Turkey and the Stuf-fin in side.

I have been in Turkey for over a month now. While I haven’t seen everything, I have seen enough to make a few comments. First off, Turkey is nothing like I expected it to be. I did not expect Turkey to be covered in a carpet of pine forests and lush green vegetation. The physical beauty of Turkey was totally unexpected on my part. The waters are deep rich blue and clear as a cut crystal. The terrain is rugged and colorful with steep cliffs plunging into the ocean in dramatic sweeps. And when you look a little deeper you find natural formations like Pamukkai that nature was willing to take centuries to create.

The people of Turkey are genuinely friendly and good natures. Like the natural inviting beauty of the landscape, it is in their nature to invite you in and offer you a cup of chi whenever they can think of a reason. Sit down, relax, and let’s spend some time together. This is also a can-do country. Every man dreams of opening his own business. I get the feeling that they love what they do most of the time. And if you need something, the answer is always yes. We needed a part for our new engine to be able to flush out the salt water. So we found a dealer and asked for the part. They didn’t have one in stock and Istanbul would take too long to get the part. So the storekeeper sends his son around the corner to a machine shop. Sure we can make that part for you. Have some chi and be back here in a half an hour. It ended up costing less than the original part to have one frabricated.

Yes, chi or tea is the national pastime. The Turks make the British look like amateurs when it comes to teatime. There is a whole tea concession in each neighborhood. Runners come out with trays of tea and deliver it to the shopkeepers and their clients on a regular basis. Any time you have to wait, it is time for tea. It just instantly appears like magic. And since a lot of foreigners don’t care for the traditional chi, they have come up with apple tea which is more like hot apple cider. While it is regularly served to tourists, no self-respecting Turk would drink the stuff.

Their willingness to help each other is also ever-present. When you are in a shop where they don’t speak English, the owner sends for a shop owner down the street who leaves his store unattended so he can help translate for his neighbor. If the shopkeeper has to go somewhere during the day, the store is left open. If a customer waders in, the neighbor comes over to help you with your purchases. Sometimes I am just confuses who owns what store. The other day we needed some parts from an electronic store. He had some of the parts but walked across the street to another store to complete the order. No big deal. Someone on the block is bound to have all you need. The Turks believe working hard will bring them success in life. Each man has a dream and is pursuing it with vigor and determination.

Turkey is a place you could come and never leave. Last night at dinner we were talking to a British couple that have been here for 14 years. They told us of a friend that intended to stay a fortnight here. He has had 5 farewell parties to go back to England and is still here 5 years later. I have a feeling this story is not unique. We plan to come back here next year and spend even more time exploring Turkey. I will be sad to go. We leave for Rhodes tomorrow morning. Hoping for good winds and calm seas.

Don’t Spare the Rod, Catch a Fish

We made it to Gocek, a delightful city deep in a fantastic bay. Lots of wonderful anchorages to spend nights looking up at diamond studded skies and down to the depths of the ocean floor. We anchored close to town and knocked off a few more items on our “have to have” list. Steve purchased a rod and reel and has visions of catching blue fin tuna for dinner. I knew I had no chance of catching anything, but opted for a little fish trap. I am going to try and see what we pull up when we anchor out. Since mine cost a tenth of what Steve’s cost, we are waiting to see which one of us hauls in dinner first.

We spent a couple of days anchored in the bay and then did a sail by visit to Fethiye. From there we continued southeast to a quiet bay for the evenings anchorage.

Ruins, Tombs of Kings and Pigging Out

Ekincik Bay is a great place to anchor out while visiting Dalyan. This area was first settled long before Christ decided to come to earth. Caunos was settled by the Lycians and thrived for centuries. But like so many ancient ports, it eventually silted up by the river that still runs through the ancient harbor and time moved on along with the population. There is still an outline of a city done in ancient stone block with public baths, temples and ancient streets that only hearken to the glory that was once part of this area. It kind of reminds me of when someone is murdered and they outline around the body of what was once a a live person. The stones outline where once was a live vibrant city filled with people and commerce.

We took a water taxi further up the river to the town of Dalyan, which is the modern day replacement. Doesn’t have quite the charm, but there are plenty of restaurants and tourist shops. Right across the river are the tombs of long forgotten kings whose last resting spots were carved out of the solid rock cliffs. These imposing structures look like grand buildings with towering columns that only lead to burial chambers long since looted by enterprising not so royal subjects. They are quite imposing and hey if you are going to die, you might as well go out in style.

