Day 6; Letoon
The making of Turkish tea is a definite process and one that the Turkish people take seriously. Regardless of the heating method you end up with a large pot of hot water with some strong tea in a smaller pot which keeps warm sat on the large water pot. You then mix half and half for medium strength or adjust for personal preference. I find I arrive at new accommodation feeling underwhelmed in Turkey but I soon find out how the place operates and really enjoy seeing the different aspects of Turkish life; as much as you can as a tourist.
The day starts well with the usual outstanding views and it isn't too hot given my earlier start and the forest shade. I am opting to walk today although a number of sources suggest taking a taxi or bus for this section as you are walking through a vast area of greenhouses as hinted at below.
Having done the forest walk I get to walk along 5km of flat dirt track bordered by shrubs and trees. This is followed by 1km through the outskirts of the greenhouse city; the flat plain here is home to a sea of plastic as the flat ground allows crops to be grown. The greenhouses are supplemented with workers dwellings which appear to have put up by the workers themselves and are small and rudimentary. Talking to my host this morning he spoke of his youth when local people were largely self sufficient growing their own food, keeping chickens for eggs and meat and using honey instead of sugar as a sweetner. Houses were simple with the roof made from beams, thatch and clay; some of these still exist but are crumbling.
I am making my way to a temple complex which dates back to the the second century BCE (Before Common Era) or 200BC as we used to say. Included at the site are an amphitheatre and temples to Appolo, Artemis and more importantly Leto. Leto was a daughter of two Titans who predated the Gods. She was then one of Zeus's many lovers and the mother of the twins Apollo and Artemis. Letoon was Leto's sanctuary when Zeus lost interest in her; you can see what they did there.
Mosiac from a more recent Byzantine church; the Byzantine Empire existed from approximately 395CE to 1453 which is my way of saying I don't know the date of the church.
It is striking that on the approach one side of the road contains plastic temples to food production for the masses and on the other there are ancient temples to Greek gods.
After ancient culture comes food culture just 200m down the road. Fresh pomegranate juice, salad and gozleme all for £2.50. As before the gozleme (pancake/flatbread) is made to order.
It is 3pm as I finish eating and though I am revived I am grateful my stop for the night is only 1km away as I am fatigued from the heat and have what looks like heat rash on my legs.
