A long bus ride awaited us after our sojourn in Aphrodisias, and for that we needed the fortification of a sumptuous dinner, which was provided by one of the more memorable establishments I’ve visited, the Anatolia Restaurant in Geyre.
The exterior of the restaurant looked most promising – it appeared to be built of beautiful Carian marble and other rock native to the area, with a red tile roof, and was surrounded by trees, which were still mostly bare of leaves since it was as yet early in the spring – one can only imagine how the place looked in summer or autumn.
The rest rooms at the Anatolia deserve special mention – they were not only clean but also beautifully decorated.
Liberal use of greenery helped to give the rest rooms a pleasant aspect.
Dinner was a memorable feast, and not just for the food. The proprietor of the establishment – I presume he was the owner – put a lot of effort into making certain we were not only well-fed but also superbly entertained. I doubt whether he would have gone to such trouble if he were a mere employee. He regaled us with guitar playing and song as we dined.
The star of the show, however, was the red-and-green parrot who sat on the guitar, and increasingly monopolized the action. In fact, it soon became clear that the parrot was the real proprietor of the restaurant and the human was just a puppet who danced on the parrot’s strings.
After the performance, the parrot slaked its thirst by upsetting glasses of wine on the table and guzzling their contents.
It was still daylight when we boarded the bus and continued on our way to Pamukkale. I think most of us, tired by the hike through Aphrodisias and sated with plenty of chow, slept most of the way; but Sandie did manage to get a couple of snapshots from the bus. This one she took passing through a sizeable town – I’m not sure which one, because I don’t remember exactly what route we took to get to Pamukkale – but I think it might have been Karacasu.
Sandie also took this picture of three smiling Turkish lads at the side of the road, one of them riding a little donkey.
We arrived in Pamukkale late in the evening; it was too dark, and I was too tired, to take any pictures, and we had to get up early in the morning to see Hierapolis. The hot-spring baths of the spa beckoned, and many of our party were able to enjoy them, but I was too benumbed and missed my chance. Our hotel was luxurious, the beds were comfy, and we quickly fell asleep.