Aphrodisias

Bolstered by the smooth sailing of the previous day, we ventured another 2 hours south to Aphrodisias.  We over-reached.  Our Tom-Tom navigator got tripped up on road construction detours.  We found ourselves deep into farmland bumping along a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  When we finally rolled onto a paved section of road we sighed in relief and stopped at the first gas station for directions.

First, you need to know that gas stations, coffee houses and restaurants are gathering places for men. So when we pulled up to the station and went looking for help, we found a half dozen eager men crowding around our map, trying to decipher both it and our English. We spent  ten minutes going back and forth, watching them debate each other and trying to follow their hand gestures and map scribbles.  Tempers wore thin as each tried to assert themselves as the final decision maker.  There was shouting, head shaking and hand waving.  Nabil was in the thick of it.  A testosterone driven cluster fuck.

Finally, with minimal confidence, we made a U-turn and headed down a new stretch of highway. It was my first experience with the Turkish male " group think"', but it was not going to be our last!  

The highway signs soon verified that we were back on course and we thought we were out of the woods.  However, the turn off to Aphrodisias led us onto a treacherous mountain path that was being transformed into a major roadway.  We drove for miles in a dust cloud  navigating pot holes, construction ruts and blind curves. Finally we saw a town in the distance, and thought we were home safe again.  WRONG!  The road led us right into the center of a small obscure town on market day.  It was a filthy little town, littered with plastic bottles and garbage. Tented market stalls lined the streets spilling their shabby wears onto the curb.  Hundreds of people were milling about, while  rusty cars, old trucks and worn bikes tried to out maneuver each other.  We sweated our way through the market, weaving around and between the cars and people wondering where the hell we were.

And the just as suddenly we were out of the town and careening down a steep hill that overlooked a wide expanse of farm land and fields below.  We needed gas, so pulled into a gas station near the top of the hill.  Not just a gas station, but a super station.  We were offered free tea and bottled water, and encouraged to rest in electric massage chairs overlooking the valley, while they filled our tank and washed our car free of charge.  A full service snack bar was available inside the station along with spotlessly clean restrooms with Western style toilets!  This is the beauty of Turkey...never knowing what you might encounter.  You have to be open to everything and afraid of nothing!

Gassed up, watered and fed, we climbed back into the car and travelled the last few miles to our next discovery.  When we arrived, we were directed to park in the "Otopark", where one lone tour bus and a few cars baked in the sun.  We were told to  climb into a trolley car that would take us to the entrance of the Aphrodisias complex.  It was blistering hot, so we were grateful for the lift, but were the only passengers on board.  The trolley car was attached to a tractor which labored to pull us across the highway.  As we lumbered down the entrance road, comparing our transport to the Disney World shuttle buses, we chuckled and wondered whether our tour of  Aphrodisias would be worth the trouble of getting there.

We needn't have worried.  A Hellenistic and Roman city named for the goddess of beauty, it is a reflection of its namesake.  While much of the city was destroyed by earthquakes in the 4th and 7th centuries, what does remain, hints at a city of unusual splendor, marked by extraordinary sculptures and intricate carvings.  It is also the site of one of the largest and best preserved ancient sports stadiums said to have seated over 30,000 spectators.  One end of the stadium had been modified for contests between gladiators and wild beasts.  It is still possible to see the differentiation between that section of the stadium and that reserved for more traditional sport.  We spent two hours wandering  the grounds, hooking up for a time with a tour group and their guide, and then splintering off on our own again.  The sites were well marked with placards offering great details about the construction of the city as well as day to day life there.

The cultural depth of this country is overwhelming. After a while you begin to think, that no matter where you step, it is likely that you are standing over another civilization.  Any patch of land offers the possibility of some hidden treasure.  Just dig down a few inches and you are sure to find some relic of the past. We feel humble here....so conscious of our mortality and insignificance.

Again, as  lone passengers, we were scooped up by the trolley and dropped off at our car.  We stopped at a restaurant not far down the road and enjoyed a leisurely meal served by a lonely 40 something waiter who had just been jilted by his British girlfriend.  He told us war stories of desperate widowed or divorced European women seeking companionship in the coastal resorts of Turkey.  Early blooming romances most often died on the vine, as the women were taken for their money by young gigolos. He was funny and sad and philosophical.  He had been taken by his lady friend in a quirky reversal of fate.

An eight hour return trip waited us.  We stocked up on water and headed north, our newly washed car already freckled with dust.  By the time darkness settled, we could barely see the road way.  Dead bugs and dirt had formed a crust on the windshield. We stopped at another gas station, in need of windshield wiper fluid.  Again, not one attendant, but four guys came out to help.  All four consulted on how to open  the hood.  Two watched as one poured. The fourth offered us tea. You have to love  the unexpected hospitality and generosity of the Turkish people.

We decided that we would  try to make it home, but if we found it too daunting, we would stop in Afryon and sleep there for the night.  Who were we kidding?   Of course we stayed the night in Afryon.  We arrived there fully spent, having driven two of the last four hours in total darkness, battling night vision and Turkish drivers.  We slept in a "heavenly bed" after a bathing in the marble tub and laughed at the contrast between our luxury digs and the hotels that lined the dirt roads of Pamukkale.....