We thought yesterday was hot... today the heat topped it with 42 C! So glad we can return every evening to the sea where the sweltering heat is more bearable.
Aspendos theatre - the best preserved of antiquity. It feels like being in the Roman theatre at Orange - it is just in so much better shape. It seats 12'000 people and is still used for Opera and Ballet Festivals every year. It is about 40 km east of Antalya.
The theatre survived so well since it served the Seljuk Turks as Inn - there was also no other strategically important site nearby for which the stones could have been used. Aspendos was a typical agricultural town and well known for its olive oil and its wool.
The theatre has a perfect acoustic - it is easy to understand what people say on stage below
After the visit of the theatre we went up to the ruins of Aspendos town - the waste water system is still easily to see on the roads
A large part of the Roman Aqueduct is still intact. The source of spring is in the hills just behind the town - the countryside produces agricultural goods as 2'000 years ago
Everybody was happy to return to the boat after such a hot day. Since the harbour in Side was too shallow for the Carpe Diem V we had to skip it and head directly to Alanya - the Cilician Pirates' Nest - the rock of Alanya glows red in the evening sun
We sailed into Alanya Harbour at sun set