After two weeks touring the Black Sea, North East, Central Turkey & Istanbul, we headed back to the boat to catch our breath for just 3 days before heading off again (just ourselves this time) on our final Turkey adventure in a hire car to explore the West Coast and the North West, specifically three top sites we wanted to see being Ephesus, Pamukkale & Gallipoli.

Pamukkale meaning “cotton castle” in Turkish is a natural site famous for carbonate mineral left over from flowing thermal spring water.  These thermal pools on the side of a hill are huge and impressive, the area is almost 3 km meters long by 600 meters wide, it can be seen from 20km away.  The surface is shimmering white limestone shaped over thousands of years by the calcite rich springs dripping slowly down the mountainside.  Turkish legend has it that the formations are solidified cotton (which is the areas main crop) that giants left out to dry.  We also explored the ruins of Hierapolis an ancient Greek city located on the same site.

Phil (the history loving ruins specialist) had been looking forward to visiting Ephesus since we arrived in Turkey back in November 2021. 

Ephesus excavated remains reflect centuries of history, from classical Greece to the Roman Empire, when it was the Mediterraneans main commercial centre, and where they spread the religion of Christianity.  Paved streets wind past squares, baths and monumental ruins.  Records of this city exist dating back to 129 BC. One of the most outstanding remains are that of the Library of Celsus commissioned in 110 AD.  The library and its contents were destroyed in a fire that resulted from either an earthquake or a gothic invasion in 262.  The facade was damaged by an earthquake in the tenth or eleventh century.  It lay in ruins for centuries until it was re-erected by archaeologists between 1970 and 1978.

Nearby was also the House of Virgin Mary.  It is often questioned how the Mary came to be living in Turkiye and there was some signage which attempted to explain this.  Apparently it is written in gospel that before dying on the cross Jesus entrusted his mother to Saint John, who was to care for her for the remainder of her life.  St John was then issued to spread the word of the bible across Asia and it is assumed he would have taken Mary with him.  The evidence then is given that the tomb of St John is in Ephesus, assuming he lived and died here and therefore Mary lived here also.  There was some other so called “facts” also written to attest to her living here, but will we ever really know?

In the 500 kilometres between Ephesus and Gallipoli we visited the small villages of Sirince and Birgi, both very Turkish and whilst Sirince had been taken over and turned into a tourist trap (with not much authenticity left), Birgi was an absolute untouched delight.

Cannakale is where you take the ferry over to the Gallipoli Peninsular. Whilst waiting for the ferry we visited the Trojan Horse Statue, which was built for the 2004 movie Troy (the village of Troy is located near by), we also visited the museum in the fortifications on this side of the water, including a replica of the Nusret Mayin Gemisi Mine Layer Ship.

The final site of importance for us to visit was the Gallipoli Peninsular.  The site of the failed World War 1 military campaign in 1915.  This place was not only hard to visit but I also struggle to write about it.  I in fact didn’t take any pictures (however Phil did), I just tried to absorb all that was around me. 

We certainly went through many emotions in visiting the area, it is very beautiful and peaceful, yet it makes you very very sad, it also made me extremely angry – especially that humans are still fighting wars today (so very close by).  We were out of sorts during the visit, it is hard to describe, there were a few tears shed. 

I can’t get the images of the trenches out of my head.  The trenches are still there today, easily seen and in some places the opposing front (enemy trenches) are only 8 meters apart.  Suicide – fighting in a foreign country!

Ataturk gets another mention here as one of the large monuments at Gallipoli are his words “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.  Therefore at peace.  There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours … you, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.  After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well”  Ataturk 1934.

I won’t give any history lessons here, just few horrific casualties and loss numbers below as I am sure we all know the fate of many Australian, New Zealand, English, French, Indian and also Turkish troops.  The evidence of thousands and thousands of headstones spread over many cemeteries on the peninsular tell the story well enough.  Lest We Forget.

Before leaving the peninsular we drove up to the “1915 Canaille Bridge” which recently opened in March this year. The bridge is 4.6km long and has 6 lanes of traffic and is currently the longest suspension bridge in the world and is the first fixed crossing over the Dardanelles. The longest span is 2023 meters. We didn’t cross it in the car however as being so new the toll is quite expensive, it was a lot more economical for us to catch the ferry back across.

