The other was a short highway line that went straight from one point to another. Although Yunluo should have repeatedly explained his destination when buying the ticket, and he probably wouldn't take the wrong line, he still felt a little guilty when he saw the scenery that had nothing to do with the coastline along the way. It was almost noon when the car circled in front of the mountain for several times, and then the view in front of him suddenly opened up.

Mediterranean Sea, Yunluo finally saw you. I won't elaborate on the excitement of looking at the Mediterranean Sea from afar. That charming blue has been praised by too many people from ancient times to the present. The town on the left is Kas. It takes only about half an hour to drive from here to Xanthos. The place where the car stopped is called Kinik, which is a quite prosperous town.

When I was about to get off the car, the driver stopped me. After some gestures, I understood that he said he could take Yunluo to a place closer to Xanthos. I was immediately grateful. However, the driver indicated that Yunluo had arrived within two minutes of the car leaving. It turned out to be so close -_- there was still a big slope ahead, and I could already see the ruins of Xanthos.

This used to be the city's gate, and it is still the first place to welcome tourists. As the capital of Lycia, Xanthos must have had a glorious time, but now it is only a pile of rocks forgotten among the weeds. There are two types of Greek and Roman relics that are most likely to be passed down: one is the bathhouse, and the other is the theater.

The best-preserved ruins in Xanthos are this theater. The first time I saw a genuine ancient theater, I was excited, but later I found that there were theaters everywhere, and I gradually became numb. People always pursue novelty, haha. What makes Lycia different is that she likes to make sarcophagi extremely exquisite and display them high up like a show.

The largest sarcophagus of Xanthos has long been taken away by the British Museum. There are a few smaller ones left, but they are already quite large. Behind the theater, the remaining walls divide the space neatly. The former residents of Lycia lived here. Should we say that the housing density is high or the per capita area is small?

Crossing the road, the other side is mainly a commercial area. The east-west main road is said to still retain its original flavor. The ground is covered with exquisitely carved stone carvings, and I wonder what stories are behind them. The last large relic at the foot of the mountain is a Byzantine church, which is not very impressive.

Comparing the promotional photos at the ticket office, I realized what kind of scenery is under the gravel. From here, we start to go up the mountain, and there are many ancient tombs along the way. They are all leaning carelessly among the wild grass. Although it is the coldest month of winter, the mountain has no sign of decay, and the wild flowers on the ground are spread out in patches. Even if we only talk about natural scenery, this place is not inferior to many state parks.

The only remaining wall of Xanthos is near the top of the mountain. From a distance, the mountain is full of greenhouses for growing vegetables, a thriving scene. Even the top of the mountain is occupied by a huge satellite transfer station. Only the present prosperity can be seen, and who can remember the prosperity of the past. Then look down at the theater and the "luxury house" behind it.

There is another church on the top of the mountain, which is also a ruin. It happened to be Christmas that day. Turkey is an Islamic country after all, but they don't celebrate Christmas. So I stopped by the church and stared blankly for a while, joining in the universal celebration. Xanthos ends here, and it's actually not a big place.

Another destination is Letoon. I only know that it is 8km away from Xanthos, but I have no idea of ​​its exact location or route. Xanthos was the political center of Lycia, while Letoon was the religious center.

Anyone with a discerning eye has probably figured out that the name Letoon is obviously derived from Leto. That's right. The main god worshipped here is not Apollo or Apollo's father Zeus, but Apollo's mother Leto. In fact, apart from giving birth to the sun and moon gods, Leto seems to have no presence in Greek mythology. Letoon is probably the only known place of worship for Leto.

After talking to the locals for a while, I was still confused. Let's walk for a while. Returning from Xanthos to Kinik is a three-way intersection. Since Xanthos is on one road and the other way we came, Letoon should only be on the third road, so I just trust my own judgment and walk on.

Soon, I saw a gas station. I was still a little confused, so I tried to point to the gas station. The boss pointed to the direction I came from. Now I was even more confused. There was no fork in the road. But I could only turn back. Not far away, I saw the bridge I passed when I came here. Suddenly, I understood. Should I go under the bridge and follow the river?

I ran to the bridge head and saw that there was indeed a sign. Later it turned out that although there were few signboards, there were always signs at the right turns. As long as you were careful not to miss them, you probably wouldn't get lost. In short, I found the direction and it was only an hour away from the destination. I felt relieved and had some leisure time to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the river.

After turning a few corners, we arrived at Letoon in a vegetable greenhouse. Letoon is much smaller than Xanthos, and probably because it is remote, there is no one collecting tickets here, but there are a group of children herding sheep inside. There is another theater at the entrance, which is larger than the theater in Xanthos.

The entrance hall is now submerged in water. The faintly visible bases of the columns once supported such majesty. The main building is three temples, the largest of which is naturally built for the main deity Leto. Although only the base and a few columns of this huge temple from the same period as the Parthenon are now preserved, at least 80% of the temple layout is still preserved.

