S/V Aphrodite

As I review our sailing log I see that we entered Turkey on 5/30/08 and started sailing eastward towards ancient Olympus and The Chimaera, described by Homer as a fire-breathing monster, part lion, part goat and part snake, shortly after. The legend goes something like this: Bellerophon, riding astride Pegasus, slew the monster Chimaera by shooting arrows of lead that melted in her fiery throat, suffocating her. She was driven underground forever and her breath flares out in eternal inextinguishable fires on the mountain. The ancient seafarers knew these natural lighthouses and looked for them as they sailed by, far below in the sea. I imagined spotting them at night from our anchorage below, but alas didn’t see any evidence of these eternal flames. Apparently we needed auto transport uphill 5 km and then climb another km to locate the site. The flames still exits, albeit smaller and no longer visible from the sea. We did however find something else just as enchanting.

Anchored in the picturesque cove of Cineviz Limani, surrounded by sheer cliffs dropping straight into the water we had a dinner we will never forget. Once the anchor was dropped a panga approached us, an ice cream truck of sorts. Apparently they can make a killing selling ice cream to all of the tourists on the day tripper boats and the overnight gulets. Shocked as I was, I didn’t really know what to say, except no thanks. Spotting a tiny hut on the beach I asked if that was where he lived. “No, it is a restaurant” Imagine that. After swimming and exploring the cove we stopped at the hut to investigate, and sure enough, it was a restaurant, again, of sorts. We had a terrific dinner of whole fish, heads and all, of course, salad and potatoes, all cooked outside on a wood burning fire. As we were leaving the woman gathered potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers from her garden bin and gave them to me. Terrific pictures follow. Several days were spent in this area. It is the farthest point east we made it to.

Heading westward now, the terrain begins to change, slightly less fearsome, more pine trees clinging to the precipitous slopes, but still extremely rocky. Picture perfect Kale Koy, a small island with a Crusader fortress crowning the hill of the village, submerged tombs and sarcophagus and the sunken ancient city of Simena was our next stop. Imagine a real sunken city! The history is fascinating. Evidence of pre-existing life can be seen in many places. There was a series of devastating earthquakes during the 2nd century AD which caused most of the land to sink into the sea. What remains are Byzantine ruins, curving rock carved stairs leading to nowhere, residential quarters stacked on top of each other climbing up the hillside, standing archways, foundations and walls, all partly submerged 6 meters below sea level.

A short steep path takes us up to the castle. A guide joins us, whether we want one or not. She is a native who was born and raised on this tiny island. She leads us up the zig zaging rocky path barefooted, like a mountain goat. She carries her wares on her hip, a collection of shawls, scarves bracelets and necklaces which she has made. We know to buy something in exchange for her simple guide service. She directs us down the back way into a field scattered with stone sarcophagi and twisted olive trees as old as the ruins while she scoots off to her next prey, another group of people climbing the steep path towards the castle. While at the top we get an amazing 360 degree view, offering a proper perspective on the sunken parts of the city. Even though it is summer season with many tourist filled gulets and day tripper boats, the charm is not lost.

As we continue westward the terrain continues to change. Most of the mountain slopes are covered with lush green pines reflecting a green hue into the water. This area of Turkey is often called The Turquoise Coast for just this reason. The deep water remains vivid blue, but the shallow water along the shore is the color of aquamarine, or as one author noted, coca cola bottle green. As we enter the enormous Fethiye Gulf I am struck with the similarity to Lake Tahoe. The pine clad hills drop straight into the sea, flowering plants emerge into the picture and the previously austere feeling has been replaced with warm rust colored rock and soothing expanses of low growing grasses and weeds. As the day approaches ‘low sun angle’ we decide to find a highly recommended isolated anchorage. We look and look and look. The number of coves is amazing and we are just about ready to give up when we round another cliff and find an absolutely beautiful oasis right in front of us, Batikkaya Buku. This reminds me of something we would see at the Lake, long lawn, weeping willows along the water, small inviting pier, beach chairs and a trellis covered restaurant. We were totally unprepared for this and were delighted to learn that there was room at the dock, free of charge and dinner was to be served within the hour. Unfortunately my pictures don’t do it justice, but you can get an idea of how lovely it is. The meal was first class all the way. Everything is grown, caught, collected or slaughtered right there on the property. There aren’t any roads leading to the place so the only access is via boat. I was stunned and immediately in love with the place. I have not had better food anywhere, and all of it was as fresh as if it came out of my own garden. It is part of the ‘Slow Food’ movement, a network of these amazing little family owned and run restaurants situated around the gulf to serve the summer sailing crowd. Some of these tiny places are so well know they attract visiting famous folks from near and far.

I think I will pause for a moment to elaborate on Turkish food and custom. One of my favorite parts of this crazy life of ours is discovering and then learning how to prepare the local cuisine. It has become a true passion of mine, an avenue for some of my creative juices to be expressed. The Turkish Starters are amazing, similar to the tapas of Spain and hors d’oeuvres at home. They are called Mezes. Traditionally they are presented on a large platter, lots of small plates filled with colorful morsels, tiny individual servings of these delicacies: spinach in yogurt-garlic sauce, slices of zucchini fried in oil with yogurt and lemon, dolma, stuffed grape leaves, aubergines (eggplant) cut in two and filled with fried onion and tomatoes, or sautéed with tomatoes and peppers. The list is as long as your imagination. They are served with balloon bread which comes straight from the kitchen piping hot and puffed larger than football size giving an impressive presentation. The restaurant I mentioned above, Butikkaya Buku, perfected its presentation with flowers blossoms, grown in the gardens, strategically placed on the plates for aesthetics.

Further west along this wonderful cove and gulf filled coast we stopped at another amazing place, Ekincik, the anchorage closest to the mouth of the river leading to the ancient ruins of Kaunos, built by 400 BC, was once an important port situated on the coast. Over time the sea has receded 2km due to the silting of the river, thus sealing the fate of Kaunoses trade-based wealth and causing its demise and ultimate abandonment. Now is it surrounded by a marshy delta with a labyrinth of reed-lined canals leading to the ancient ruins of Kaunos, the current day village of Dalyan and hot springs/mud baths located nearby. Entering the river in our dinghy was strictly prohibited so we joined forces with 3 people from Austria and rented a river boat for the day. The trip up the river was awesome. As we chugged along, sitting low in our small wooden tillered boat I was reminded of scenes from the movie The African Queen. The ruins are not especially impressive but trip up the river is most memorable. The highlight of the trip was seeing the facades of Lycian rock tombs high above the river in the cliffs. These ionic colonnaded graves are framed by the picturesque river, reeds swaying in the wind; with the background of pine clad cliffs are utterly awe inspiring. This time the pictures do give a good image of this magical place.

We are currently in Marmaris, one of Turkey’s larger cities and will spend a little bit of time attending to boat projects before continuing westward towards Ephesus, one of the best preserved ancient city in the world.