THE GRAND STAGE OF HISTORY
Antalya has much to offer for seafood lovers , like this lunch of grilled octopus and shellfish salad . somewhat reverse approach , starting out from Republic Square and exiting through Hadrian ’ s Gate . So the prime location of our home base was yet another pleasant surprise , with the Old Town easily accessible yet completely hidden from view . I spent a lovely afternoon wandering with no real agenda , treating myself to a light lunch of grilled octopus and a cold glass of white wine at an outdoor restaurant on the marina .
As it turned out , I was wise not to gorge myself , because our Home-Hosted Dinner took place that evening . A young couple with two small children hosted my little group of four — two of whom happened to be vegetarians . No one missed the meat as we dined on a spread of veggies and salads , chatting about everything from pop culture to politics to the myth of the American Dream . But when my hostess went to the oven mid-meal and pulled out a piping hot tray of eggplant stuffed with ground beef , who was I to deny her hospitality ?
THE GRAND STAGE OF HISTORY
While the alleyways of Antalya ’ s Old Town enveloped me in history like a close hug , I felt dwarfed by the scale of the sites we
explored the next day — in the best possible way . Alexander the Great conquered the city of Perge during the third century B . C ., but the most impressive structures that remain there came courtesy of the Romans , who arrived about a century later . While the city remained under Roman rule , St . Paul is believed to have preached here , and Perge became an important center for Christianity under the Byzantine Empire before it was abandoned in the seventh century A . D .— possibly due to Arab invasion .
The largest monuments in Perge are the theater and stadium , which held up to 12,000 spectators . But I especially enjoyed simply walking the column-lined main streets , as Mustafa explained where shops and baths once stood . Having already visited the Antalya Museum , I tried to envision how this place might have appeared while still filled with beautifully carved statues . Regardless of whether my mind ’ s eye got it right , I loved how the combination of these experiences helped bring history to life — which a museum , for me , never quite can on its own . At the end of the trip , we would take a similar approach to Ephesus . Between the two sites , I found lesserknown Perge to be much more enjoyable , thanks in no small part to the absence of crowds .
Right : The three arches of Hadrian ’ s gate have welcomed visitors to Antalya ’ s Old Town for 2,000 years .
Far Right : A small section of the ruins of Perge .
28 DISPATCHES • JUNE 2023