Having visited Turkey five times, and toured many of the city, I began to feel that I know about this country! But the last trip in May 2002 made me reconsider that belief. Of Istanbul, Izmir and other major cities, and resorts on the Turkish Mediterranean coast you can find a lot of interesting material in the tourism brochures and on the pages of Autovermietung Berlin websites.

I also would like to discuss in more detail on what can be seen by visiting the ancient Turkey, and that dozens of routes from which I chose at this time, only two, in my opinion the most interesting. The most amazing thing is that in the ancient ruins of Turkey, as it seemed to me far more Greek than Greece itself. And in Greece I also had a lot of pokolesit.

Antique Turkey was mainly in Asia Minor of the ancient province of the Roman Empire, called Likiey. One of its cities is a modern Demre, worn in those days the name of Peace.

In the homeland of Santa Claus – in the World

After reading this headline, someone will think I’m probably crazy. Indeed, several countries in northern Europe, and among them Finland, Sweden and Norway, are battling for the right to call home to Santa Claus Santa Claus. But they try for nothing, because this character is children’s fairy tales has been a historical person who lived in the first half of IV century BC as the time in the city of Peace, located very far from cold northern countries. Latin for St. Nicholas sounds like Santa Nikolaus (in various languages ??Santa Claus / eng / Nicholas / Polish / Mikulas / Czech / +) It is the patron of sailors, the poor and children. We in Russia, Nicholas is one of the most beloved saints. The peasants prayed to him for help: in the dry years were asked to send down the rain and give a rich harvest, cure disease + According to legend, Nicholas on Christmas night, quietly crept into the room of sleeping children and put them in their stockings or shoes gifts. Since that time, and led this tradition. Our guide Tatiana, a historian, working in the travel agency Ginza, told us the legend as follows:

Once upon a time an old man and old woman. And did they have three daughters. The family was very poor and barely making ends meet. Once, late winter evening local Bishop Nikolai, passing the windows of their house, he heard a sad conversation elderly parents with their daughters that none of them marry, they can not not have the money for a dowry. Then the eldest daughter proposed to sell himself into slavery, and the money to marry younger sisters.

At the very last day, the father of the family, leaving home, discovered on the threshold of a small bag of gold coins. Counting the money, happy parents discovered exactly the amount that was needed for a dowry of one of the daughters. And the eldest was married to a decent husband. A year has passed, the story was a little forgotten, but in exactly the same day his mother found on the porch second bag of gold. That’s about the future of middle daughter no longer have to worry about. In the third year, on December 31, feeling that at this time a miracle could happen again, the old youngest daughter was put to sleep, but themselves remained awake. They laid the table with refreshments, and waited for a knock on the door of an unknown benefactor. That night was cold in the room crackled pleasantly oven, and on its wall, directly under the pipe drying stockings sleeping youngest. Suddenly, the roof was heard some rustling and then out of the tube rolled familiar bag and plopped down right in the stocking. The old man and an old woman ran from the house, but could see only his back fleeing man in a long red cloak with a hood. However, all the stranger betrayed the beloved people of Bishop Nikolai, who he really is and was.

Another legend tells of the following: One Saint Nicholas went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Sea. Ship on which he sailed, was in the heart of the storm. The wind was so strong that one of the sailors, lockout look-out, fell off the mast and fell to his death on the deck. But the power of faith, Nicholas made the impossible: after his prayer, the Lord calmed the sea, and crashed after a second prayer sailor miraculously returned to life.

But from legends turn to reality. After a few hundred meters along the wide pedestrian street, Demre, which some of Muscovites aptly dubbed Turkish Old Arbat, you come to the perfectly preserved monuments of history and architecture of the church of St. Nicholas. From 300 AD until his death in 325 BC this person actually lived served as a bishop in the world, and was buried in the church of Byzantine origin. She was later named after him. Parishioners who came to venerate his ashes, began to notice that after these visits, all their diseases began to disappear without a trace. After a series of such miraculous healing of the world became a place of pilgrimage and the holy faith. The church is the famous “corridor of sinners.” It is known that this corridor is the bishop led parishioners that there were purified from their sins. The church still held New Year’s service, which bring together the priests from around the world. Before the temple is a monument to St. Nicholas.

Near the church of St. Nicholas, on the hillside of the necropolis. At first glance, it might be mistaken for rock city. It seems that just about out of a window, look out the human face and stared in astonishment at the crowds, noisy in different languages, and kept his zipper cameras. But the city this place last refuge of rich people of the ancient worlds. Numerous tombs of the necropolis of the most unique in the whole of Turkey, they were carved right into the mountain. Lycians buried their dead on high ground, which, in their opinion, should help the dead go to heaven soon. Above each tomb there was a canopy, awning, which is richly decorated with tiles, as well as many tombstones. Some of them still visible reliefs of the deceased. The entrances to the tombs of the necropolis supporting pylons.