Our Konya hotel was a block from Rumi’s tomb, so before we set off we went to visit it. We were both taken by the difference of reverence shown by tourists and those who were visiting for spiritual reasons. Half of the people in there were having an emotional experience, the other half was pushing to the front to take a photo. I was somewhere in the middle.

Millie was predictably bored out of her mind, but I know someday she will be a 20 year old college student discovering Rumi and bragging to her friends that she visited his tomb once.

Today was an even longer day of driving than yesterday, and Nick planned a couple of stops to break it up. The journey took us through very diverse landscapes. The day started hilly and dry. Our first was about 1.5 hours in to see the mosque in Beyşehir.

This mosque was built in the same time period as the caravanserai we saw yesterday, so it was interesting to compare them. The inside had old wooden columns which I had never seen before.

Unfortunately about a minute after we entered, a woman told us we needed to leave because it was time for prayer. We were disappointed we couldn’t admire its beauty for longer, but it was an interesting experience in its own right because we got a front row view of the guy singing the call to prayer, a sound we are now very familiar with. After all this time I never really thought about how it was being sung live into a mic.

And as he called (sang?) we watched old men shuffle into the mosque.

Millie was not disappointed because leaving early meant she could resume doing her #1 favorite thing in the history of the world: watch movies on her iPad and eat snacks.

We drove another 2 hours, up a giant mountain and down a giant mountain and even through a giant mountain. We drove beside lakes and fields of wildflowers and a bunch of strawberry stands.

We got to our next stop: Aspendos Theatre, a (surprise surprise) Roman-built amphitheater. As we got out of the car we were hit with HEAT. This part of the country is significantly warmer than where we came from. Millie groaned at the very sight of an informational placard, knowing Nick would not pass it until reading every word.

She was a good sport and then we got back into the car AC for the final leg, 2 hours to the small beach town we’re staying in. This leg was brutal as we hit rush hour traffic and then did more switchbacks up and down hilly roads. Our rental car is a stick shift so Nick didn’t really get a break.

We arrived at our kind of strange Airbnb. There are these on every wall which really makes me want to know the story of the events that led to the warnings.

We voyaged out to find dinner and the beach. We walked along the beach as the sun was setting and then got a table at a beachfront restaurant.

Millie wanted to run in the sand so she did that while we watched her from the table. We had a moment of reflection and gratitude, thinking “this feels like vacation, and it is vacation, but it’s not going to end soon”

We walked back on the beach and through thick jungly trees until we got to our soccer-hating Airbnb.