36:11.5N  29:50.6E

Kekova Roads was  a real treat.  We took the dingy ashore for a look around on our first morning and followed a section of the Lycian Way round to the Castle at Kale Koy where, inevitably a small cluster of shops selling all the usual things cling to the side of the hill.  Lynn had recommended one as the place to find nice fabrics and it was quite a place with all sorts of beautiful cloth, bedspreads, Turkish bath towels, throws, woven, embroidered, appliquéd.  All lovely.  Kadriye, who set up the shop was a delight.  Her family made Turkish carpets so no surprise she has an eye for lovely things.  She has travelled in India, worked on superyachts, studied in UK and worked as a nanny for a family in Witney, roughly four miles from where we live.  We bought Hamam (Turkish Bath) towels and will be back for more we suspect, they are a bit like a bath sized soft T towel so probably very good when the weather is really hot.  And, as ever being practical, will take up a lot less room in a load of washing!

This is the time of year for collecting sage and oregano and the scent wafts across whenever you pass someone carrying a large bundle.  They dry it and use it for the rest of the year.  A young girl gave me a couple of stalks when I was watching what she was doing and I collected some more from the side of the track which is now drying on the deck along with an experiment in sun-dried tomatoes.

On Tuesday we caught the 0830 Dolmus into the nearest town Demre.  A rather agricultural place where every third shop sells farm implements or fertiliser and the town emblem is a giant tomato.  There were poly tunnels for miles in every direction and in every nook and cranny and the produce looked tremendous.  Tomato’s, of course, but peppers, aubergines, lettuce, courgettes and more in abundance.  We were not there for the veg however but to visit the ruins at Myra and St Nicholas’s Basilica.

First to Myra where we arrived before opening time.  One of the cafe owners helpfully suggested we have a drink and we asked for Turkish tea thinking that would be easy for them.  We were then entertained by his having a long argument with his wife, I think, over who was going to go and get the tea because she was busy cleaning the fridge and he wasn’t doing anything.  Arguments sound very dramatic in Turkish, especially with the very expressive body language that goes along with it. 

The ampitheatre is pretty much intact and the hills behind are covered in elaborate tombs.  Apparently the rest of the town is still there but buried and there is no chance it will be excavated because every spare inch of the area is used for the veg.

There is only one Dolmus in each direction each day so we couldn’t get back until 6pm which meant plenty of time to explore.  We set off to try to get to the ruined acropolis at the top of the hill and followed our noses along the road and onto some tracks through straggly houses.  It was very like Nepal with goats and chickens and ladies carrying large bundles of sticks on their backs.  Everyone was very friendly and kept pointing us in the right direction until we made it to the top. 

Then on to the Basilica.  St Nicholas was Bishop of Demre and an all round good egg with various stories about him dropping presents down chimneys to the poor.  The original Father Christmas and much is made of the connection.   Very popular indeed with the Russians and the surrounding shops are full of Russian orthodox icons and very different souvenirs to those you usually see.  While there we learnt that St Nicholas is also the Patron Saint of seafarers.  First we had heard of it but we will be sure in future to wish fellow sailors a safe voyage with the words ‘May St Nicholas hold your tiller’ and pay attention to his association with the Cod of the Sea.

When not otherwise occupied as Father Christmas or the Patron Saint of Seafarers St Nicholas found time to be the Patron Saint of pawnbrokers.  A slightly odd pairing until you think of the cost of sailing in which case the pawnbroker connection makes a lot more sense.

We spent three nights in Kekova Roads and will be back for more.  A great place to bring our visitors.

Mike and the ‘dolmus’ driver waiting to see how many of the distant group of backpackers are planning on getting on the bus.  They all were, but then ‘dolmus’ does mean ‘stuffed’ in Turkish.

Drying herbs and tomato’s;  growing basil – if you look carefully you can see that the chickens are roosting under the liferaft.  The goats were having a nap in the starboard cabin when the picture was taken.  The sundried toms were a real success so we will be doing that again.