Limerence Update #76
June – August 2006
Bodrum to Marmaris Turkey
After gazing at the mountains of Turkey for a week, we decided to say
farewell to Greece and cross the channel to Turkey. As we left Kos, we stopped at the fuel
dock and filled up with diesel. It was a quick two hour motor sail to the sparkling city
of Bodrum. Turkey is Asia’s foothold in Europe and the place where countless empires
and kingdoms flourished and declined. It is modernizing rapidly and is a secular
free-enterprise economy. We can attest to the unrivaled hospitality of its people.
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Bodrum Harbor from the Castle |
Bodrum Castle |
The imposing Castle of St. Peter lies at the entrance of the Bodrum
harbor’s twin bays which are backed by mountains covered with pine trees. In late
morning we motored among racing ferries, pleasure boats of all types, classic wooden
Turkish yachts called “gulets”, and small local “day tripper” boats.
Once we were tied up in the marina, Doug went off with our official papers to check into
the country. We were issued a ninety day visa, and a transit log for the boat. We lowered
our “Q” flag as we were now officially registered in Turkey!
 If
you love parties and high intensity vacations, Bodrum is DA PLACE! The Halikarnas Disco is
just outside the castle in the eastern bay and is reputed to be the loudest disco in the
Med. Friday night is “foam” night, if you know what that means. A close rival is
the huge catamaran disco with multiple decks and music so loud it transforms the bay into
a churning ear splitting sea of madness. Friends who anchored under the scenic Castle were
tormented all night by the noise and had to find a more secluded spot the next day.
We got a slip on the western corner of the bay in the Bodrum Marina.
They certainly have a loud disco on the premises, but our cabin fans drowned out the noise
that starts at approximately 11:00 pm. The marina is modern and well run and convenient to
the shops and restaurants that cater to thousands of tourists. We pulled our bicycles from
their storage place next to the salon table below deck, and toured Bodrum.
The large market is very colorful with piles of every sort of fruit
and vegetable offered by farm women dressed in long skirts and blouses, scarves and
aprons. The city is thronged with tourists.
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Classic Turkish Gulet |
Quiet by day. . . beware at night! |
After a few days, we rented a car and drove several hours north to
the best preserved classical city in Turkey – the famous Ephesus. We stayed in nearby
Selcuk in an authentic and charming caravanserai hotel called Kalehan which sits under the
ruins of a fort. These places were way stations where caravans would rest for a few days
before carrying on. The Kalehan is modernized with air-conditioning and comfortable rooms,
but the gardens and buildings and pool still have the authentic feel we like. The small
city of Selcuk surprises you with an ancient aqueduct with nesting storks in the center of
town and a vibrant market that fills the city streets.
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Kalehan Hotel - Selcuk |
Kalehan Dining Room |
Nothing prepares you for Ancient Ephesus which used to be a great
trading city and center for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess,
Eventually the Romans took over, inserted their goodness Diana, and made this the province
of Asia with Ephesus the capital. As you tramp in the blazing sun through the ruins of
city buildings and homes, baths, the theatre and gymnasium, the Library of Celsus and
Great Theatre, you really do get the feel of what life was like there a thousand years
ago.
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Judy at Ephesus |
Library of Celsus |
Doug at Ephesus |
 Eventually Ephesus acquired a sizable
Christian congregation and the story goes that St. John settled there with the Virgin Mary
after the death of Christ. St. Paul lived in the city for a few years and wrote his
epistles to the Ephesians. The city eventually went into decline in the 6th
century AD. These days, the environs of Ephesus feature performers during the summer
months and we have a DVD recording of Elton John playing the piano and singing in the
great Amphitheater!
After three days of touring in the car, lounging around the pool at
the hotel in Selcuk, and wandering though the ruins of Ephesus, we made our way back to
Bodrum with a quick stop to see the new marina in the coastal town of Turgutreis.
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Selcuk Mosque |
Nesting Storks in Selcuk |
Our close friends from San Diego – Buzz and Maureen Hatheway -
were in Turkey cruising for three weeks on the yacht “Lapis” with the owners who
are dear friends from Antalya Turkey. Before taking off from Bodrum to cruise in
Limerence, we drove to Marmaris to meet everyone. Later they joined us in a couple of
anchorages on the Datca Peninsula. It was a special treat to see our friends and meet
their Turkish “second family” Ata and Alev. They graciously presented us with a
Turkish tea pot!
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Alev and Ata |
Buzz and Maureen |
New Turkish Teapot! |
The Datca Peninsula is a long prickly finger of mountains that sticks
out between Bodrum and Marmaris. The hills are covered with pine trees and there are
hundreds of inlets and small bays and anchorages where one can find a secluded spot to
drop the hook. The bays are protected and the weather is cooler and pleasant. It seems
that every place has ruins, an old fort, a citadel or chapel, and goats! Doug loved taking the dinghy to shore and feeding
the goats snippets of our food leftovers.
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Hiking Ancient Knidos |
Amphitheatre at Ancient Knidos |
We poked our way around Datca for a few weeks, and finally agreed
that our favorite spot is Keci Buku. You can stay at the breezy Marti Marina which lies
practically in the middle of the bay, or anchor in any of a number of scenic places around
the islet with the fort on top. There are also a few small hotels that cater to boaters by
offering “free” docks in exchange for some lunch business from the yachties. We
met an older British couple who swear fifteen years ago there were CAMELS trekking in the
shallows at the end of the bay in Keci Buku.
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Marti Marina |
Goats on the Prowl! |
We arrived in Marmaris – Yacht Marina – on August 1st
which was our goal. We immediately ran into many old friends from Barcelona and Roma days.
It was great to socialize and see everyone again. Yacht Marina lies fifteen minutes from
Marmaris on a narrow isthmus and is rapidly becoming the largest marina in the area. There
is a huge professional boat yard in the center which is where we are leaving Limerence for
the winter. We have prepared the boat to be left for seven months “on the hard”
as we return to our new home in Pawleys Island South Carolina. We’ll stop in Istanbul
for four days on tour and return to the States on August 17th. Turkey will be
our home for Limerence for the next few years. . . at the least!
Fair winds friends,
Judy and Doug
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