Turkey

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Merhaba ( it means hello in Turkish ) .

We left cold and miserable Cape Town on the 3^rd of July and headed to Dubai where we connected to Istanbul in Turkey and then straight to Didim on the West Coast . I was super excited to see my dad who had arrived one week before us to get the boat ready and to see my new ‘ home ‘ for the next 3 months ( a 38 ft catamaran which we charted from a friend ) . I had a lot of fun unpacking and exploring the new boat . Two days later the Fullers ( Paul, Annie, Abigail and Romy ) , our friends from Cape Town , arrived to join us for three weeks . The following day we all went to a huge supermarket to stock up for our cruise . When we got back to the boat we found it very hard to find places to unpack about 40 bags of shopping ! Finally we were ready to set sail to our first stop – the little town of Gumusluk . We dropped our anchor in crystal clear blue water and immediately started swimming . That evening we explored the quaint town which was full of restaurants on the beach , tables and chairs in the water and handmade calabash lights . As we upped anchor I saw two local fishermen smashing an octopus on the rocks , it was really weird ! We had a slow sail to the town of Bodrum with its famous St Peters Castle over looking the bay . We anchored here for the evening and did not get any sleep . This was because Bodrum is known as the party town and we had put our anchor down right next to a boat called the Club Catamaran which goes out at midnight and comes back at 04:00 and it plays such loud music . We went ashore the next day and I had a Turkish ice cream which is made of goats milk , sugar and sahlep . It was really cool when the man selling the ice cream plays tricks on you using the ice cream and the cone . My new favourite food , which I first tried in Bodrum , is a doner kabob which is pieces of thinly sliced lamb , tomato and lettuce in either a pita bread or a wrap . It was extremely hot that day so whilst we were eating our kabobs they were spraying us with a thin mist , to cool us down . Our next stop was the ancient town of Knidos dating back to 400 BC . We bought tickets to look at the ruins and explored for about 2 hours . We saw a 5000 seat amphitheatre and a 4^th Century BC sundial .    We then headed to the beautiful town of Bozburun with its silver domed mosque . We loved hearing the Imman calling 5 times a day, his voice would echo across the bay . We found it really interesting when a guy came in his little boat and tried to sell us sarongs , clothing and jewellery . After dinner we went ashore to watch the Fifa World Cup final ( Germany vs Argentina ) , luckily on our dinghy ride back to the boat it was full moon so we could see perfectly without using a torch . Our next stop was Ekincik , a beautiful bay with big luscious trees and blue , blue water . But then whilst Paul was cooking us lamb for dinner a huge swarm of hornets came and took over our boat , they only left when the sun set ( about 9 pm ) , it ruined such a great dish . My dad organised a boat to come and fetch us the next day and take us to Caunos an ancient town up the Dalyan River . We saw locals feeding turtles for all the tourists to see. We took a tractor ride up to see the ruins. Here we walked around in extremely hot conditions with the midday sun beating down on us . The highlight was seeing the rock tombs in the cliffside above the river. They were built by the Carian people for the Lycian King and his family.  We then sailed to Kapi Creek where we tied alongside a small jetty as our water pump had broken and one of our two engines was not working. This was a truly beautiful spot with crystal clear water and surrounded by olive and pine trees. We went for dinner at the only restaurant in the bay and ate ‘meze’ and delicious calamari. I loved this special spot ! The next day we motored to Gocek Marina and on the way we slowed down so that all of us kids could drag behind the boat , which was really fun. I just can’t get enough of this warm, clear water. Here in the Marina we were extremely excited because we could have our first, long fresh water shower in ten days. We do not have big water tanks on the yacht so in the evenings we bath in salt water and rinse very quickly with a tiny bit of fresh water. We then headed to the anchorage of Balik Kayasi  and as we were anchoring we saw a huge yellowfin tuna jump out of the water next to us. My Dad and Paul quickly grabbed their fishing rods and cast off the side of the boat but no such luck. We were so surprised to see a family of grey rabbits ashore. It seems that the day charter boats feed them with their scraps of fruit and vegetables. That evening we had our first ‘braai’ on the boat. Paul cooked once again , he is the most amazing chef. We woke up to super calm water as usual so my dad offered to tow us behind the dinghy on surfboards. It was such fun. We motored to the old town of Fethiye and went ashore in the blistering hot sun. My mom and I visited a traditional 16^th century ‘hamman’ this is a Turkish bath house. It was so hot in there it was like a sauna. Us kids bought lots of local bracelets in the town for our friends back home. The Turkish currency is the Lira and 1 Lira is equivalent to 5 Rand . Here in Turkey everything is about the ‘good eye’ . It is a glass eye generally in the colour blue which protects you from the ‘evil eye’ of someone else and their ‘evil’ thoughts.  Later that afternoon we anchored for the evening in a bay just round the corner from Fethiye Town. It was probably one of the most beautiful anchorages we have been to with high cliffs, thick green vegetation and blue, blue water. Later that afternoon we all went for a swim but got sidetracked by a local Turkish wedding on the beach. I will never forget watching the bride walk down the dock in her wedding dress with music playing in the background .  At sunset I spent an awesome time with Romy and Abigail making an iMovie on the foredeck. It was a lovely way to end a beautiful day.  Before we left the next morning we all had a tow behind the boat.  Next stop was Kizilkuyruk Koyu which was a perfect anchorage. Here we all went for the most beautiful snorkel in crystal clear water. The rocks and caves were amazing and I loved seeing lots of  pipe fish. Sadly there is very little sea life left in the Mediterranean. I can’t believe the difference in the sea life compared to our unbelievable snorkelling in Madagascar which was like being in an aquarium. We moved on to Serce Limani which we loved. It was a magical bay. We anchored really close to the rocks and cliffs in our own private turquoise pool of water. My dad spent time teaching me to drive the dinghy on my own , I love it , it feels like I am driving my own car , freedom ! We went ashore that evening to Captain Nemo’s restaurant . We motored to Knidos, Gumusluk and our final destination Turgetreis where we had to sadly drop off our crewmembers, the Fullers. Now this means I have to start my school work ! I have to fit in a lot before our next guests arrive on the 8^th August.

 We shall soon be leaving Turkey and heading to Greece .  I have incredible memories of our time in Turkey . I have loved all the friendly Turkish people ,  the most delicious plump cherries , Turkish delight , baklava , blue water and the sailing gulets ( traditional Turkish boats ) .

 

Hoscakal Turkey ( goodbye Turkey ) .