Taking the “weekend” off!

Monday, May 19, 2014 – Ataturk Sports Day in Turkey – national holiday!

So…dinner last night was a repeat of the previous night, although this time we had the camera.  Walked out of the hotel to find that the temperature had dropped probably 25 degrees, and it was really chilly! 

Our "starters!"

R's lamb shish

My chicken shish

Lovely addition to our table!

Made a mad dash for the restaurant, as the wind was blowing a gale and I wanted to stay away from as much dust as possible.  Food was good; enjoyed it very much.  The only problem was that smoking was allowed INDOORS, which really scares me!  To avoid this, we again ate upstairs – this time we had the place to ourselves, which was nice.  

Then back to the hotel for the night, and I was off to sleep by 9 p.m.  It just might have something to do with the amount of antihistamines I’m taking, but my eyes are really doing well so I plan on keeping it up at least for a few more days.

Up this morning about 6, and the wind was still blowing a gale!  Down for breakfast and ready to leave by 8-ish.  We decided to NOT take the motorway, and instead take our old standby, the D400.  This added probably an hour to our total drive time, and truly, as we were slowly making our way through Mersin and Adana, I really wished we had chosen the motorway instead!  We were a bit surprised, though, to find that even though today is a national holiday, everything was open and ready for business!  (Unlike France, where when a national holiday occurs, you’re lucky if you can find gasoline for your car!)  

More stunning Turkish landscape!

Starting to see more mountains!

Worked our way down to the coast, and followed it to Kizkalesi, where we’ve never stayed before.  Actually, last trip I had found a place for us here, but then along the way, changed my mind and routed us instead to Mersin and the fancy Hilton hotel there.  We did drive through here, though, and I had caught a glimpse of the two castles the town is famous for – especially the “Maiden’s Castle” which is literally built on a small island right off the coast; it looks SO romantic in the twilight!  Decided that this area would merit a detour, so found the Rain Hotel for two nights.  

Kizkalesi was initially founded by the Romans circa 72 bc, and actually has two castles, one on the small island, and a second at the end of the beach.  Both were built in the 12^th century as defensive fortifications before the area was taken over by the Ottomans in 1482.

The hotel wasn’t the easiest to find – and believe me, there are a LOT of small hotels and big apartment buildings along this stretch of the coast! 

Sea view from our balcony!

Our street view

He just looked SO comfortable...

Finally found it, though, and were very quickly greeted and checked in by a lovely man.  Our room, 103, is on the second floor front, and we have a nice window that opens, as well as a very tiny balcony from which we can see the beach and the sea!  Such fun!  The room is very basic, but it is spotlessly clean and felt very welcoming – in direct opposition to the hotel we were originally slated for in Gaziantep!  I think we’re paying something like $50/night for the two of us, PLUS breakfast, but it just feels lovely and homey!  It’s a triple bedded room, so it’s nice to have a place to put suitcases and “stuff.”

Dropped everything, changed into shorts from jeans, and headed right down to the beach. 

Beach with Maiden's Castle in background

Me waiting for lunch

R's with lunch and first ever Efes!

It was 2 p.m. by this time, and I was STARVING!  Tried the first place we came to along the beach.  Very basic, but a little bit of English spoken (we understand there is a big U.S. military base in Adana.) and the view was wonderful!  We looked right out on the beach with the Maiden’s Castle in the background!  It doesn’t get much better than that!  Lovely, warm weather; just a perfect afternoon!  For lunch, Robert had a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes and cucumbers and chips (fries) and I had their hamburger with chips.  R washed his meal down with his first ever Efes (most popular beer in Turkey); I had Coke!  All in all, a very respectable lunch!  There are an awful lot of people in the water – we didn’t try it … yet … still seems a bit early in the year for me, but we’ll see!

Then we continued our walk down the beach, as I wanted to see where one caught the boat to get out to the Maiden’s castle.  Apparently one can 1) swim; 2) rent a paddle boat and paddle oneself out; and 3) take the ferry for 10 TL each (about $5.00 U.S.).  Robert suggested that we put off going to the castle until tomorrow, but as the weather report is a bit dicey, I thought it would be better to go today.  So, on to the ferry we went!  Quite a basic kind of boat, and it took about 10 minutes to get out to the castle.  Getting off and on the boat was more than a bit dicey, as they had no ladder or steps or ramp – you’re supposed to just jump on and off…more easily said than done, but we managed with no problems.

My hamburger and "cips"

R on boat with land castle in background

Our boat to the island!

We walked around the castle, saw some mosaics that are in a protected area, and climbed up two different towers to see the view.  Certainly OSHA would have something to say about that, as there were no guard rails anywhere, and some of the mesh on the steps had been worn clear through!  Took some photographs and then headed back to town; great fun, and I’m glad we’ve seen it!  Tonight we’re going to go down in the evening, as it looks like they have a lot of lighting.  As soon as I can get to one of our tour books, I will write a bit more about the castles and the area.

Inside the castle walls

Mosaics in castle's courtyard

View from one of the towers

Headed back to our hotel at that point for a much-needed rest.  We had planned some sightseeing for tomorrow, but are contemplating, literally, taking the day off and just hanging out here at the hotel and on the beach!  As R says, we do deserve a break somewhere along the way!  The internet access here is very weak in our room, but fine downstairs, so we may find ourselves heading downstairs for posting and suchlike.

So!  More later!

m

xxx

Yet another View!

Leaving Maiden's Castle by boat!