Patara

You know, Turkey is filled with wonderful people and breathtaking sites of weighty historical significance and so forth.  But there's much to be said for a good beach.  This is one of the best you'll find anywhere.  This is what it looks like for most of the day.  For the remainder of the time, it's dark, so you can't see anything.  This is where I was hoping to reach a kind of "neutral point," somewhere I could forget about everything for a time.  I knew it would take a whole lot of staring at the Med.  Boy, did it ever, but it worked.  Plus, I got a very nice tan in the process.   

Patara doesn't host spectacular sunsets, but this is pretty enough.  Last time I was here, it rained a lot.  When it rains in Patara, there's basically nothing to do.  This time there was only a single, extremely violent thunderstorm at night.  It was very dramatic.  That's probably why the ancients were so attached to their god of thunder.  

This is my 7th trip to Turkey and I've managed to hone my itinerary down to the places that work for me.  Patara is probably the most important visit after Istanbul.  True, the town is this dusty little burgh that doesn't even begin to rival its ancient ancestor in importance.  I mean, old Patara was the birthplace of Santa Claus himself, plus it figured as a major player in the Roman provincial game.  Today, it's famed for its beach and for a very good reason - because it's awesome.  Other than that, you can sit along the main drag and wave to the tractors as they pass by.   

This visit to Patara was a great way to hit that "neutral point."  I highly recommend it for that pupose.  Of course, it may not work for you.  But if you want to give it a try, stay at the Zeybek 2 Hotel.  It's a wonderful place to be when you're not on the beach or at Ramazan's restaurant.