Turkey - Xanthos

Journal, 24 May, 2002: Today, started around 9, loaded van, then spent about an hour in Fetiye, post office, market stop, etc arriving at Xanthos around 11:30.  Meet our local guide, Musa (Moses), for a quick tour of Xanthos.  Hiked across the city, mostly unexcavated, since it lacks the cachet of an Ephesus, and there’s no money to do the work.  The theatre is in good shape, but many of the best pieces were taken by Fellows to London in the 1840s..  Then up and past the pillared tomb, over the Roman acropolis to the Lycian necropolis.  Rock tombs, both free standing and carved into the hills.  

“The old city, with many tombs honeycombed in the jutting rock, with gymnasium and a hundred yards of market arcade still standing, and theatre behind high-built walls with seats of poished limestone carved with lion claws – all spoke of centuries of ezase.  A Lycian stele, among the myrtles and oleanders of the valley, represent with undeciphered letters the ealire age to which the Lycian inscriptions and some of the tombs belong.  “ – Freya Stark

Then down thru fields of wheat and olives.  Impressive site, though not many ruins displayed. Into the van to drive the road to the start of our next segment of the Lycian Way at Cavdir. 

Wheat detail Xanthos

Wheat & olives

After walking thru the village, pick up the path of the old Roman aqueduct, in some places replaced by modern concrete, but mostly just ruins, forming a pleasant rising trail – the limestone hugs the curves of the hills, and the channel is filled in and shallow.  Lots of prickly bushes, attacking our unprotected legs – maquis (holly like stickers), various thistles, even some sabra cactus.   Many pretty flowers, gorse, savory, marjoram, island tea (or moutain tea, looks somewhat like oregano, picked to make an herb tea).  In the villages,  pomegrante trees, grapes and bougainvillea add color to the olives and wheat fields.  Some wheat still green, other fields almost ready to harvest. 

Musa told us about the various olives we passed – 3 types here, Edremit, ‘local’ and milyar, the latter not very good, and a biennial crop.   Olives collected in 9 kg ‘cans’ that make about 3 kg of oil.   A good tree will produce from 15-60 cans (1200 lbs!).  Also saw lots of grafts – small curved rectangles of new olives attached like skin grafts to wild olive trees, turning them into productive fruit producers.  Sections tied on with homespun goat yarn.

Lycian Way sign Spring, aqueduct Caykoy Spring, aqueduct

Grafted olives Grafting olives Grafting olives

The trail crosses a deep gully with an arch protecting the source of a spring, crossing about 20’ high above the gully.  Then continues on along the aqueduct way, mostly easy trail.

About 2 hours to Caykoy village.   Met 2 women baking yufku (thin, round  breads, 2’ in diameter).  Took pictures, and met the husband, who’s the local imam.  Then back in the van to find a picnic spot.  Lutfi had left the chicken at the market, so we were forced to get by on tomatoes, cucumbers, splendid cheeses (a dry sheep cheese, and a mozzarella clone), bread, grilled peppers and lamb chops. Lamb especially good.  Cooked on a small hibachi, using a wood & charcoal fire while the group settles down to picking thistles and brambles from their socks.   Musa offers several options and we chose to travel a high traverse to Islamlar. Drove to Uzumlu (3:30pm).  Follow the recently asphalted road for awhile, then cut off to follow the now less distinct aqueduct path.  Not many walkers along this part, and the track is often blocked by brambles of various sorts.   Continue around and up.  Hot day, no cooler now (about 3-4) than earlier in the day.  Finally round the hill and start up a valley towards a distant minaret of Islamlar.  Track sometimes disappears as we cross fields,  evidence of wild pig, in one case they turned the trail into a mud wallow.  Reach the asphalt again around 5, shortly after hearing azin, and the van picks us up and drives another km or so uphill to a tea shop.  Audrey, Priscilla and Nancy have island tea, made from the fresh branches Lutfi had carried.  But before drinking, everyone decides to take pictures of this light green colored drink, and in a moment there are 4 cameras busily taking close focus shots of glasses of tea, much to the amusement of the men who’ve wandered out from their backgammon games to observe the tourists. 

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