CAUNUS, ROMAN BATH, CLEOPATRA’S BATHS.

Continuing from yesterday, our river boat stops at a long wooden pier.

A smooth path brings us to a National Park where a caretaker lives.

Owen decided to try the keepers motor bike.

Part of Usla’s job is to educate us about plants and animals as well as history, which he does. He pointed out two oak trees that have very different shaped leaves. His first tour here was with a group of biologists. They would ask him about various trees and plants. He told them they were oak trees. He was a bit unsure about these and was guessing. When he checked, sure enough, to his surprise, they were Western oak trees.

We arrive at the Lycian ruins amphitheater and a movie crew is filming. They can be seen at the top of the edifice.

Owen immediately bounces up to the top and he calls down to Usla, “say something.” Remember Usla sent him to the amphitheater at Ephesus to speak. He complied. Then we told Usla he had to sing a song. And in a very melodious voice, he sang a love song for us in Kurdish.

A tree has taken root among the stones and will some day be removed as the restoration continues. We liked its shade.

The VIP chairs wait there turn. Usla tells us the story of Caunus, who came here to be with his sister. But his brother exiled his sister because a sister and brother are not supposed to become man and wife. She was so devastated to be separated from the brother she loved,  she killed herself.

Usla took this picture of us. He takes many pictures and gives each person a disk of the trip.

A common turtle in the area.

 

I wouldn’t let Owen walk under that unstable looking door header even though it wasn’t roped off. Makes gramma nervous.

Caunus is an important ruin, not because Caunus’s father was an important Roman Statesman, but because it is one of the best preserved examples of a Roman Bath. Sheep and cows have invaded the ruin. Usla complains that is not supposed to happen. But after so many ruins, the sheep are more interesting to me at the moment.

Our presence causes them to vacate what was once marble floors. The foundation shows the bath, two warming halls, excersize halls a sweating room and the hot room. I’m not sure how the archeologists learned such detail, but it will be interesting to see it when it is finished.

We load back into our boat, and head for a small tourist town for a pit stop before heading back to the gulet. (Usla’s photo.)

As the boat rounds a corner, we get a glimpse of Lycian Temple Tombs carved into the hillside above the town of Kardak.

Usla tells us we will see more important tombs like these later in our trip and we won’t be hiking up to this one that dominates the little tourist town.

Owen has his eye fastened to Kebabs & Fishes, and it is close to lunchtime.

Usla calls on his “assistant”, Owen, to help as the boat unloads into the town for a pit stop where we each pay 1 lira to pee. We only have fifteen minutes here. The goods is all really schlocky tourist stuff, nothing of any quality. But, Owen finds two knives, they are switchblades and he recognizes an expensive brand and buys them for 180 lira thinking he has a bargain. After the purchase was complete, the vendor gave us a heart shaped God’s eye and a pin and offered us tea.  I should have realized then, he overpaid. The knives turned out to be knockoffs, but, even so, he enjoys them.

We pass the gates that keep the turtles in and poachers out on the way back.

We see some tourists about at the Riviera, in bathing suits. They tried the river side to swim, those brave souls. Gina says, “We Brits aren’t afraid of a little cold water.”

The wind picked up and the water got choppy on our return trip.

A nice rest after lunch,

For some,  a nap…

Joyce Jacobs, is 80 + years old, and is an inspiration to all of us. She doesn’t relax but enjoys Yoga and hiking dispite having lived through crippling polio as a child. An amazing woman.

Usla shows Owen how to fish with just a line and some bread for bait.

Owen tried it on several occasions but never did hook a fish.

Gina, Maria, Joyce B. and Joel, braved the cold for a swim and warmed themselves on the sunny foredeck.

This was such a good picture of Maria and Joyce, I could’t resist posting it

 

The weather turned cold and windy. Choppy water had the boat doing a rock and roll. Captain Faisal went out in the small motor and checked the next cove over and checked with other boats he encountered. He decided we’d best move to a more sheltered spot.

We moved to Friendship Cove, with Cleopatra’s Baths, where we would have gone the next day anyway.

I know my kid is tempting himself to jump in the ocean. But, I’m nervous about it and keep calling him away from the edge.

 

 

 

DECATUR’S KEKIONGAN FESTIVAL

We saw signs around town for a Kekiongan Festival. What the heck is that, we wondered?  Local Indians named the nearby river Kekiongan. The Indians also taught early settlers how to live in this land. Many of them wouldn’t have made it without their help.  The festival is an authentic encampment requiring participants to re-enact life as it was before 1800.

A fun agenda along with the local scouts, rotary and so on selling stuff to make money for their own specific causes. The authentic appearance of the encampment is kept by keeping it in a woodsy setting on the grass away from all the modern trappings of the sellers, and entertainment, and food of the rest of the participants.

Thus you see all white canvas tents for shelter. Cooking on open fires. Pots of cast iron and wooden spoons and stir sticks.

This man is a hunter and he sells animal hides he has tanned. It was a bit disconcerting to see so many dead animals about the place, (at many of the tents) but, the reality is that people had to hunt to eat in the 1700’s.

Water buckets were copper or canvas covered leather. A feed bucket or “dry” bucket , was simply made of canvas.

People lived simpler lives. Everyday goods were difficult to make, such as clothing, bedding, and shoes. Horsehair with cotton fibers for some crude clothing. Others of refined cotton. During the day I met a Circuit Rider Preacher and his wife; a musket shooter, knife and utensil makers, weavers, soap makers and people producing leather goods, traps, and so on.  All spikes holding the tents in the ground were made by a blacksmith. (He was not on site.)

These two gents deal in charms and talismans, hatchets with hardwood handles,and what appears to be scalps hanging from their tent pole. I didn’t get to talk to them.
I watched the bowmen shoot with their handmade bows and arrows and leather quivers.

Women shoot and hunt too when necessary.

The most interesting to me was  women’s work, clothing, sewing, household frugality and clever use of materials.

Joyce Johnson demonstrates how women would use little packets of wood shavings to soak up sweat and help prevent stain and odor on their dresses.

She is married, thus her “pretty” pocket from her underskirt is kept under her top skirt. If she was single, she would let it hang out.

Silk was used to decorate hats and clothing. Modest you might be required to be, but you could still show off a bit by scrunching your silk into designs . Using a lot of silk subtlely told you were wealthier than someone else.

A black locust thorn is threaded for a needle. It is capable of sewing on leather.

Tea traveled everywhere in dry pressed cakes. It had to be stamped, according to the stamp act, that taxes were paid on it. A person just shaved off pieces into their pot to make tea.

Buttons were made from copper,shells,antler,bone,tufted linen and thread. Yes, thread. She showed me how to make a thread button. And if thread was scarce, you could use bits of worn fabric and pull threads from it. Ohhh, as fascinating as I found it, I’m glad I didn’t live in those days. I do appreciate my washing machine and deodorant. We won’t even talk about female problems. Arrrggh.  I learned a great deal from Joyce. She has a website at http://wkjohnson@mchsi.com.
For more pictures click my link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/1579penn/82810KekionganFestivalDecatur#