Right around the bend of the river are mud baths fed by hot sulfur springs. And yes you are promised, if you soak in them long enough you loose 20 years. But they never say how long it takes for that to actually happen. I think we stayed long enough to only knock off a few hours of aging. It was still fun rolling in the mud like a couple of happy pigs and letting the mud cake and crack all over our skin.

Marvelous Marmaris

We went back to Marmaris and anchored out right near the center of town. This is a town where you can get anything made for a very reasonable price. Our big purchase was a new outboard for our tender. Up until this point I have been perfectly happy with oaring to shore. But with more people coming aboard, and with more anchoring, we decided it was finally time to join the machine age. It does make it convenient to zip around the marina a little more and take our bikes ashore. After a couple of days, we finally tear ourselves away from Marmaris and head southeast to Ekincik Bay.

Not Bored with Bodrum Yet

The winds pick up again and we are flying toward Bodrum. We spend a couple of days there working out internet for the boat. Yeah! The winds are quite gusty so we decide to spend the night in the marina. We ride our bikes through the city getting some errands done and revisiting some of the highlights. Then we are off again to the well-protected bay of Knidos. On the way, we had some dolphins come swim with us. These fish are such social animals. They swam at the bow of the boat back and forth for about 20 minutes before bidding us a final farewell. Kindos was once one of the Dorian Hexapolis, the six cities of the Dorian confederacy. Roman ruins scatter all around the bay. You can see the skeleton of the once grand city homes and public buildings peaking through the soil. The big theater is still very easily recognized. Before the sun dropped, I dove off the boat and enjoyed swimming around in the waters so clear you can easily see to the bottom.

A Slice of Turkey with an English Accent

We finally tore ourselves away from Kusadasi and headed to Altikum. The wind could not have been better as we sliced through the water at close to 10 knots. By early afternoon we were anchored in the protective bay of Altikum. I cooked a dinner of lemon chicken and rice, flipped on the mooring light and took the tender to the shore. This town is designed for partying. Lots of clubs, restaurants and discos pulsate their music onto the streets. Owners try to suck you into their establishments by trying to befriend you. Once again, “Where are you from” becomes common dialog as we walk the streets. But this time, it is spoken with a distinct British accent. Some restaurants have various shows going on. I liked the 5 young Turks break dancing. Nothing like seeing a couple of guys spinning on their heads an rotating on one hand to get you to watch in fascination. We are pulled into a restaurant when the host tells us we are the first Americans to ever visit his establishment. Well not sure if that is true, but at least it is a new line. We start talking to a couple of British women there and they tell us that this town is a popular magnet for the Brits. Lots of them buy condos and make this a popular English vacation destination. They order the traditional testi kebapi, which is a meat and vegetable stew with a mushroom and onion sauce cooked in a sealed terracotta pot. The dish comes out in flames that die down and then the top is theatrically sliced off with a bigger than needed flat sword.

Cotton Castles of Turkey

I met up with Steve again and exchanged notes of what we did the past week. He raved about Pamakala with its stunning calcium pools. I decided to spend one more day in Kusadasi and check them out. Pamakala is about 3 hours inland. So I signed up for a tour that would pick me up at the marina in the morning. On the way to Pamakala, we drove through traditional villages where the residents still make their way through life in rual farms. On the roofs of some of the houses were glass bottles cemented right into the ridgeline. The guide explained that the number of bottles represented the number of unmarried daughters living there. So if you had 5 daughters, there would be 5 bottles on the roof. When a young man wished to marry one of the daughters, he had to take a rock and break one of the bottles to signify that he was committing to marrying her and sharing his life with her. Not sure what happens if he accidently breaks two bottles at the same time.

