Alanya

I had a lot of hope for a very good day today, we were heading out on the boat, to explore some ancient ruins, play drinking games, watch the NRL, and have a bunch of fun. This turned quite grim quickly as we were forecast quite a bit of rain as the day went on, but we were given a minor lifeline, as our first stop would be the ancient city and the rain would stay away long enough to allow us to properly explore the ruins and enjoy some midday sun. We started by boating past Kekova Castle, an ancient castle located on the mainland of Turkey. We unfortunately couldn't get a particularly close look, but it was enough to be able to see it from the boat. We then turned right across a small ocean channel to Kekova Island. This is where most of the untouched ancient city and artefacts lay. The castle has been maintained and protected for a while, yet the metropolis across the water remains mostly in its original state. Which is incredible when you travel along the coast, watching the city evolve and grow before your eyes. Where you begin by observing the occasional remnants of a small house, you move along beginning to notice staircases, doorways, multiple houses, pathways, and even more. Gradually, the city forms before your eyes, and eventually, it doesn't take much imagination to be able to picture life in the ancient city. Even cooler still, the site is so untouched that you can see artefacts such as clay pots that line the shallow depths of the town. You can even see the old water level, where the water front properties were once situated, now slowly being swallowed into the ocean. Eventually, we made our way to the old Port, where we could go for a swim. Although I jumped in for a swim, I headed straight for the shore so I could wander around the town as best I could. I climbed to the highest point of the bay and made my way along the ridgetop looking for artefacts and the like. I explored many of the old houses and stores and came across thousands of little pieces of clay that once would have been pottery, but nothing incredibly exciting. As I re-entered the water, the small beach that occupied the furthest edge of the bay was littered with clay pieces, making up a decent portion of the beach material. It blows my mind how many pots and the like must have been present on the island to cause such a large quantity. I heavily enjoyed exploring the island, and it was mind-blowing. Something I never figured would be possible. Explore untouched, unrestricted areas of ancient civilisations with artefacts (although insignificant) still littering the island. My only regret was that i could not take my phone for photos. It would have made for an incredible series of images. First occupied in the 4th century BC and last occupied in the 2nd century AD, it is truly ancient and really cool to have seen. The day started off great. This was really one of the coolest things I ever did. It was worth tearing up my feet as I ran across sharp rocks with my bare feet. This, however, was the inevitable highlight from the day. Shortly after this, I installed the esim that I had bought so that I could watch the NRL grand final. This was bitterly disappointing, given that the Broncos dropped the largest lead in Grand Final history, putting a huge dampener on a great day. I was depressed and went to the bottle to fix my headnoise. We played drinking games until I forgot about the result. Eventually, I did, and I could do my best to enjoy the day. Then God tested that theory and deemed it necessary to start pissing down rain. Although at first it was quite depressing, it actually became quite cool, thunder and lightning and heavy rain hitting the surface hitting the water created an eary but cool atmosphere that I began to enjoy eventually. After lunch, we played drinking games and got to really bond over a great game of Kings Cup. Eventually, though, the boat trip was done, and we headed toward Port to call it a day. After dinner, we bought a couple of bottles of wine and some spirits, and we continued drinking late into the night. Annie then figured it would be a good time to dye her hair, and so we all riled up, went back to the supermarket, bought dye, and attempted to change her hair colour. One Hickup we encountered was the fact that it was all in Turkish, and we were very drunk, so it inevitably failed. The second to last photo is not a murder it is an attempted hair dying. I was also officially inaugurated into 'the girls' with a friendship anklet, which is truly an honour 🙄.Read more