closest island to Turkey called Meis, pronounced mace. how cool is that. We stopped to take pictures at a beautiful cove. There were many people sunbathing and enjoying the sun and water. We learned layer that you can take a small boat to get there, or walk down the cliff to the beach.

Next were drove to our hotel, the Patara Prince, but it was too early to check in, so we went to town for lunch. Mom had a hamburger and fries, the first American dish shes had the whole trip. I had calamari and we shared a plate of haoullimi. It was cute, and a lot of Brits, but not as cute as Antayla.

Our hotel is lovely. Our room is a little bigger than the last place we stayed, but no Internet on our floor. The buildings are built along the cliff and go down to the Mediterranean. Cathy and I went swimming in the sea…my first sea swim. It was a little chilly, and a little rough, but lovely. I took a quick dip in the pool, hoping to wash off the salt water, but it was a salt water pool. We found a beautiful area that has levels of bathing places the fit 3/4 people. We’re going to try to grab one in the morning.