On our return drive south we had planned to spend one night in Izmir, a large city on the west coast, big enough for an IKEA & Decathlon (massive sports store) etc. But once we arrived we changed our minds – city’s are just not for us.  We lasted an hour before deciding to drive on and ended up stopping in both Didim & Bodrum, smaller seaside towns with a castle.  Many of our boat friends had visited Bodrum last year in their yachts and we hadn’t so it was nice to see and enjoy the summer vibes that were well underway.

Despite the last three posts I assure you all our life isn’t one big holiday, this was an unusual and most welcome treat for us to do this much travel.  A few things combining to allow it, one being the length of the marina contract (which was the most economical for us), secondly the Turkish vs Australian dollar and thirdly we were able to do all the travel on a very strict budget.  We didn’t pay more than $30 Australian dollars a night for accomodation anywhere and the air travel was all around the $60 dollar mark.  Car hire was also very cheap, however we did see a significant increase in the cost of fuel (same as the rest of the world) between our travels in Dec/Jan and the later travel in March/April.

Our final bit of travel was 5 days out of Turkiye and across to Greece – just a short one hour ferry ride to meet up with family from the UK who flew out to the island of Rhodes to spend some time with us (after two years in lockdown it was their first time leaving their village in the UK since covid began).  We had a lovely time together at Lindos the perfect Greek village/island/beach holiday stay.  Thanks to Clare, Annabel, William, James & Sophie for sharing your holiday with us.  With us being so far from home, spending time with family means so very much to us and really lifts our emotional wellbeing filling our hearts with love, (nothing beats hanging with cousins, such a great relationship), it was a great start to summer for us.

We spent three full days in Istanbul and thoroughly enjoyed it.  For a city with a population of 15.6 million the old central historical area, whilst busy wasn’t too overwhelming for us in regards to people or bustle.  Our accommodation was in ‘Sultanahmet’ the old area just 500 metres from both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, and about the same distance in the other direction from the Grand Bazar.  This old town area is admittedly just a small part of the bigger metropolis of Istanbul, however it was what we wanted to see, not the modern aspects that every city has.

We spent most of the first day at Topkapi Palace & Harem which in the 15th and 16th centuries served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman Sultans.  Construction of the palace started in 1459, six years after the conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul).  After the 17th century Topkapi gradually lost its importance with the Sultans preferring to spend more time in their new palaces along the waterfront of the Bosphorus Strait.  It did however retain the function of being the imperial treasury, library and mint.  After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 a government decree (dated 1924) transformed Topkapi into a museum.  

The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers most of which are accessible to the public including the Ottoman Imperial Harem (where the Sultans female family members lived), and the treasury which displays the Spoonmaker’s diamond (the worlds 4th largest diamond = 86 carat).  Collections also include Ottoman clothing, weapons, armour, religious relics and manuscripts.  The palace became a World Heritage UNESCO site in 1985.

We circled the outside of the Hagia Sofia Grand Mosque during the day but the huge line up to visit inside put us off until later in the evening after dark when we wouldn’t have to queue to visit.   Built in 537 it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, during the Latin Empire from 1204-1261 it temporarily became a Roman Catholic cathedral.  In 1453 after the fall of Constantinople (Istanbul) to the Ottoman Empire it was converted to a Mosque.  In 1935 the Republic of Turkey established it as a museum.  In 2020 it was reconverted back into a Mosque.

Across from the Hagia Sofia is the Blue Mosque. It was constructed from 1609-1616 during the rule of Sultan Ahmet.  It contains the Sultans toomb.  Ahmet I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.  Ahmed’s reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide;  henceforth Ottoman rulers would no longer systematically execute their brothers upon accession to the throne.  It remains a functioning mosque although was under extensive renovations and repairs during our visit.  Hand painted blue tiles adorn the mosques interior walls and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosques five main domes.  It also became UNSECO in 1985.

Suleymaniye Mosque – the largest mosque in Instanbul for 462 years until it was surpassed by the Camlica Mosque in 2019.  The view of the city, the Golden Horn and the Bosporus Strait from Suleymaniye Mosque is magnificent. 

