Don Curry gives up

Don Curry considers himself a pretty consistent person. When he sets a goal, he wants to achieve it. He knows that not everything can work immediately, but with a little patience and persistence, most goals can be successfully achieved. Failure is not an option...

Is it a failure if you don't finish your breakfast completely? This happens to Don Curry over and over again, at least when he can't put together the meal himself at the buffet, but is served a set breakfast - like at the Rain Garden Restaurant in Kizkalesi. Of course, this breakfast cannot be compared to the artful culinary delights of a Hich Hotel or the Kayalar Terrace, it plays two leagues below, but it offered Don Curry a good start to the day and with the freshly baked pide bread, it could at least convince in this area. Don Curry also enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere right on the beach, which slowly began to fill up. Like a mirage, the sea fortress floated visibly and yet seemingly unattainable above the waves of the breaking sea. The host offered him the option of checking out of the hotel in the afternoon and spending time in Kizkalesi until then, but Don Curry had to move on - unfortunately!

As already mentioned yesterday, he wanted to visit the Roman funerary reliefs at Adamkayalar once again. On the way there, he made a short detour to an exceptionally well-preserved Roman tower, whose massive stone blocks had withstood the millennia very well. Only the wooden interior of the tower had disappeared. Don Curry already knew the beginning of the descent to Adamkayalar from yesterday's attempt. Today he wanted to go further. He had seen fantastic pictures of the reliefs on the internet and wanted to take his own photos. The descent became steeper and steeper. Finally, Don Curry arrived at a kind of staircase that the Romans had apparently chiseled into the rock themselves over 2000 years ago. The steps still existed, but they were so uneven and partially broken due to wear and weathering that they seemed not very reliable. Nevertheless, they were the only way to descend further down a almost vertical rock wall, albeit without any chance of protection or support. Don Curry hesitated. Of course, he wanted to see the funerary reliefs, but the risk of this 'path' ultimately seemed unbearable to him. He was completely alone there that morning; a simple slip or loss of balance would have had unforeseeable consequences. So Don Curry gave up again, a whole lot lower than yesterday, but still far from the goal. He painstakingly climbed back to the parking lot and decided to climb the nearby hilltop at least to get a glimpse of the reliefs from up there. The hilltop once housed a small settlement in Roman times, whose ruins stood visibly around, but also covered the entire hilltop. There were no paths. Whoever wanted to get ahead had to climb over and between the ruins. Finally, Don Curry stood at the edge of the hilltop, spotted the Roman staircase down in the depths, which he had recently turned back from, but the reliefs remained hidden from him. Were they to be found at the very bottom of the dry river valley? Then Don Curry had not even completed a third of the descent. Anyway, Don Curry gave up. He did not reach Adamkayalar...

Slightly frustrated, he headed to the next destination: Kanlidivane, an ancient settlement around a sinkhole. According to Google Maps, this destination was only about 10 minutes away. The navigation system soon announced: 'You have reached your destination.' Don Curry actually saw ruins there, but not those of Kanlidivane. He followed the road about 10 km inland, where he found more ruins, but not those of Kanlidivane. Should he fail again? He drove back and tried on side streets. Ruins kept emerging from the overgrown nature, but not those of Kanlidivane. The frustration increased significantly because Don Curry had to give up for the second time. One goal was too difficult to reach, the next too difficult to find.

He drove east, his general direction for the coming period. In the next town, a sign suddenly appeared: 'Kanlidivane 3 km'. He turned off and after 3 km actually found ruins: the ruins of Kanlidivane. Although Don Curry had already seen enough ruins in Anatolia, these were once again different. The location alone made them appear incomparable, because in the middle of the ensemble of ruins there was a dozens of meters deep hole, a sinkhole. People had settled around this natural phenomenon early on and used it as a cult site for ritual sacrifices. A powerful tower from the Hellenistic period rose as the oldest building directly on the edge of the sinkhole, as if wanting to guard some kind of monster that lived down there. There were certainly once temples there for the religious rituals, but the other ruins mainly came from 4 different churches from the Byzantine period, which spread out next to each other around the funnel of the sinkhole. Several impressive tombs completed the remarkable ensemble, which regulated Don Curry's nerves back to a normal level.

