We made it to the hotel and found that one of the suitcases (the one with the telescope) took a beating on the flight. Hopefully, no damage was done.

Here is a picture of our hotel from the amphitheater. The Hotel's IT manager (Mr. Murat Capak) has been very helpful with network and power issues. In fact, most of the hotel's (The Miracle De Luxe Resort) have been very helpful as they are all very excited about the eclipse. The hotel even wanted 100 of our solar eclipse glasses for their guests.

While we’re on the subject of the hotel, here’s a picture of hard working in-the-field scientists (Tim and Tricia) looking for sustenance. The buffet is probably not as good as a Turkish bath, but pretty close I bet.

By the way, you may ask "Why UND eclipse team? Why do you stay at such nice places?" Well pilgrim, I’ll tell you why. Unlike some other eclipse teams, we have a small budget and need to be somewhere that has the infrastructure to support our webcast and even more importantly a hotel that has the right staff to help with problems (ie Free labor). Without this support we would NOT be able to produce these webcasts on our budget.

This entire part of Turkey, including Antalya, is covered with Greek and Roman ruins. Here is a photo of the Hadrian gate erected to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Hadrian and his wife in 130 AD. It was mind boggling amazing to walk up (worn) steps of a structure built about 1900 years ago. We also wandered through some shops, including this spice shop. The smell was fantastic. I wonder if U.S. customs would have a problem with me bring a bucket of spice back?

As expected, there are many mosques in this region and here is short video (8.1 mb) showing a side street in Antalya while a nearby mosque is calling muslims to prayer. Even though I am not a Muslim it was hard to not be mesmerized by the song. I should have recorded more, but ran out of memory.

Our tour of Antalya took us towards the marina and being adventurers (ie scientists) we opted to go on a "cruise" (Tricia’s idea). Here is a photo of some of the nicer big wooden cruise boats (our's was not this nice nor this big). I think the Skipper had had a few beers as the empties were rolling about the deck and there were four (as in 1, 2, 3, 4!) fire extinguishers, but no life jackets. But the Skipper seemed like a seasoned (sauced?) sailor, so off we went.

We were off on our "1 hour cruise" with the Skipper, two professors, Tricia, and a family of 3. Gilligan and Mary Ann were nowhere to be found. :) The boat made it out of the harbor and into the bay. Note the mountains in the background - they had snow on them. I wish it would have been clear as the view would have been fantastic.

It was raining, the Mediterranean Sea was rough and the tiny boat was tossed, but our Skipper was a salty man and he kept the rotting hulk afloat. Here is a short (11.4 mb) video clip of the cruise. However, we did get a good view of the many caves along the coastal cliffs during the cruise. Eventually, our 1 hour cruise came to an uneventful end, but there is something about the smell of rotting wood on the open sea that makes a man want to go back - back to dry land! Anyway, here is a shot of the fort that rings the bay area of Antalya and that welcomes petrified cruisers back to safety. Finally, while we were waiting for the trolley to take us back to the station were we would catch a cab back to the hotel, I made a little video (14.8 mb) of a street scene in Antalya.

Continuing on our tour (following the side street ruins), we find Colonnaded Avenue (left image) that they (archeologists) appear to be slowly reconstructing and off Colonnaded Avenue are the ruins of what archeologists think was a hospital. Aside from the remains, there are rather large sand dunes that probably cover many more structures.

If we head back to the side street ruins and follow it we find the remains of a building that had several exquisitely carved columns still standing (left image). As one looks towards this structure, then directly behind you is the large amphitheater ruins which is the major structure at Side (right image).

The last remaining structure at Side is the Temple of Apollo which is located right on the beech. Apparently, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony had a "secret" meeting here (probably discussing affairs of state). This concludes the tour of the ruins at Side. From here we walked through the streets of Side (which is a tourist town), had lunch and did some shopping. Here is a short video (27 mb) of a street in Side .

From Side we headed back towards Antalya with stops along the way to see more ruins. We found the remains of a Roman aqueduct (left picture) near Manavgat, Turkey along some other ruins. A neat thin about many of these ruins is that they are virtually in people’s back yards!

The real find of the day’s tour was a fully intact amphitheater outside of Espensa, Turkey. The amphitheater was closed by the time we got there, but fortunately some of the locals had their own little tour operation going (for a small fee of course). Anyways, we paid the man and he took us on a "Turkish Safari" (as Tricia called it). So, we climbed the hill that the amphitheater was carved from, up a ladder (that was conveniently hidden in the bushes) and on to the top of the amphitheater.

This amphitheater is smaller than the one at Side, but completely intact and I can honestly say that being in a 2000 year old stadium that held 3000 people, that has perfect acoustics, and that has the same layout as any modern stadium is really awe inspiring. I have never been anywhere or seen anything that simply made me stand and stare. For whatever reason, even the Taj Mahal (which was phenomenal!) did not leave me as speechless as this place. Photos can not come close to describing the place - this place is a must see!

That evening I spent some time mingling and talking with other guests, including a director (movie director) from New York and her friend, a young woman from Belerious (part of former Soviet Union). You meet a lot of interesting people when you travel. Turns out the resorts around here are popular destinations for Israelis, Germans, and Russians.

The remainder of the day was spent setting up and testing equipment and trying to figure why the network was so slow. We were assured that the network problems would be fixed by tomorrow morning.

That night I met with the many that came to see the eclipse. 150 people from Israel alone came, not to mention Germans, Dutch, Russians, English!