We visited the Grand Bazar twice and are confident that we didn’t even see half of it.  It is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops.   I really need to improve my shopping skills as from 4,000 shops I managed to buy just two items.  We spent more time trying to find the one shop I wanted to go back to, than anything else.  However it was most enjoyable spending time just taking it all in.  I am pleased it wasn’t very busy (due to being winter and covid still impacting tourists).  We have visited a few of the worlds biggest markets and this had a distinctively modern feel to it, it was very clean and almost felt like an indoor mall rather than a market/bazar.  There was no rubbish, smell, stray animals etc.  This is largely due to recent extensive renovations that began in 2012.  Previous to these renovations there was no toilets in the whole of the bazar, and moreover previous lack of control allowed many traders to remove columns and walls in their shops to gain space, this together with the substation of concrete on the roofs rather than lead which was stolen from the structure over the years had created a huge hazard.  

To our delight we accidentally passed through the Egyptian Spice Bazar, (dated 1597- 1664) this place has your eyes and senses on high alert.  The spice bazaar served as a bridge between East and West and was is an important pillar of the Silk Road trade in Istanbul.  The bazar which served as the pharmacy of the Ottoman Empire for many years, was given the privilege of selling coffee, tin and spices with the Sultans edict.  These days the majority of shops in the Spice Bazar are herbalists and spices.  In addition there is also Turkish delight, baklava, nuts and delicatessen products, souvenirs, jewellery shops, antiques and dowry shops in the bazar.  It has survived two major fires in 1691 and 1940 and was restored further to its current state in 2013 – 2018 by the municipality.  

Down by the river we were surprised by how many people were fishing right off the bridge and furthermore by how much they were catching.  Of course the size of the fish are all small but you see them continually catching. 

We took a river cruise on this famous stretch of water including the Golden Horn, and the Bosporus Strait that separates Europe and Asia.  The bridges and the shore buildings were spectacular.

Across the other side of the bridge (north) we took the Tunel Train up to above the Galata Tower.  The Tunel is the second oldest subway in the world, it opened for passengers in January 1875 and still runs today (although it has been updated to include new technologies such as electricity for propulsion and lighting rather than steam engines and gas lamps).  

The Galata Tower – originally an observation watchtower and now a museum stands almost 63 meters high on the hillside embankment of Galata.  When built in the year 1348 it was the tallest building in Constantinople (originally 67 meters tall).  In 1717 it played an important role in the city as it was the watch tower for spotting city fires, only to be damaged itself from fire in the years 1794 and again in 1831.

The following day we flew back to Marmaris, a 1.5 hour flight to Dalaman airport and an hour transfer back to the boat.  Travelling is lovely but there is nothing like coming home to your own house and sleeping in your own bed.  We were to enjoy it for just 3 days before our next travelling expedition!

With Red Roo having been booked and paid into the marina for a six month stay (which was our most cost effective choice given we needed to haul out and and to also get Turkish residency for the winter), we took advantage and used the time after winter and after all the boat jobs were done to travel Turkey. 

Oh, yes that reminds me … Turkey has had a name change since we have been here and it is now Turkiye (apparently abandoning the anglicised name its held for almost 100 years to more accurately represent the Turkish culture and civilisation, however some have reported it is purely to differentiate themselves from the bird Turkey). 

Regardless, we have certainly made the very most of our time here and have done a lot of travel in Turkiye and have much to share with you. Three blog posts in-fact so stay tuned over the coming weeks.

To put things into perspective Turkiye is a similar size (a bit smaller) to the Australian state of New South Wales.  Offical measurements being Turkiye 783,562 km² and New South Wales being 801,150 km².

We previously explored the South Coast and Cappadocia regions with our Canadian friends from SV Caffe Latte in December and late January (see old blog posts) and now we are off on our next (but not last) adventure to explore the north coast – The Black Sea, inland Turkiye on the tourist train, the capital Ankara and the well known city of Istanbul.  

