Aspendos – when this world-famous name for ancient buildings is mentioned, everyone thinks of the best-preserved theatre near Manavgat / Side, which is still used for numerous events today.

Patara is situated on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey (also called The Turquoise coast or the "Lycian Coast"). A region boasting thousands of years of history, breathtaking scenery and couple of miles of unspoiled coastline. 2000 years ago Patara was the largest and the most important sea port of the Lycian civilization.

Patara Beach - The pristine sandy beach of Patara transports the astonished visitor to another world, and not only because of its vastness. A wonderful refreshment after a tour of the ancient city.

Visiting Perge you can get a good impression of what a Roman towns looked like with its theatres, stadium, agora, baths, streets and town gates, as large parts of the town have been excavated and are still being restored.

Perge - According to the Greek Writer Strabon (63 BC-19 AD) the city was founded by Greek colonists led by Mopsos and Kalchas who came to Pamphylia after the Trojan War around 1200 BC.

Less well known is Aspendos as an ancient Greek city in Pamphylia in Asia Minor, located very close to the theatre near the village of Balkesu or Belkis.

Adada was an ancient Roman city in Pisidia, about 40 km southeast of Egirdir and 80 km northeast of Antalya, near the present-day village of Sagrak in the Sütçuler district of the Turkish province of Isparta, which is probably just known to hikers on St. Paul's Way.

Manavgat Waterfall - We were on the way to a friend in Manavgat / Oymapinar when we noticed, while driving through the village, the high water level of the Manavgat River, because the meadows and shore fortifications left and right of the river were completely flooded.

Manavgat Waterfall - The various watercourses, which finally form the Manavgat River from the Taurus foothills and the two reservoirs, are fed by many further inlets and underground springs, forming an imposing waterfall before the river flows into the Mediterranean at Side.

Altinbesik Cave - The short holiday visit of Brita and Peter with family appendix in Alanya brought, beside delicious Nuremberg bratwurst and various types of cheese as a souvenir, the idea of a short excursion into the Taurus Mountain, which should be started with a hearty breakfast at Ömer at the lower part of the artificial lake at the Manavgat river, the Manavgat Baraji.

The Seljuk Caravanserai Alara Han is located just 45 kilometres from Manavgat, on the border between the districts of Alanya and Manavgat, directly on the Alara River.

The road that turns towards South will take you to Side Museum at kilometre 72nd of the main road from Antalya to Alanya direction after about 6 km. Side is one of the most famous holiday resorts nowadays. It is supposed that Side had been founded by the Kymellians in the 7th Century B.C., settled on a small peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean. 

Shortly after our return to Turkey for going to Aspendos, after an extensive round trip through Germany, our friend Detlef from Halle announced that he would be visiting us for the coming weekend.

Last Saturday we spent a few hours with our co-author Wolfgang Dorn in Aspendos for a meeting at Köprü Cay that was limited in time but nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of that, very interesting.

In different, international travelogues of users of the Lycian trail and backpackers we have repeatedly heard about the "tree houses" at Olympos, which are made of simple, nailed boards lodgings offering cheap accomodation.

Phaselis was one of the most important trading centres in the Mediterranean for several centuries in ancient times. Goods such as Lycian cedar wood and rose oil were shipped from here to Egypt and the Middle East.

According to legend Side is named after the goddess of fertility and nature, Side, which also means pomegranate. The story goes that Side was walking along the Manavgat River with her little daughter and her nymphs.

On a beautiful summer evening I set off in order to examine the Roman aqueduct that extends from Oymapınar Dam Lake of Dumanlı Spring, which is a technical masterpiece of ancient age and which has supplied water for public and private water facilities, nymphe pools, fountains, spas and houses, to the walls of Side.

Besides the historical structures with Hadrian city gate and the city walls, there are three traditional old trolley´s at work in Antalya. These trains belonged to the former Nuremberg trolley.

Each year between 4th and 6th December, the village of Demre (whose historic name is Myra), well known usually for the quality and the taste of their delicious tomatoes and oranges, faces an invasion of scientists and amateur historians.