December 13th, by scott and becky 10km Our first hotel in Antakya the Seker Palas Oteli tested us. They also did not have Internet, and all the Internet cafes in town closed at 6 pm. As a result, we climbed into our sleeping bags and were fast asleep by pm. Cabbage and Kufeke desserts We had planned on a couple of nights in Antakya to rest Scott has a bit of a cough and cold , and to allow all the Bayram traffic to subside before heading to Syria. Since the room was just too cold to be habitable, we decided to move to our second choice hotel slightly more expensive , the Hotel Saray — which is clean but also has Internet and heat but apparently not until after 7 pm — which means it is chilly from pm when the sun sets until the heat kicks in at about pm.
The first room they sent us to was on the uppermost floor backing onto the hamam. Unfortunately, this meant that the smoke from the hamam chimney went directly into the room — the room also smelled badly of cigarette smoke — probably because the window could not be opened for fear of hamam smoke. We were then relocated to a room on the second floor North Americans would call it the third floor. The room we are in is small, but it does not back onto the hamam and it is clean and mostly scent free.
The lack of regular hot water does help to explain why there are many hamams in town. In our wanderings, we have seen at least three in the downtown area. If the majority of affordable hotels do not have regular hot water, and many homes only have solar hot water, than the hamam would be your only source of a hot bath during the winter months. A less busy spot in the market Antakya does not feel like any of the other places we have been in Turkey.
The city is a tourist destination, but not so much for Europeans as for those from the Middle East. The primary reason people come here is for shopping the ocean is 80 km away. The market is so large that when we exit it, we are lost and need to re-establish our bearings. It is at least 5 streets wide and 8 streets long, with lots of little alleys!
The items being sold are primarily textiles and housewares. Unlike the Izmir and Istanbul, there are very few touts shouting at you trying to separate you from your money. The prices seem to be fixed, such that Becky has been completely ineffective at bargaining — that being said, the prices are also so low that there is no reason to complain either.
