The Eclipse

Trip Start Nov 2002

Trip End Sep 2003

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Flag of Turkey Side, Turkey
Thursday, March 30, 2006

Wednesday March 29 - Eclipse Day. We walk into Side and find things pretty crowded with people setting up cameras on any flat surface. It is a clear and hot day with no signs of clouds to make us consider traveling to find a better viewing area. Near the southern tip of Side there are several TV crews set up and in the partially re-erected Temple of Apollo a group of musicians are playing. When we see the moon starting to cover the sun we start back to our hotel to pick up cameras and binoculars.

We walk about one hundred yards along the beach to the west and stake out our site on the patio of a closed hotel. Pretty soon the Hotel Manager comes out and provides us with chairs to sit on! Totality finally arrives and then is gone almost instantly. The sky does not get as dark as expected, but we could easily spot Venus.

After we had recovered from all the excitement we packed the telephoto lenses and drove to the amphitheater at Aspendos. This is a truly impressive structure in excellent condition and still used for concerts with up to 40,000 people. While there a group and then a soloist from the crowd sang and it was amazing that one voice could address such a large audience without amplification. Maybe we can still learn something.

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