Not a bad drive today, but 5 stops, so let's get a good big breakfast, courtesy of our hotel.
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 |  First stop: Kaputaş Beach - we'll pass on the dip in the Med, and avoid the 200 steps down (and back). |
Second stop: Kalkan - another nice seaside village, lots of boats, a pebbly beach...
...and a view of the boat life - people bouncing around the Med and anchoring out in paradise.
Third stop: Delikkemer Aqueduct - hmmm, the GPS spot says right here - there's a peculiar wall up there, but it's not the typical aqueduct we'd expect, with the grand arches and nearly level traverse...
Let's go up to check it out - still looks more like fortress walls than an aqueduct...
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The Lycian Trail goes this way and we see where backpackers have likely set up a campsite in an idyllic spot.
Ahh, indeed, this is an aqueduct - there's the water channel (plumbing if you will)...
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Fourth stop: Patara Ancient City - people first settled here 5,000 years ago, but as the great civilizations expanded, the city grew in size and importance, with Romans building large structures in their time of dominance, finally the city declined and was abandoned after around 1300 A.D., especially with the silting and subsequent loss of the harbor.
By the way, Saint Nicholas was born in the town in 270 A.D., and lived most of his life in the nearby town of Myra. So now we've been to the birthplace of Santa Claus, and his burial site.
We always enjoy Roman theaters - they seem to survive the centuries better than most ancient structures - this one started around 100 B.C. with improvements added over the next 200 years.
View from the stage (the flat surface here is modern composite board - already looking a bit shabby after maybe 8 years of placement.
The stage backdrop - part of the later improvements done in the 2nd century A.D..
And as seen at many a Roman amphitheater, an impromptu entertainer demonstrates the amazing acoustics for the rest of us in the stands - unamplified, we can hear him clearly.
No audiences right now, so we feel no motivations to provide song and dance.
We're about to head that way, what is it?
But first we hike up around the back to make sure we don't miss anything - and find the lighthouse getting refurbished - this used to sit right at the mouth of the harbor, where a good lighthouse should be. Up until the last couple years, all that still stood was about a 10 foot nub - now they re-erect it.
Gerri gets ambitious and decides to climb a nearby hill top - she certainly doesn't want to miss a thing.
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It's breezy up here - briefly she feels as if she has become Medusa.
You can get a better perspective of the former harbor up here. In several places, we've learned the fantastic Roman water works, which allows a large bustling population center, also often eventually brings so much silt into the nearby harbor. That aqueduct we saw earlier today provided much of the flowing volume of water to this city.
The lighthouse again, from a zoomed in view...
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Before heading back down, Gerri gets a good overview of the rest of the tourable acreage...
Now she gets back down off the hill, approaching the next big structure...where's Tim?
Ah, there he is!
This is the assembly hall - where the governing class gathered for meetings, and it also served as a more intimate setting for stage shows - originally it had a timbered/tiled roof, fully enclosed...
Special seating for the highest leadership...
Back to the gas-fueled chariot - a short switch backing climb to the next stop.
Fifth and last stop for today: Kelebekler Vadisi (Butterfly Valley) - a valley up from the seashore, apparently loaded with butterflies. Somewhere's there's a climb down route, by foot,, but we'll enjoy it from here...
"The valley, rich in flora and fauna, takes its name from the large number of butterfly species found here. Scientists recorded some 105 butterfly species from 15 families native to the valley. The butterfly species include the Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis). Butterflies of many varieties in a wide range of colors can be observed in the valley between June and September."
"The valley, rich in flora and fauna, takes its name from the large number of butterfly species found here. Scientists recorded some 105 butterfly species from 15 families native to the valley. The butterfly species include the Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis). Butterflies of many varieties in a wide range of colors can be observed in the valley between June and September."
We arrive in Ölüdeniz, back down on the sea - and are greeted by the sight of human butterflies descending down to the beach. Most of these chutes are carrying a pilot and a paying passenger - they leap off the ridges high above for what I'm guessing is around a 45 minute ride down.
It's dinner at dusk - good night Ölüdeniz!
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