Pamakala which means cotton castle is a town that predates the Romans. It has always been a place where people came to be healed by the calcium rich pools. Because a lot of sick people came here, there are also a lot of graves. Most are stone sarcophagus that I learned is Greek for meat eating rock. Later, whole families built mausoleums that were much more substantial. A lot of the stonework is still intact. On up the hill we get a glimpse of the white pools. Over the centuries the calcium has been deposited in such quantities that it looks like freshly fallen snow. The whole hillside is a washed in white formations that cascade down the hill. The ancient pools flow from one to the other to create a series of waterfalls stepping down the hill. The calcium was hard as stone as we walked through them with bare feet. The whole experience did have a healing feeling. From there the bus took us all to another set of mineral pools and a big buffet lunch of traditional Turkish food. These mineral pools were made from iron deposits. Their rich burnt orange pools flowed with scalding hot water gushing out of the hillside that with each consecutive pool cooled to a more tolerable level. It is said that by soaking in them you become 20 years younger. I didn’t put my head in any of them, but I have to say, my feet are looking quite good.

The final stop was an onyx factory. They did a demonstration on how they make onyx works of art. The artisan put a block of onyx on a lathe and within literally minutes honed out an onyx egg. It took just a few minutes and about 5 grades of sandpaper to smooth it into a polished rock egg. I didn’t realize how fast the whole process was. From there we made our way back on the bus and back to the marina. A full day of sightseeing. Are you exhausted yet?

The Edifices of Ephesus

We pulled into the thriving town of Kasadaski, the best port to visit the ancient city of Ephesus. Cruise ships assault this town on a constant basis. And the town has responded by putting up a solid defense of souvenir shops and rug stores. When you walk through the bazaars, storeowners constantly are calling out asking where you are from. They are naturally friendly but sometimes a bit aggressive in trying to lure you into their shops. You soon learn that a quick smile but continue to look straight ahead is the only way to maneuver through the maze of tourist traps.

Just a short bus ride from here is the ancient city of Ephesus. Yeah that same city Paul wrote those letters to that made their way into the Bible. John also spent time here and legend has it that he brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, here to live out her final days. There is a little home nearby where she was allegedly to have lived. John is suppose to be buried nearby in a tomb that is surrounded by an ancient Basilica of St John fallen in ruin all around his final resting place. What is known for sure is that the city of Ephesus was once a major metropolis with a population of around 200,000 inhabitants. The ruins attest to its former glory. I think it is one of the biggest ruins ranking easily with Pompeii and Herculean in size and grandeur. Lots to look at and learn about as you walk the broad marble streets of this once great city. Ephesus eventually declined because the harbor finally silted up for good. By then, a new power in the region, the Byzantines, took over and the city was eventually abandoned after a few earthquakes hurried the process along. It is now about 40km inland as the river continued to deposit thick layers of silt between it and the sea. This was the jumping off port for Jordan and Candice as they make their way to the airport and continued their journey to Dubai.

Apollo’s Little Place

Our next port of call is the small town of Altinkum. It is the sleepy little village that is the jumping off point to visit nearby Didyma, the location of the Temple of Apollo. Darisu of Persia destroyed the original temple around 494 B.C. It lay in ruin until Alexander the Great arrived around 300 B.C. This magnificent sacred site just missed being one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world by a couple of columns. The temple of Artimus near Ephesus beat Apolllos temple by 7 columns. While it lost out to that fame, it seems this site got the last laugh because it is way more intact today than the temple of Artimus. A bad earthquake ultimately destroyed Apollo’s temple in the 15th century.

Castles and Underwater Treasures

Bodrum is a thoroughly enchanting town. The core of which is a beautiful complete castle build by that band of knights of St John. Evidently they set up a branch office here in Turkey from Rhodes. Now the castle contains treasures from the ocean. A museum that has collected vases, glass pieces, anchors, dishes and other artifacts from the unfortunate demise of sunken ships. We roamed around the grounds accompanied by a couple of strutting peacocks. This is a stopping point definitely worth checking out. I finally figured how those vases with the pointed bottoms worked. They store them together in the hull of the ships interlocking and nesting them together. Since they are mostly used for transporting, it is not necessary to set them on a table. It is more like tiny container boxes of centuries past. We anchored out and slept to the beating of the local discos into the night.

Turkey with all the Trimmings

The first day, Jordan and Candice were planning to take a day trip ferry to Rhodes. So they got up early and headed to the little bus station at the marina entrance. I stayed on the boat to do a little more prep work. But just as I was getting into the job, I get a call from Jordan. Candice didn’t think she would need a passport for the little trip across the channel. I assured them it was mandatory. The Greeks and the Turks would never let free flow between their borders. So I jumped into a taxi in hopes of catching them before the ferry left. I got there in plenty of time because we found out the ferry only goes to Rhodes on Mondays and Wednesdays. So Jordan and Candice ended up renting a motor scooter and exploring the entire peninsula while I returned to the boat. It ended up being a fun day for them as they visited water falls, small villages where traditional clothing is still being worn, a little town that still makes the wooden luxury sailing Glocks and just driving through the pine forests that look more like lake Tahoe than what people normally think of as Turkey.