The first part of the journey we were joined by our Aussie mate Noel who also has a boat here in the Marina, and our itinerary was planned with great assistance from our other Aussie/Turkish mate Adnan from Outback Travel & Tours.  Adnan spent 30 years living and working in tourism in Australia and is now back living in Marmais running his own company, a huge shout out to both Adnan and his son Goksel for their invaluable input into making our adventure awesome, they ensured we hit the best spots each day as well messaging daily with the local speciality menus we should look for and also which places would serve alcohol (very important information for two Aussie males travelling the country during Ramadan!!).

We flew from Marmaris (Dalaman) to Trabzon (via Istanbul) on the northern coast of Turkiye and the southern coast of the Black Sea … spoiler alert “it isn’t black”  – well actually it is at night!  Upon arrival in Trabzon we picked up our hire car and finished our travel day by driving a couple of hours west to set us up for the next day when the adventure really began.

Day one saw us visit the historic quarter and castle at Giresun, the view from the castle gave us our first good look at the Black Sea.  Noel summed it up “look at that brown river which runs into the Black Sea that is actually green and blue”.  We then headed inland up into Kuzalan Falls Natural Park to see the waterfalls and visit the natural travertines (terrestrial limestone mineral springs).

Our next stop was the Sumela Monastery.  This had been on Maree’s list to visit since arriving in Turkey and although it was closed and we weren’t able to go inside the visit did not disappoint. 

This Greek Orthodox Monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary is believed to be have been built around 386 AD.  It is nestled in a steep cliff (some may say clinging to) at an altitude of 1,200 meters.  Over the centuries the monastery has been abandoned and in ruins several times and then restored by a new ruling Emperor.  It was also abandoned following the Greek/Turkish population exchange in 1923 and then in 1930 the wooden parts of the monastery were destroyed in a forest fire on the mountain.  The name if the monastery is believed to have been derived from the word “mela”, meaning “black” or “dark” in Greek as it is built around a natural cave on the steep slope of Karadag (Black Mountain).  According to legend, Virgin Mary appeared in the dreams of Athenian priests named Barnabas and Sophronios who lived in the 4th century AD and told them to find her icon painted by Saint Luke, and to do that they must follow the path she would show them to reach the Mela Mountain. They arrived in the region after a long journey where they found the icon Virgin Mary in a cave and built the monastery there.  Today it is a restored UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

A shuttle bus takes you from the car park to the site, then there is a 1km walk to the actual monastery, and with the heavy snowfall in the region still very deep on the ground the climb up to the site was quite treacherous, actually it was enough for Noel to abandon his attempt and turn around not wanting to break a leg or wrist by falling.  Phil took off like a mountain goat and made it quite quickly to the site and Maree also managed to get to there although it took her a while longer, being very cautious on the climb, we returned to Noel with a bit of sliding down on our bums in the snow, I think coming down was actually harder.  Rather than take the shuttle bus back to the car park we asked if we were able to walk (about 3 km) and we told this was OK (although they couldn’t understand why anyone would want to walk) but this was where we got the best views as up close you couldn’t see the face of the buildings in the cliff – magnificent!

The following day we awoke in a winter wonderland at Uzungol, meaning Long Lake.  The 1km long lake was formed by a landslide in the valley.  With the snowfall on the ground it was a very appealing view.  Having arrived after dark the evening prior we took time to enjoy the view and walked around the lake.

On the drive back down to the coast was along the valley and river which is very popular withe zip lining and white water rafting.  We passed some interesting old stone and wooden bridges, in fact at one bridge we found an abandoned esky which we soon claimed and filled with snow to keep our drinks cold.  It was a case of us bringing our own drinks everywhere as it was the month of Ramadan meaning those following muslim faith were fasting and alcohol wasn’t to be found the further out east we went.  

Driving along on our way to visit Zil Kale (an Armenian Castle & Chapel) we witnessed a small landslide fall across the road in front of us, so had to walk the last little bit to the castle.  By the time we visited the castle they had cleared the trees away that had fallen and we were able to walk back past the area and cars were now driving through.  When we reached the car (that was parked clear on the other side) we turned back hearing a loud noise and the side of the road embankment had now collapsed causing a much larger more significant land slide and road blockage.  

