Chimaera

From Phaselis we drove on, now beautiful coast, now mountain heights, then dropping down to the seaside village of Olympos and then back up the canyon and the slopes of Olympos where, a kilometer up the mountain, reside the mythical Chimaera. The Chimaera are eternally-burning gaseous vents on the mountainside, known from earliest antiquity, the stuff of the myths of Bellapharon and Pegasus who slew the dragon. We arrived in the afternoon, I did a reconnaissance hike, then we viewed the Chimaera together, then, after dinner, I did the hike up again to see it all in darkness. So much of antiquity is a matter of ruin and trace and conjecture. Here the natural and the mythical intersect and are intact. We stayed overnight in the parking lot, 15YLT, no extra charge for roosters, barking dogs, the taxi at 2:30AM, nor the usual muezzin.

On the trail to the Chimaera, a love tree (so I was told); lovers

tie knots around the limbs and vines





So we tied a knot of duct tape--known world-wide as

"American tape"--to mark our passage and love

The Chimaera; this day, about twenty open, burning vents

Temple ruins

Looking down the mountainside to the sea

Closer up; the exact composition is unknown, but it

combusts on contact with the atmosphere, no ignition

required, thank you

Ditto, among the temple ruins

Vicki, warming up

Me roasting Turkish Delight

I walked back up the mountain that evening; one imagines

in such circumstances having the place to himself; but not

this place; cars and vans had kept arriving, and, despite the

moonless night and poor footing, the mountainside was

covered with small groups of people

Families mostly, telling stories; it's probably been just like

this for many millennia...

A last look at a singular place