Merhaba,
This past Tuesday Randal and I retraced our steps to Mugla and Stratonikeia, but this time we went on a Gwen tour with a guide and several other cruisers from both Netsel and Yacht Marine. It was lots of fun; but it was freezing! I was definitely wishing I’d brought my huge down jacket with me from home; but that just seemed unnecessary based on our experience in North Cyprus. It’s colder here! Luckily it was a bright sunny day, so that helped. As for having a guide; I was too cold to stand around and listen to what he had to say.
We left the marina by coach bus about 7:45 am and made our first stop an hour later for coffee and the WC. You know how in the US if you order coffee they come around and refill your mug? Not here. You get a cup of coffee and that’s it. But that does keep the tour group from hanging around too long in the warm coffee shop. I’ve written about Stratonikeia twice before so I’ll just post some photos here that show aspects I’d not posted previously.
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Burial tomb |
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Everyone had to go in and take a photo. Here’s Rick taking his. |
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Our guide Taz explaining about the Roman mosaic in Stratonikeia |
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Fallen olives littered the path along the way. |
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Frozen amphitheater |
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I climbed up to the nosebleed section. The stage had become a frozen pond! |
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Maybe the earthquake crumbled the seating |
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Numbers were given to each block or column so they could be put back in place at some point during the renovation. |
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From Stratonikeia we drove back to Muḡla and the first stop was lunch! |
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This is the traditional dish called iskender; sliced meat with a gravy, rice, etc. It’s Ed’s favorite which is why he is smiling! “This is just one of the many different kinds of kebabs you can try in Turkey. The Iskender Kebab comes from Bursa in Northwestern Turkey and is one of our favorites. It is made with thinly sliced lamb or beef topped with tomato sauce over sliced pide bread. Tomato sauce and boiling butter are poured over the dish. The dish is served with a side of yogurt.” http://www.gotourturkey.com/blog/2011/01/turkish-cuisine-iskender-kebab/ . Ed’s favorite iskender was served at a restaurant in Istanbul. La Fortuna, a restaurant here at Netsel comes a close second, but he said this Muḡla iskender was pretty good too. |
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Iskender meat Is cooked on a rotating spit and then sliced thinly with huge kives. |
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Lunch was obviously one of the day’s high lights! I had a cheese, lamb and (forgive me) ground veal pide (Turkish pizza like dish.) I have a philosophical issue with veal, but we won’t go into that here….. Lunch was good and fun and warm! |
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After lunch we explored Muḡla, but it was cold so we looked for indoor activities rather than spend time exploring this tempting bazaar area. We stopped in at the painted mosque which you saw from our first trip to Muḡla with Bill and Judy back in August when the problem was heat! http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?p=12231 |
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Part 2 includes my visit to the Muḡla Public Library and Randal buying 5 gallons of corn syrup! |
