The origins of the Olympic flame

Our Mediterreanean meander has taken us to the quiet sea side town of Kas (pronounced "kush"). We arrived this afternoon from Olympus where we spent two nights.

In Olympus we stayed in a pension made out of wood set up and among an Orange grove (they call this a tree house) where you could literally pick the ripe fruit from the branches. We ate a lot of oranges. The room included breakfast and dinner which was great. Dinner was a buffet and after over indulging we drank copious amounts of apple tea and played scrabble and backgammon in the heated dining hall. It is freezing here at night, though warm and sunny in the day.

The two things to do in Olympus are see the ruins of the ancient port city and visit the "chimera" or natural flames. Yesterday, after wandering around the old stone ruins we walked along the pebbly beach and up into the hills to see the flames. They are formed from natural gas coming up from underground, but according to legend they are the flames from a dragon called Chimera which was slayed by an exiled prince. This is where the Olympic torch idea came from, carried during the first, ancient games to symbolise the prince's victory over the dragon. Larna said this was obvious to her, since we were after all in a town called Olympus. I must be slow, I never worked it out until I read about it.
Climbing up to the flames we bumped into a group of elderly Germans. They greeted us and in true form were very friendly. Within a minute one of them was writing their address in Bavaria for us and telling us we must come and stay with them near the Austrian border. Talk about being friendly! Anyway, if anyone needs somewhere to stay in a small town in Bavaria I can probably assist with an address and phone number.
Another interesting encounter happened on the minibus on the way to Kas. They use minibus to link up the small coastal towns. We sat next to a Turkish couple and the woman was feeling very unwell and it turned out had morning sickness. While she was throwing up into her jumper, I scrounged around in our medical bag and gave her an anti naseau tablet. Her partner, who spoke no English, was very grateful and gave me his packet of chips to eat and when he found a "free pepsi" voucher inside, insisted that I have it. It was a very sweet moment. Unfortunately he spoke no English at all so we had nothing to say to each other except nod and smile on the journey.
So Kas is our last stop on the way back to Istanbul. Kas has an ancient Roman theatre and tombs built into the mountain, plus good hiking and a relaxed vibe. We are taking the overnight bus back to Istanbul on Friday night and will arrive sometime on Saturday morning. Turkey has been a brilliant, friendly and vibrant place. We definitely want to return!