The other side of the tracks is absolutely fine. I’d be happy to be caught there and in fact, we found a great lunch there today. But it’s a different world. By any reasonable account, it’s the real world.
And last night it hit me – that’s the one problem with Antalya. As we dined on a buffet of mezzos – Turkish/Greek appetizer salads and dips – in the beautiful courtyard of an Ottoman house where traditional live music was playing, it occurred to me that none of the people of Antalya were doing the same.
They all live on the other side of the tram tracks, across the major street that borders the Kaleci. No one on their side of the tracks has a courtyard, let alone a backyard because everyone lives in condos and flats in large cement structures. They’re very nice buildings on very nice streets and there’s no reason at all to feel sorry for anyone. But they aren’t casually dining in a garden on a warm summer night listening to the mellow sounds of three of their compatriots playing Turkish folk music.
Emily and I keep talking about how amazing Antalya is and how it would be so easy to stay here longer. But what we love the most is an experience for travelers and the privileged.
The people of Antalya may work within the Kaleci if they work in tourism, and they likely take strolls down to the water to occasionally enjoy a nice restaurant at the marina – but on a warm summer night, they aren’t barbecuing in the backyard, enjoying the peace of two thousand year old walls around them. They don’t walk home on the streets that wind past an art gallery and then a bakery wafting perfumed smells as bread and baklava are made.
In other words, it’s not Cannes, Venice or Jerusalem.
The other side of the tracks is more like a very clean, nicer, Mediterranean version of Taipei. It has that not-quite-first-world feel while at the same time leaving little of substance to be desired.
And that’s absolutely fantastic. So is the Kaleci. And we will continue to enjoy the marvels of both worlds including the places they intersect.
But to me, a place isn’t worth staying and sinking your teeth into if it isn’t the whole deal. You can’t learn and grow in a dream bubble. But you can enjoy it’s magic and beauty for a few winks.
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