It is quite complete. On one side of the Temple of Leto, there are two small temples dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. In comparison, the remaining parts of these two temples are even fewer. There are exquisite mosaics on the floor of the Temple of Apollo, lyres, suns and bows and arrows.

There is even less to see at the Temple of Artemis. Like the Temple of Apollo, it was destroyed by fire. During the Byzantine period, a church was built here. Two faiths coexisted here, but then both fell into ruins and were replaced by the more powerful Islam.

There is a fountain in a corner of the temple. It is said that Leto came here to drink water, but the shepherds stopped her unreasonably. In anger, Leto turned the shepherds into frogs. In fact, thinking about the Greek mythology I read in my childhood, there seem to be many such chilling stories, but at that time I didn't realize that the gods also had such childish tempers, haha.

There are no signs of punishment on the waterside now. There are only broken stone pillars scattered among the reeds, a lonely scene. Xanthos-leeton ends here. In fact, if you are not particularly interested in ancient Greece, you don’t have to come here. Just enjoy the village where modern technology improves your life.

Yunluo thought it was an interesting experience to recall the forgotten prosperity, that simple, honest and prosperous era. Fethiye (a name Yunluo had never spelled correctly) was just a place to stay in Yunluo's plan. If I had to say it, the time for the tour was only one night and one morning, but it left a deep impression on Yunluo.

If we move the day in Ankara to Fethiye, the trip will be more complete. The Aegean Sea seems to have become synonymous with Greece, but in fact a small part of the coastline of the Aegean Sea falls in Turkey. Fethiye is a famous tourist city on the Aegean Sea, surrounded by mountains and the sea, taking the limelight of nature, attracting countless tourists every year.

Even in the off-season, you can still see tourist advertisements posted everywhere. It was already night when we arrived at Fethiye. Yunluo, unwilling to fall asleep, put down his luggage and began to prepare for a night visit. Fethiye was once an important town in Lycia. Like Xanthos, there are also many ancient tombs preserved here, but the difference is that the tombs here are more spectacular.

Built high up in the rock wall, it is meticulously crafted to be as beautiful as a temple, like a miniature version of the ancient city of Petra. Yunluo's night visit destination was also decided here. The small town was quite quiet at night. Walking alone under the dim street lights, the destination was an ancient tomb 2,500 years ago, which seemed like a tomb robbery. I couldn't help but feel a little excited.

After climbing up a slope behind the city, I suddenly found that the spotlight clearly illuminated the largest ancient tomb. I took the time to come again the next morning. In fact, the ancient tomb is still at a fairly high position, hidden in a vibrant green shade. However, there are specially repaired steps leading directly to the rock wall in front of this ancient tomb, and there was originally a ticket office at the door.

But naturally no one was collecting tickets in the middle of the night, so I happily climbed the stairs with a little bit of ugliness. I have to say that the lighting is quite good, bleak and cold. It feels like a horror movie. All the way to the tomb, it was all kinds of eerie. When I really got close, I realized the magnificence of the tomb. The stone pillars were three or four meters high, just like most Lycian buildings.

Each of them was carved into an ionic style. The curtain door was open, and although there was nothing inside, the smell of death still hit me in the dark (it was just a little smelly??). The next morning, I visited again before leaving. There is a group of smaller ancient tombs on the other side of the mountain, connected together, which is spectacular.

If he hadn't known in advance that this was a tomb, Yun Luo might have really thought that this was a temple. Is it that humans are so noble that they can easily imitate gods, or is it that gods are so insignificant that they can easily be imitated? If he hadn't known in advance that this was a tomb, Yun Luo might have really thought that this was a temple.

Is it that humans are so noble that they can easily imitate gods, or is it that gods are so insignificant that they can be easily imitated? Having said so much, I have not yet entered the theme of the Aegean Sea. The road from the station to the hostel actually runs along the coast, but in the middle of the night, you can only see a dark expanse. At dawn the next day, Yunluo could not wait to hastily wash up.

Grabbing the camera, I rushed to the beach, and was naturally moved by the intoxicating sea. Although it was winter, Fethiye was as bright as spring, just like the scenery on a postcard. As the sun gradually rose, the sea became more and more blue. Fethiye is a port, with all kinds of private boats parked on the sea, as lazy and comfortable as the whole town.

In addition to private yachts, there are also small boats for cruises. According to the introduction, the nearby scenic spots have fairy-tale names: Butterfly Valley, Blue Lagoon, Twelve Islands... People like Yunluo think that basking in the sun on the beach for a day is silly and boring. I also think that if I can take a day to cruise here, it will be quite worthwhile.

Does it look like it was photoshopped? I never thought that the sea in real life could have such bright colors. In fact, if you look closer, the sea water turns into a warm jade green. I have seen green seas in Florida before, but they were still a bit blue, not as green as the Aegean Sea.

