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.

The Turkish guys are for the most part just average looking. But I have to say, when they are handsome, they are very handsome. They tend to be open about sex and don’t seem to draw the line so clearly between gay and straight sex. I think because this is a Muslin country, and the women are so difficult to have sex with, they view sex with a guy as more opportunistic rather than gay. I have had more than one say, hey it is still sex and feels good. They also tend to be tops as if being a top doesn’t really mean you are gay.

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.

Pigging Out

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.

Ruins and Tombs of Kings

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.

We had a nice lunch right on the edge of the water served to us by a very handsome waiter. As we were headed back to the boat, one of the shop owners called out asking if we were interested in Viagra perfume. Lol. Well what can I say, I am a sucker for new lines. So we get talking to him and he swears that if we just buy this perfume it will give you a hard dick. He asked us more by hand motions than verbal English skills if we were together. When we told him we were together, he got more playful and told us it would help our relationship. We told him we didn’t believe him and wanted a demonstration. He laughed, but had that look in his eye that made me sense if he could have figured out how to close his store he would have been more than happy to do a demonstration for us. In the end we left amused, and no perfume.

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. This 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.

Cotton Castles of Turkey

We decided to spend one more day in Kusadasi and check out Pamakala. 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?