Bayram Bash 2011: Antalya, Day One!

WARNING: If you were looking for reasons not to come to Turkey, then this blog post isn't for you.

If, however, you were looking for the slightest bit of justification in your reasoning, read on.

Last week, I had the entire week of for a Muslim holiday known as Kurban Bayram (for those of you more familiar with Arabic-based Islam, it's called Eid al-Adha), which celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to show his dedication and obedience to God. Families get together and sacrifice sheep; obviously, there's more than just that. Feel free to read about it here (don't be mad that I'd using Wikipedia, either). 

Because we had a week off, I did a little traveling. My first stop (and by "stop," I mean "a brutal twelve-hour overnight bus ride") was in Antalya. Let me introduce you to Antalya.

We stayed at the Sabah Pansiyon in Kaleiçi, the older part of town. Super beautiful.

Truncated Minaret. Or as I called, the Decapitated Mosque.

HADRIAN'S GATE!

 Hadrian's Gate dates back to 130 A.D. Do the math. That's nearly 1900 years... right?

After walking around town, we headed to this beach/archaeological site called Olimpos. On the way there, however, we passed a ton of little hotels... WHICH WERE TREEHOUSE HOTELS. Oh my gosh. Totally going back here to stay in one.

Treehouses <3

Okay, so Olimpos was really cool. Apparently it was a major Hellenistic port for pirates. Its major Greek god was Hephaestus, and according to Homer, Poseidon watched Odysseus sailing on the sea. It was really pretty and because it was sooo close to those treehouse hotels and because I did not have the proper footwear to hike around, I'm going back.

Tourist opportunity.

Ancient Turkish baths!

Some fancy captain's sarcophagus.

Keepin' the trend alive! Feet in the Mediterranean!

These kids... I love 'em!

So pretty. I'm feeling you, Olimpos. 

After beaching around and almost being abandoned on the side of the rode seventy kilometers outside of Antalya, we made it home and got some delicious dinner at a restaurant called the Villa Perla. I suggest it, if you're ever it town.

Flash?

Flash.

 And then after dinner, Annika, Ryan, and I explored a little bit of Antalya's nightlife... which was somewhat lacking, since it was still more or less a religious holiday.

We did, however, manage to find a bar with live music. At first, the music was great, and Turkish. Then, the female singer started singing English songs, which we were pumped about. I'll admit, I was too excited to hear Bon Jovi songs. But, a few lines into the song, we realized that she wasn't singing the correct lyrics. This became more apparent when she began to sing a that Rihanna song "Only Girl," and instead of singing:

"Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
Like I'm the only one that knows your heart"

she was singing:

"I'm gonna make you feel 'cause I'm the only girl in the world
Like I'm the only one that knows how to love
Like I'm the only one that knows the hard"

This, might I add, was hilarious and a perfect end to my first day of bayram.

"TEŞEKKÜRLER !"