Patara Day 1 - Roman Aqueduct to Patara - 11 km
We were scheduled to do a walk from Gey to Bel to Gavuragili to be picked up there in the late afternoon and transported by car to Patara. The hiking notes advised not to walk this if there were high winds or rain or had rained recently. Since it had rained all day yesterday, we opted to be transported to Patara in the morning and hike in that area. A driver picked us up and drove us the half hour to the start of a hiking trail near Patara where, after hiking, we would end up at our guesthouse. Along the road in the car, we went through a valley with 1000's of greenhouses growing all sorts of vegetables - among which are organic tomatoes to ship to Russia.
The highlight of this day was the Roman aqueduct in the hills. It was constructed to bring water 22 kilometres across the hills to the village of Patara. What a feat of engineering - some of the aqueduct was enclosed where huge blocks were cut and drilled to create a pipe of stone lined with hydraulic mortar, while other level sections were an open tube. We climbed up onto the aqueduct, wandered along it, beside it for an hour just marvelling at the construction.
The trail was OK, but nothing special after the impressive days previously. We arrived at the guesthouse Flower Pension in Patara in the early afternoon and luxuriated in a real shower in a real bath room, with a real room! However, we did feel a pang of regret at being back in civilisation. We stayed at this guesthouse for 3 nights and enjoyed it very much - it's a family run pension - run by the father and mother for many years and now managed by Bekir, one of their sons. They do everything to make your stay enjoyable, are very knowledgeable about the local area and history, and the food is exceptional!
Patara is a small resort town with numerous guesthouses and restaurants - not much was open yet but everyone there was getting ready to start the high season which was to begin the next weekend. They were filling the swimming pools, doing construction, cleaning up...it was like preparing for a big party! The season starts in April, is at it's height in July/Aug and runs through October. It gets really HOT there in the summertime (40's C or 100's F) but people come for the beach, activities and to get away from the cities. Patara has a white sandy 18 km long beach which is a big attraction along with a town of ancient ruins.
The highlight of this day was the Roman aqueduct in the hills. It was constructed to bring water 22 kilometres across the hills to the village of Patara. What a feat of engineering - some of the aqueduct was enclosed where huge blocks were cut and drilled to create a pipe of stone lined with hydraulic mortar, while other level sections were an open tube. We climbed up onto the aqueduct, wandered along it, beside it for an hour just marvelling at the construction.
The trail was OK, but nothing special after the impressive days previously. We arrived at the guesthouse Flower Pension in Patara in the early afternoon and luxuriated in a real shower in a real bath room, with a real room! However, we did feel a pang of regret at being back in civilisation. We stayed at this guesthouse for 3 nights and enjoyed it very much - it's a family run pension - run by the father and mother for many years and now managed by Bekir, one of their sons. They do everything to make your stay enjoyable, are very knowledgeable about the local area and history, and the food is exceptional!
Patara is a small resort town with numerous guesthouses and restaurants - not much was open yet but everyone there was getting ready to start the high season which was to begin the next weekend. They were filling the swimming pools, doing construction, cleaning up...it was like preparing for a big party! The season starts in April, is at it's height in July/Aug and runs through October. It gets really HOT there in the summertime (40's C or 100's F) but people come for the beach, activities and to get away from the cities. Patara has a white sandy 18 km long beach which is a big attraction along with a town of ancient ruins.
