Turkey Vacation Day Six...the Ancient Ruins

so we decided to rent a car today and go on an adventure to Side...it was a tough decision, because it meant giving up the pool for a day and a free meal...but we stuffed my purse full of fruit and rolls, hopped in our car and punched in our destination on the GPS. Seemed fool-proof enough...NOPE! Three times the GPS told us to turn, but there was nothing but a dirt path...so we thought surely this is wrong. SO we tried our own way and still ended up on a dirt road...apparently GPS knows about dirt roads...who knew. I will spare you the details of the discussions in the car between Tim and I...you know how they go when you are lost! ouch!

but sooner or LATER we finally made it there! This amphitheater was built in the 2nd century A.D. That is SO old! The awesome thing about this trip is that it was a great way to bring home a lot of the history Annie and I have studied together this year. Annie was making connections left and right...who knew she was actually listening??

we tried to imagine who spoke here and what they said...i wonder if Paul or other disciples ever passed through here.

there's Tim...in the stands...in seat 337 of 15,000.

ahhh...shopping...what the kids have been looking forward to all week.

Apollos' Temple....kind of cool...kind of creepy...didn't want to think about all the crazy stuff that must have gone on here.

on the self-guided tour we learned a lot about how to climb the ancient ruins...it was quite informative.

we also got to meet the locals...this by the way was Annie's favorite part of the day. she is pr.ying that some day her Daddy will no longer be allergic to cats so she can have one.

not real sure what this is, but one sign said in the 7th century it could have been a church...cool!

me and my posse!

i think i will probably treasure this picture FOREVER!

i think this is the cornerstone to the temple....again...cool and creepy!

now to get on to the real fun...ICE CREAM!

and spider man hoodies that zip your entire face in! we weren't going to buy these but the guy practically threw them at us. we had him down to 2 for 1 when we decided to walk and so he dropped it even further. we got them for $8 a piece...so now i don't have to be worried about frost bitten noses...although their risk of running into a wall is MUCH higher...but they can see through those eye things.

a parting shot through the gateway of Side!

back to our hotel for our fancy dinner... pretty sure this is the fanciest dinner Tim and I have ever had and we got to share it with three very wiggly guests!

Who cannot appreciate fine food when they see it!

and who think the 12 pieces of cutlery are there for amusement. But all in all they did really well and it was amazing food! Next time we are bringing the grandparents to help watch the kids!