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Monday, October 29, 2007

Day and Night in OLYMPOS


We had a beautiful 100 mile ride along the Mediterranean sea yesterday ending up in "tree house" pension at the gates of the ancient city of Olympos. We took a refreshing afternoon swim in the beautiful, clear turquoise water before seeing some of the ruins on our way back to dinner.

In the nighttime we rode about 15 miles up and then down the switchback mountain road of Mt. Olympos, sacred mount of the God Vulcan and others. We walked up about a mile in the dark, a rock and dirt path to see the Chimeara.

The Chimeara are an unexplained phenomenon, flames coming from the rocks which have been burning as long as mankind has been recording history.



The locals say the methane gas doesn't burn as high as it used to, but they are still pretty amazing. We were both impressed and amazed at this natural wonder, which ships at sea can observe on the mountain. It was easy to understand how this could become a sacred site for the ancients