The last photo is a witness to the history of Fethiye. The Roman theater, haha. It has not been developed much, and the whole theater is covered by green grass, which makes it unique. Although the time in Fethiye is very limited, Yunluo still spares no effort to recommend it to everyone who wants to go to Turkey. Such a warm city, such a pure sea. I am afraid you won’t get tired of staying here for a week.

I thought I didn't have to do much research and that transportation would be very convenient. However, when I arrived, I found out that the bus I had liked that departed at 7:30 was no longer available in winter, and the latest bus had to leave at 4 o'clock. So I changed my plan in a hurry, stayed in Pamukkale for half a night, and had to catch the 4 o'clock bus to Ephesus the next day. It was really hard work.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

But I won a night in Pamukkale, which was an unexpected reward. Pamukkale is better known as Pamukkale. As the name suggests, it is a mountain as white as cotton. The hot springs rushing down from the top of the mountain have deposited a snow-white color for thousands of years. The Mammoth Spring in Yellowstone (well, Yunluo has not been there) works in a similar way.

But the scale is much smaller; Huanglong also has similar calcified pools, but they are colorful, which is different from the pure white here. What's more interesting about Pamukkale is that the hot springs on the mountain are kept at 36 degrees all year round, which is just the right temperature for people to get involved in. Compared with Mammoth's nearly 80 degrees and Huanglong's biting snow water, it is too gentle.

So tourists can walk barefoot along the travertine pool up the mountain, which is quite interesting. Now it is said that the flow of hot springs has decreased. During the day, water must be released artificially to maintain the water volume, and at night, only a trickle remains. It is quite bleak. The long-term lack of water makes some areas unable to be immersed in water, and over time, they have faded into a less pure brown or dark green color.

It is even more regrettable. But overall, it is still exciting to walk among the blue waves and white rocks. In fact, using the word cotton to describe Pamukkale always feels a bit like Xie Zilang using salt to describe snow, which is quite detrimental to the scenery. It feels like a cloud falling. It is more like a large mass of solidified clouds.

I wonder if you have ever noticed the moments when you fly through the clouds while on an airplane. The clouds that seem to grow randomly and irregularly actually have exquisite rules and details when you look closer. Although the overall shape is constantly ups and downs, it is in order (should we say that the boundary conditions of the falling clouds are satisfied and they are continuous everywhere but not differentiable everywhere xd).

Pamukkale feels similar. From a distance, it is just a mass of white. Only when you get closer can you see the uneven stone steps. When you get to the front, you will find that every texture is as delicate as the meticulous folds carved on marble during the Renaissance. Although it looks like clouds, snow or cotton, it is still stone after all.

Such dense lines seem like stone knives. In places that are obscured by the water flow and cannot be seen clearly, there are even sharp-edged gravel, which is enough to make people grit their teeth when they step on it. It can be said to be warm but not soft. Climbing all the way up from the bottom of the mountain, looking at the huge pools, I don’t think they can be really formed by nature.

The azure hot springs and the snow-white rocks complement each other, creating a warm and peaceful atmosphere. The pools are connected and extend from the top of the mountain, which is spectacular when viewed from a high place (the advantage of the off-season is that you can catch a scene without anyone, but it is said that there are many bikini beauties in the summer to feast your eyes).

There are also towering snow-capped mountains behind us, and the two white colors complement each other. When we reached the top of the mountain, it was almost dusk, and we looked down at the small town at the foot of the mountain, which was basically full of hot spring hotels. In the Alexander era, this place was already a health resort, and even Cleopatra visited here. The pools with smooth and creamy hot spring water still welcome tourists from all over the world.

The places without water from the springs look dry and cold; the gray potholes under the setting sun are as shocking as dried-up water marks. Here is a night view, Pamukkale is open all night. The stone steps look a bit rugged in the dim sky. Without the water from the artificial springs during the day, it feels even colder and harder to walk on.

If I was just gritting my teeth during the day, I would definitely be grinning at night. I struggled to walk back down the mountain, and I couldn't help but sigh that things that look beautiful may not be so beautiful after experiencing them in person. Although Pamukkale is a world heritage site, it is unexpectedly not a natural heritage but a cultural heritage. Perhaps the ancient city of Hierapolis on the mountain has a lot of credit for this.

This ancient city from the Greek period was named after Hera. I had not originally planned to visit it, but now that I had to stay overnight in Pamukkale, I had the leisure to visit it. It was a pleasant surprise. But I still think that it would be more magnificent if I could visit it during the day. By the way, I read the travel notes of my apprentice before, and he vividly described how the wild dogs scared him and injured him internally.

I was mentally prepared. But when I finally saw four or five wild dogs rushing up to surround me, or slowly following me two or three meters behind me, and countless supporters barking at me in the invisible darkness, I still felt a chill in my heart. (To be continued...)