Sunken City of Kekova
uilt on a fault line that stretches from Lebanon to southern Turkey, Kekova sunk ~600 years ago, and as we peered through a spyglass into the water (watch those waves! steer! and the cliffs!), shattered pottery, the rounded corners of a harbor and remains of foundations shimmered into view.
Today Yuppie Nomad and I sea-kayaked. We took a van over to the eastern side of the Med, then kayaked over to a deserted island for some swimming, climbing over rocks and ruins, and "tchoosssh"-ing away the stray goats wanted to (desirous of) eat all our supplies -- sandals, swimwear, sunglasses.
Then, me tired of doing handstands underwater and YupNo tired of shooing away the goats, we paddled – arms burned shoulders ached eyes sore from the sprayed salt – we paddled cross the strait to the sunken city of Kekova. Built on a fault line that stretches from Lebanon to southern Turkey, Kekova sunk ~600 years ago, and as we peered through a spyglass into the water (watch those waves! steer! and the cliffs!), shattered pottery, the rounded corners of a harbor and remains of foundations shimmered into view.
Above the clouds rose in columns, forming dinosaurs and elephants and trees...
Off to Simena, next. The town was carved into a valley, and we climbed steps 20 minutes long to reach a Crusader castle -- built to secure caravan routes between the Near East and the port cities of Italy. Ramparts, walls, windows, doors, etc.
Oh yeah, we met some Americans (the most we've met in a country so far!) who were travel writers on a three week jaunt through E. Europe. Bah. The more I think about it – travel articles are a bunch of hogwash – half the time, these people don't know what they're talking about and the other half, they put in suspect information like "there are opportunities for you to see dolphins mating under a full moon while loggerhead turtles scream their adulation" when really, you may have a one in a thousand chance of witnessing such an event (but oh boy.. what an event that will be!)
Climbed the castle. Captured the flag (there was an oversized Turkish flag waving from a Byzantine turned Crusader stronghold). Saw another amphitheater – more ruins.. and something cool and new: a necropolis, with giant tombs sticking out like sanded thumbs, among olives groves gnarled (I have fingers on my mind) like an old woman's hands – veined and wrinkled and lined by a million stories.
Kayaked back and it started to rain. Choppy waves, but it was fun for me -- YupNo, however, bore the brunt of the splash cause she was the front-passenger seat. And I love turning in waves. But man -- I have to write about the colors of the Mediterranean water again: blue and aqua and turquoise and green and ... opaque and clear and milky and.... a gazillion billion different variations of colors and transparencies swirling and mixing together.
Then: back to Kas, and dinner and sunsets and.. tomorrow!