Lost (technologically) in Antalya

I know, I know...Antalya is a total tourist town now, all built up with hotels, nothing like the small-town charm it had 15 years ago.... But even with a gazillion Turkish, Russian and German tourists, it's hard to ruin this city* that was an important port city during the Roman Republic (apparently the Romans took it over in the 2nd century B.C.) There is an arched wall dedicated to(by?) the emperor Hadrian--our guide calls Hadrian the travelling emperor. He does seem to have walls and arches and statues all over the place. The Ottomans put their mark on the Old City, a part of town called Kale İçi (kah-lay ee-chee in Turkish). I spent 4 hours this morning, on our only free day of the tour, walking its irregular streets around the wharf with my friend Julie, a social studies grant manager from NYC. We took a minibus from our hotel to the old part of town then had a Turkish coffee to sit with the map and orient ourselves a bit. Julie laughs that she's a camel, never drinks water. I on the other hand go through about 4-5 liters a day. We sweated in the morning heat, making our way past modern(ish) shops, the clocktower, the old mosque, the bazaar (where terrible t-shirts go to die) to the water. Holy cow. There's just something completely romantic and transformative about a Mediterranean marina, sky and water each boasting a better brand of blue, mountains on the far shore of the curved city. (Uh, oh yeah, and 2+2=4. What am I saying...of course the Mediterranean coast is ıncredible!) We wandered past dreamy new hotels crafted in revitalized Ottoman buildings, stopped for an ice cream show where I had my pic taken with the most compelling ıce cream pushcart operator I've ever met. Alas, I'm having computer problems and cannot post today.
Back to hotel (check it out: the Marmara in Antalya...make sure you see shots of the pool and the beach). Swim in ocean, kick butt on an NYC crossword puzzle, then shower and nap. Ahh. Now THAT's a day off.

Will post separately for yesterday and the day before. I want to stave off blog fatigue.

We leave tomorrow morning for the several sites along the coast and a boat ride at Fethiye. By the way, when I didn't want to grade papers in May, I'd spend an hour checking out real estate in Fethiye (Fet-ee-yeh). It' gorgeous. We'll be there one night then on to Kuşadası for 4 days. Holy cow. I'm just looking up and around ın the openair common room of this hotel. This has got to be the nicest one I've ever stayed in. Thank you Fulbright!!