Along the densely populated coast, Don Curry finally reached his next destination: the city of Tarsus. Today's Tarsus presents itself as a modern, spacious city that can no longer show much of its history. Don Curry first drove to the Tarsus Waterfall on the outskirts of the city, which must have already existed in Paul's time. Perhaps in Paul's time, but not in October 2021. The area, intensively designed as a park landscape with many bridges and viewing platforms, was crossed by a trickle of water, which fell about 30 cm over a stone at the most impressive point. Maybe it's different in spring or after heavy rain. Nevertheless, the numerous restaurants with a 'waterfall view' were well attended. After a long time, Don Curry treated himself to a lunch: oven-baked chicken with salad, Coke Zero, and water - a total of 5.40 €. Afterwards, he cautiously ventured into the old town, where he wanted to visit two Pauline sites. In both cases, he parked Insignia at a safe distance so as not to get stuck in any narrow old town alley. His first destination was the Pauline Fountain, allegedly an ancient fountain located at the spot where Paul's house once stood. Indeed, under a glass layer, the foundations of a house were shown right next to the fountain. However, why the fountain was 2 meters higher than the foundations of the house did not really make sense to Don Curry. His impression remained equally ambivalent at the next destination, the Pauline Church, which was built at the end of the 19th century as an Orthodox church, but was later taken over and restored by the state and now serves as the Pauline Museum. (According to a previous request, religious activities are possible, added the sign). True, the church was well furnished, offering some colorful frescoes of Jesus Christ and the Evangelists on arches and ceiling - but Paul was not immortalized anywhere; apparently, it was only with the founding of the museum that at least a tripod with a traditional Pauline icon had been placed...

His hotel was not far away. After the very affordable Rain Hotel in Kizkalesi, Don Curry had once again opted for a real contrast program: he stayed at the Hilton. The entrance to the hotel area in Adana was eccentric. Like at a high-security facility, Don Curry's car was searched with underbody mirrors, and the trunk was briefly checked to see if there was a bomb lying on top. Two employees hurried towards him directly at the entrance; one took his luggage, the other requested the car key and moved Insignia out of the way. After a comprehensive check-in with several forms, the luggage porter accompanied Don Curry small-talking to the elevator, went up to the 14th floor, and showed him the room with a magnificent view over the entire city.

In the beginning twilight, Don Curry wanted to at least get a small impression of the million city of Adana. He first headed for the huge Sabaci Mosque, inaugurated in 1998, which had now been surpassed in size by the Istanbul Camlica Mosque and was in second place in Turkey. Nevertheless, it impresses with its 6 minarets and the extensive central dome. Inside, the evening prayer had just begun, and the approx. 10 participants looked quite lost in the enormous space. Through a small park on the riverbank, Don Curry soon reached the most historically significant structure in Adana, the Hadrian's Bridge, which has been in service since Roman times but is now closed to cars. Both monuments, the bridge, and the mosque can be wonderfully admired by Don Curry from his hotel room.

Upon his return, he wanted to take advantage of one benefit of his luxurious accommodation: room service. Given the ongoing devaluation of the Turkish Lira, the prices charged at the Hilton may be gigantic for locals, but they certainly did not deter Don Curry: for a spicy Adana kebab with fries, a large bottle of water, and 1 bottle of Turkish red wine, he paid a total of €28, including service charge, with the larger part for the wine. Don Curry enjoyed his meal with a wonderful view of Adana and gradually reconciled himself with his morning failure.

Not everything in life can be achieved, not every wish comes true. Therefore, one should be all the more grateful for everything that is still successful and leads to a good end. Don Curry will be able to marvel at so much unbelievable things on his journey. Because it continues unhindered...