Photos: Hadrian’s Gate, Rudy’s girls, Pan

Oct. 25, 2022- Antalya and Archaeology And how will this day go? If I believed in omens I would have predicted poorly. Before breakfast I managed to pour water from a bottle I was refilling into David’s shoe. The solution involved propping a hair dryer and a sense of humor. Fortunately, David wears thick absorbent socks. We met Rudy’s daughters, Yanki (7) and Yaren (9). He’s divorced and they live with their mother. They stay with him when he’s in town and will tour with us. An archaeologist who was a dead ringer for Gepetto spoke on his experiences in Turkey. Unfortunately he had a thick accent. I think he spoke about his time working on digs finding and re-assembling artifacts. An interesting story was about finding the headless statue of Pan. He worried about that head for a year. One day he was walking around the site and his toe hit something. When it rolled he knew he’d found the head. Rudy and his daughters walked us around the old city and into the new. We found the bus where we’d left it last night and drove to the museum housing the objects the archaeologist spoke of. It’s a large and well presented collection. It’s intact because the Turks found it, excavated it, and guarded the contents refusing to sell it off. After a break, we met with a lawyer who’d been schooled in Winston Salem, NC. He gave a rundown of the judicial system here. There are no juries. Judges hear cases. In recent time it has become a crime to criticize the government, member of Parliament, or the flag. There is freedom of religion, but only Suni Islam is taught in public or private schools. For a good enough reason it is possible but rare for a parent to have their child excused. The lawyer said that when his daughter told him she was taught that Christians didn’t go to heaven, he had her withdrawn from religion class and insisted she be given an “A.” Rather than get into a dispute with a lawyer, the principal complied. So far our group has avoided Covid. There have been colds and tummy issues, but looming over us is the threat of not being allowed on the gulet if we’re sick. And the gulet was the bait that hooked me on this trip . Well , that and Cappadocia. The group came to an agreement to just not test anymore. Tonight is our home hosted meal. We’ll split into two groups and visit members of the same family in their adjacent apartments. Rudy will not be there. We’ll have to fend for ourselves. Tomorrow we see “the best preserved amphitheater ever.” Toby