Back down on the Black Sea, the coast and foothills is know for its Hazelnuts. The area produces 70% of the worlds Hazelnuts. We stopped and tasted both the chocolate coated and the natural nuts.  They also grow a lot of tea in the area, and we passed kilometre after kilometre of tea plantations on the side of hills squeezed into any space.  Such inaccessible and steep hillside plots that it must be harvested by hand.  The houses up in the hillsides of the valleys also seemed to be stand alone structures with no roads into them.  This mystery was soon solved when we found the cable trolleys along the roads that went up to the houses! The area also noted for handcrafted knives and we purchased a new fish filleting knife.

We also dipped our toes into the Black Sea, and it was cold!!

We were all kind of excited by Day three as after some advice from Marina friends Mike and Carol we were leaving Turkey and crossing the border to enter the country of Georgia.

We parked the hire car at the border, and walked across stamping out of Turkey and into Georgia, we changed some money from Lira to Lari in the car park outside customs and took a taxi to the nearby town of Batumi.

What a wonderful day we had, Batumi the city of contrasts and immediately different from the neighbouring Turkey.  There were casino resorts on the foreshore, a gorgeous old town district full of wooden buildings and old tree lined streets, golden statues and theatres with neighbouring slum apartment accomodations.

  We also stumbled across “The Quiet Woman’s Pub” which brought cries of absolute disbelief from both Phil and Noel, they just had to have a beer in there, and like the good woman I am, I was quiet whilst they drank their beer! 

We found Georgia architecture impressive and the vibe was fantastic.  We walked the old town and the foreshore and hit on the major buildings/sites to see before finding a nice restaurant to enjoy a Georgian wine (or 2 … bottles) and some pork (it had been 5 months living in a pork free country).  To start with we tried the local specialty dish which is like a large dumpling, stuffed with various fillings, then indulged in the small serving of pork knuckle for three which was HUGE and we hardly made a dent in it.  We took it home takeaway and carried it back across the border with us to Turkey and kept in the much loved esky for lunch for the following day.

Day four saw us leave the Black Sea coast and head inland (south), we were in the Borcka Karagol Nature Park with an aim to visit Dark Lake, the main road had been ploughed and we climbed and climbed the mountain roads with stunning views of the snowy winter wonderland, when we were almost at the peak a local ute stopped and advised us we wouldn’t get much further and he was right, at the turn off to the lake (about 7k shy of the lake) the road became a two wheel track with snow lined up either side of the road much higher than our little rental Clio.  We weren’t going to make the lake. 

We continued inland and up through the valleys passing impressive infrastructure of massive walled dams, huge road tunnels through the mountain and all kinds of landscape, from dry dusty stone/rock, to green hillsides, to fields of snow. 

We arrived in the afternoon to Lake Cidir (frozen lake) and it was exactly as described – a frozen lake. 

There was some remains of an ice statue and the boys walked out some way on the lake.  During winter they often race on the lake and also offer horse pulled sleigh rides.  Whilst the horses were not there when we visited (although some small steaming piles of evidence did suggest we only just missed them) we were able to pose for photographs on the sleighs.  

Day five we spent at the Ani Ruins and in Kars before handing the hire car in and boarding the Dogu Touristic Train for a two days / two nights adventure.  

The Ani ruins were a pleasant surprise as all though the Mediterranean we had been visiting Roman and Greek Ruins but the ruins at Ani are Armenian and significantly different to any we have previously visited.  It is the remains of a Medieval Armenian city and was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom between 961 and 1045.  It is often referred to as the city of 1001 churches.  There were quite a few church ruins.  We paid extra for the headset audio guides and spent about 4 hours at the site visiting each building/ruin.  We had clear views of Armenia across the river/gully and could see the border patrol and watch towers.  The famous Silk Road trading route from the Far East Asia to Europe ran through Ani, today you can see the remains of the bridge over the river and a the ruins of what was the main commercial street. Maree and Noel were excited to shop on the silk road, however neither purchased anything!  Maree also snapped the picture of the trip taking a picture of a Turkey in Turkiye.