The next day we set sail early in the morning headed for Datca. Datca is a sleepy little village that has some resort feel to it. After our first day sailing we decided to pull up to the town quay. We dropped the anchor and backed into the stone wall that has been used for centuries to welcome boats from around the world. With a little instruction and a few fumbles, Jordan and Candice managed to throw the lines to helpful natives on shore and tie up the boat for the night. For our first docking things went pretty smoothly. After a little dinner aboard, we made the leap to land and wandered around the charming town. The streets were filled with merchants and restaurants. We bought some desserts from a pastry shop and a few souvenirs to cement the remembrance of this little town.

The next day we left in the early quiet of morning. I like sailing before the sun rises high in the sky. Often the water is glass smooth and the quietness of it all sooths the soul. This time of year a sweatshirt and jogging pants are enough to keep the brisk morning at bay. But before too long, we are peeling those off in favor of shorts and a tee shirt. As we turn the boat north around the peninsula, the winds pick up and we unfurl the white sails. There is nothing like a strong breeze and turning off the motor to get my blood excited.

Back on the Boat

All the trauma instantly melted away as I stepped aboard our sailing home. It feels so good to be back aboard. The boat is no worse for wear over the winter season. While it is a bit dirty, it is nothing a bucket of soap and a scrub brush can’t fix. So for the next couple of days we scrub, wax, sweep, dust and shake out. We went to the local market to get some new supplies and are ready to set sail for a new adventure. That night, Steve leaves for a little exploring of his own. We will catch up with him at Ephesus. My son, Jordan and his wife, Candice step aboard. We plan to spend about 5 days heading to Ephesus

Stamped, Signed, Delivered

While we were surprised how easily it was to get them on the plane and through London, our nightmare began when we tried to get them through customs in Turkey. We waited for our baggage to come off the plane and when the last piece of luggage looped around the belt, none of our luggage was to be seen. Just when that acid reflex was starting to build up deep inside of me, this nice woman came over to us in broken English that had enough recognized words to give us a clue that we were to follow her. We tagged along to the brand new international terminal. You could still smell the damp concrete that had been poured not that long ago. My heart leaped as I saw our lone items regurgitated from the plane in this lonely terminal. We were virtually the only passengers in the entire structure. So we gathered things up and took them to customs to screen. We explained our prize solar panels and they told us we would have to get a special paper from the customs office before we could take them. With a full smile on his face and a look of hopefulness, it didn’t seem like too big of problem. To save you a very grueling torturous story from totally depressing you, 12 hours later we had been stamped, signed, approved, 200 euro fees paid, stamped again and when we though it might be all over, stamped again and interviewed. I am positive I met every bureaucrat in the entire city of Dalaman only one of which spoke just a little English. Ok, I am still traumatized by the whole event. If you can’t tell, then I should have given you more horrific information into the whole affair.

Summer 2010, Back in the Mediterranean

After spending a cold wet winter in San Francisco, we are back to the Mediterranean. It feels so good to be back. After a little delay caused by the volcano in Iceland that grounded all flights into Europe for a week, we left San Francisco on April 24^th and a grueling flight later, made it to England. I am still waiting for the transporters promised to us by Star Trek. Until then, I guess my lot is to be stuffed into economy class with the rest of the herd. We stayed a couple of nights on the banks of the Thames at Rob and Dave’s condo. What a luxury to have such a beautiful place to stay. We spent a day wandering through the Tate Modern and meandering through the streets crowded with people and history. I love London. The next day we jumped aboard our magic carpet to Istanbul and after a 9 hour layover, (yeah pretty much as horrible as it sounds) we flew the final leg of our trip to Dalaman.

Along with our prized possessions from the states, we were carrying 2 solar panels with us. I am excited about having solar on the boat. It will give us much more flexibility and independence when we anchor out. So now we are even greener, the latest buzz thing to be. But it was not without a lot of pain and suffering.