Day 1,444

Nysa

Well that was it, we were done. We had come, we had seen, we needed no more ruins. Feeling inspired after the stadium at Magnesia, despite the sun beating down, we blasted off 50 plus miles. We struggled to find a wild camp spot and in the end settled on the entrance to a field, sitting in an area of clearly very fertile ground, with polytunnels as far as the eye could see. We sat for a while, ate, and soon enough the owner passed by and said we were welcome to camp there. We popped the tent up, then he came back with an offer, we could spend the night at his place. Rain was forecast, but our beloved Nemo would keep us dry so we settled down. We were woken by the arrival of teams of workers at 5.30am. Those polytunnels housed strawberries and they needed picking. We were given a box full to breakfast on and boy they were good. The owner kindly gave us a tour of the set-up. The farm has been in his family for over 80 years, growing strawberries, peppers, figs and cucumbers. As we chatted he asked if we were heading to see the remains of the ancient city in the nearby hills. Fuelled by strawberries it seemed rude to say no. 

I can state that not many ride up there, because I earned a Strava Queen of the Mountains Badge, and 2nd fastest out of all the men and women who have ridden that climb. OK, so I was the only woman ever to cycle up there and only two blokes have made the climb, but hey I've got a QOM! 

At the top of the hill the ancient city of Nysa awaited us. Founded in the 6th century BC, it houses the remains of some stunning buildings from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. Again we had it all to ourselves. Another wonderful theatre, library, market place, a particularly impressive council building, with seating for 700 to debate the important events of the day. 

The site was sprawling, a river had separated it in two. There had been a massive sporting arena, built into the hillside. One of the most important remains are those of a bridge. Built by the Romans, it was 328 feet long, and the second longest of its kind at the time. For us though the highlight was something that barely gets a mention in all the online information - the tunnel! Well you know how much we love a tunnel. It led into the sporting arena. We followed the rather overgrown path down to its entrance, fully expecting to at most be able to peer at the remains, with the entrance barred, but no! There it lay before us, we could walk in the footsteps of those long forgotten athletes, gladiators and chariot racers. Onwards we walked, our way lit by sunlight still streaming through to guide us as designed over 2,000 years ago. Then we walked out into the stadium, and like yesterday, though we had this whole place to ourselves, the cheers of long dead audiences of thousands roared their approval.