Demre, Myra, and 6 hours on a Bus

Thats how my Saturday went....I woke up, had a lovely kahvalti with anne anne and then headed to the bus stop where the bus was supposed to be to take me to Demre which to my understanding was only one hour away.... in reality I waited for the bus about 45 minutes, then it was a Dolmus which is like a large van they cram people into. I sat in the middle aisle on a stool which ended up being ok. after an hour it cleared out and I got a real seat with a seat belt. I mention seat belt because you really needed one. The driver was insane and the road was like something from Lake billy Chinook. One hour into the ride I was getting a little nervous wondering where the hell I was going. The scenery was so nice though, there where the Tauraus Mountains and the Med sea on either side with some amazing valleys and ridges all lines up just for a picture. Kimberlee you would have loved the photo op. Speaking of, everyone reading my blog should check out my sister Kims photography on facebook... email me if you cant figure it out. She is pretty good.


Anyway, Demre (Kale) is a city that dates back to the 5th century. While in Demre I visited the famous St. Nicolas Cathedral, the very place where THE St. Nick was burried and worshed. St. Nick as in Santa Clause, the guy who started the whole presents if you are good idea. He was the bıshop of a town called Myra way back in 340 AD. Here is the story behind how the whole Santa Clause idea got started. The bishop was known for bestoying gifts for people who were in need. One time he gave a bag a gold to each of three daughters of a poor man so that they would have a dowery and could be wed. He always did such gift giving in the dead of night and no one knew it was him. The rest ıs pretty much hıstory and fables from there. I have some amazıng photos from thıs place and here they are...