The network was not as fast as we hoped, so we abandoned the webcasting of the terrainCam, it was however, set to record the surrounding terrain, so that video will get uploaded as well as the video of the eclipse through the telescope. We also some network dropouts, but overall it went very well.

Aside from the eclipse itself, we did some other cool things. For example, just before totality, shadows became very crisp (left picture – shadow of Tricia’s hair) and just after the eclipse (as the Sun was returning) a nearby cloud had a rainbow on it. Of course the eclipse was the real show.

For those of you who think traveling to far off lands to see eclipses is a glamorous job, well here I am (R. Marsh) in my usual position (under a towel watching the computers to ensure that you at home get the best possible image). Finally, here's another picture (right picture) of the cloud with the rainbow on it.

Finally, here we are with Gary Robinson (from Germany) celibrating another successfull webcast in true anglo/German style.

The Hipodrome was commissioned by Roman Emperor Septimius Severius at the end of 2 century and was used as a chariot race track. These obelisks are all that are left.

Next on our walking tour was the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque), built between 1609 and 1616 and is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets. Since it is beautifully adorned by blue, green and white encaustics, it was named by the Europeans as the "Blue Mosque". Lucky for us, as we were near the mosque they began to call Muslims to prayer .

Here is a close up picture of the front of the Blue Mosque and the court yard.

Of course, being a mosque shoes are not allowed and here is Tim and Tricia taking off their shoes prior to entry. On the right is a picture of the interior of the Blue Mosque.

Here are two pictures of the Blue Mosque’s ceiling. The picture on the right is a close up.

Here are pictures of the famous blue tiles for which the Blue Mosque got its nickname and of the Turkish carpets the cover the floor.

Finally, here is a picture of some Muslims in prayer at the Blue Mosque.

After touring the Blue Mosque we headed off (across the street) towards the Hagia Sophia. Here is Tim and Tricia taking a photo of the Blue Mosque while a water seller (selling drinks of water) walks by. Also, I stopped along the way to record a short clip of the immediate area. .

The Church of Hagia Sophia was also the Cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for more than one thousand years. Originally known as the Great Church (because of its large size in comparison with the other churches of the then Christian World) it was later given the name of Hagia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom of Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity). The original structure was destroyed several times with the current version completed in 537 AD. According to historians, nothing like it was ever built before or after.

Once we got inside we headed into the domed basilica, but had to step up/over marble stairs that had 1500 years of wear and tear. It was kind of unfortunate for us, but the domed basilica is undergoing renovations , but it was still an amazing site.

We made our way towards the altar (left photo) and discovered a beam of light entering the building from a window. Being scientists, we stood and pondered at how a window with the given shape it had could produce a single beam of light (right photo).

Along the ceiling there were many mosaics. The left picture shows a mosaic while the right picture shows a very close close up of one. The video shows the altar and the mosaic waaaaay above it on the ceiling .

Finally, we made our way to the second floor of the Hagia Sophia (all other floors are closed) and I took these photos. The left picture is of the floor itself. The right picture is of the view of the domed basilica from the second floor.

After the Hagia Sophia, we headed towards the Yerebatan Sarayi ("Sunken Palace") cistern constructed during the reign of Constantine I in the 4th century and was enlarged by Justinian I in the 6th century (it covers about a football field – the left picture is of only a small part). For much of the Ottoman period it served as little more than a well and a fishing hole for the locals. Even today it would not be noticed by anyone who didn’t know it was there as many buildings have been built on its roof (right picture)!

Two Roman Medusa heads act as pedestals in the northwest corner. Researchers believe that they were simply brought here as useful pedestals. But there are many legends abut their real purpose! In Greek mythology, the Medusa is one of Gorgons, the female monsters of the underground. They could turn people to stone, and were used to protect buildings. Since the Medusa could turn herself into stone by accidentally looking into Persus sword or into the mirror, she would often be placed on her side or upside down. Some people believe this is why the Medusas are in the cisterns.

Finally, we headed off for a walk around the Topkapi Palace (started in 1460) and found a place to get a great view of the Bosphorus water way (between the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea) and the city center.

There was also a balloon out in the Bosphorus that seemed to randomly go up and down? Never did figure out what it was for.

Finally, it was dinner time so we headed off to a restaurant, from there I took this night photo of the Topkapi Palace.

We ventured off to visit some of the bazaars and do some (some more) shopping. We made our way (a entire 3 blocks from our hotel) to the Grand Bazaar which was FULL of stuff for sale. Jewelry, rugs, clothes, lamps, knives, tobacco pipes, etc, etc, etc – all up for sale/barter. Not to mention the place was huge, it covered several square blocks and was packed with people .

Our second stop of the day (via the trolley system) was the Old Bazaar (or Spice Bazaar) . Not as big as the Grand Bazaar, but still a unique place as it is where most of the spice venders sell their goods in this part of Istanbul. Around the outside of the Spice Bazaar are more venders selling everyday items such as pots and pans and food stuffs.

Before we headed back to our hotel, we stopped for a snack during which the mosques starting calling the faithful to prayer (they do this 5 times a day) . In some cases the mosques are close enough together to hear each other’s calls and they will take turns calling/chanting - sort of like "real life stereo."

Finally, we got off the trolley near the Blue Mosque to get a picture of it at night. Then we walked the approximately 8 blocks back to our hotel and called it a night.