The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Aspendos ... Almost

The Route We're getting ruined on ruins! But there was one more major site to see in the area and the day dawned cooler than usual, so we headed down the road to Aspendos. It is most well-known for its remarkably well-preserved Roman theater which holds about 7000 and is still in use during the summer for concerts, plays and dance festivals sponsored by the Turkish government.

Tradition has it that the city, originally non-Greek was founded around 1000 BC by Greeks from Argos and by the 5th century BC had become the most important city in the area. Surprisingly, it was a trading port as ships could travel up the river to the city at that time. Around 500 BC it became the earliest cities to mint its own coins.

Like Side and Perge, it was captured by the Persians, then Alexander the Great and finally the Romans ... with a few odd conquerors in between. We were so beat down by the heat (the coolness didn't last long) and burned out on rubble that we just didn't have the energy to hike up and over the hill to see what was left of the city. So we bought our admission tickets to support the maintenance of the site, but contented ourselves with wandering around the theater.

I confess to picking up the other photos of the site on the Internet. Cheating? Perhaps, but I wanted to be sure to give you enough to justify your effort to check out the trip report! Tomorrow we say goodbye to the countryside and head to Istanbul for our last few days in Turkey. That should be quite a change of pace!


We really went to Aspendos to see the theater and discovered there was a whole ancient city on the hill behind it. (Makes sense when you think about it!) The unusual feature of the theater -- at least to me -- is the wall behind the stage. This was originally adorned with columns and statues and must have been quite spectacular. Even now I would think it would be a special feeling to watch a performance in a 2500-year-old theater.

There are some general problems with eating meals out when you are outside the cities or tourist areas. The first is that there are just not that many places to eat. The second is that it seems most every place has the same menu -- kababs, pasta, pizza/pide. Don't get me wrong ... the food is generally quite good ... but I can see why John rolled his eyes when we started talking about restaurants last night. It would be like have no other meal choices but basic hamburgers, fries and fish cakes.

We wanted to avoid Side for lunch just because we have spent so much time there, so we cut off the main road and went down to the beach to see what we could find. Without venturing into the hotels, the answer was "not much" but we did spot a place with a shady lower area and decided to give it a go. Margene got the chicken shish and I went for the (meatballs ... but actually more like little hamburger patties). There was nothing wrong with the meal, but notice how much better the plates would have looked with just minimal attention to how and where the fries were placed.

John's take on it was that the kitchen staff only knew what they had seen elsewhere, so some of the practices that would seem basic to us -- plate presentation, menu design and such -- are simply not on the local culinary radar. I suspect we will find more awareness in Istanbul. It will be interesting to make the comparison.


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