Backroads of Aegean Turkey

We drove on, looking back to hilltop Assos and its situation

on the sea

From a high point: much more stone fencing here than we

have seen in Turkey; olive groves everywhere, the whole

population out in the groves for the harvest; I love olives;

they're cheap and delicious here; but seeing the labor-

intensiveness, the back-breaking work, will make me value

each one a little more

One of a dozen or more stone round-houses we saw, all

bunched together in one little town

An exceedingly rocky country, but beautiful grasses and

pines and undergrowth everywhere; maybe it was the

Mediterranean/Aegean light, but the greens here were as

verdant and vibrant as any I have seen

Lunch-time view

The seaside fortress at Babakale, the last Ottoman castle

built

View from Babakale



Another



The Temple of Apollo at Gulpinar; those of you familiar

with the Iliad will recognize this as (a much later version of)

the Apollo temple that figures importantly in Homeric

matters; Agamemnon had to return the daughter of the priest

here, after offending Apollo, and then grabbed Achilles'

trophy-girl, thus inflaming Achilles' rage, of which Homer

sang; much less importantly, it is also a temple to mice (yes,

mice), who figure in the founding of the city in ways too

boring to recount; 2nd century BCE

More archaeology going on at Gulpinar

Funded by Efes; never forget that Jack Horner's first funder

was Rainier Beer; cheers for Efes

I am going to guess this is where the archaeology students

hang out in the summer-time; more Efes fans