After returning the hire car in Kars we had 5 hours until we were due to depart on the tourist sleeper train at 10:30pm.  We thought this was perfect as Adnan had told us of a restaurant in Kars that is famous for its goose.  We planned on settling in there for a nice meal and hopefully a drink until it was time to take the train.  We had a tour of Kars in a taxi finding the restaurant as they had moved to a new location, under the city castle!  Upon arrival at 5pm we asked for a table and were told yes but you must leave by 6pm for we are booked out.  We were disappointed but went with it as we had been looking forward to the goose all day.  It is boiled and then finished by cooking in the high temperature tandoor oven, and our disappointment with only being able to stay an hour was soon forgotten as we were able to drink wine with our meal (only the second place all holiday that served alcohol).  Then just before 6pm the waiter returned to invite us to stay (they must have had a cancellation), and informed us that they actually had a show coming in performing traditional Turkish dance and music, BUT we would have to pay 60 lira each to stay and watch ($6 Aussie Dollars) PERFECT, we gladly accepted, and ordered a second bottle of wine – which the waiter had to go off and ask permission for us to have.  Two bottles with dinner – outrageous … but it was approved and we were most happy.   The show was hugely entraining and a real performance of music, high energy dancing and almost gymnastics, with some blindfolded knife throwing thrown in as well as traditional guitar and folk songs as well.  What a great end to our road trip.

We made the train, and settled into our sleeper cabins, had a night cap (using the ice from the esky for a Raki) and were looking forward to waking up for the next part of our adventure – the tourist train from Kars to Ankara (the capital).  Two nights and almost two days.  We had two cabins which transformed from seats to beds, our own mini fridge and sink, and a shared toilet at the end of each carriage (one end was the squat toilet the other end a traditional western toilet seat).  The train journey was really great.  A diverse mix of landscape, following the Euphrates River, which starts in Turkey and the river mouth ending in Iraq 2,800km away . During the day the train stopped twice for three hours to allow us side excursions to view waterfalls, copper markets, the Divrigi UNESCO mosque and hospital. It was so nice to sit back and relax and just take it all in (with our BYO wine or beer in hand).

The train journey ended in Turkiye’s capital Ankara, which is where the Ataturk Mausoleum is.  Since arriving in Turkiye it has been hard for us to understand the peoples absolute love and devotion (maybe obsession is an appropriate word also) for Ataturk.  EVERY town has multiple statues dedicated to him, every house/business displays at least one large framed photograph of him if not a shrine, they even have his signature on their cars (stickers).  We understand he was a wonderful leader and he made significant change for the citizens making Turkey more progressive and improving conditions, but it is also overwhelming to us, and once arriving at his memorial the magnitude of his legacy is undeniable, it is hard not to be impressed by its sheer size and grandeur – it is simple, yet powerful.

In very simple terms Ataturk led Turkey to become a country that could be sincere to their muslim faith yet embrace western cultures and modern ideas, technologies and ways of living.  He no longer oppressed the population and encouraged Turkey to thrive.

We visited the mausoleum then said farewell to Noel who was flying back to Marmaris and his boat.  Maree and Phil were travelling onward to Istanbul (Noel having already visited recently).   To be continued in our next post …

Check out our 3 minute video below which condenses a month of work on Red Roo out of the water in Turkey this winter!

https://videopress.com/v/z3gJoV87?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Details of the work (listed in previous blog post Talking Turkey)

It was a long 7 step process;

• Hand sand around pin stripes and detail.
• Machine Sand with 1000 grit sand paper to remove the majority of the oxidation. 
• Machine Sand with 1500 grit sand paper to finish oxidation removal and remove 1000 grit scratches
• Machine Sand with 2000 grit sand paper to finish and remove 1500 grit scratches.
• Course polish 
• Fine polish (two coats)
• Wax (two coats)

Winter has again flown by so quickly, we have been at the dock since mid November and upon arrival it felt like we had so much time to do all we wanted but time goes so quickly, and we are now planning our last few weeks at the marina before setting sail again (with still a bit to complete!).

Our biggest project for the winter was to build a hard aluminium dodger (spray hood) over the companionway hatch (where we enter/exit the inside cabin of the boat).  This provides shelter when sailing for whomever is in charge of the boat, and provides protection for a lot of our critical control instruments, lines and winches.  This has been on Phil’s to do list as a major project since buying the boat, but always with the caveat to do it properly and look like it came with the boat rather than an add on.  The canvas dodger was already a few years old (we think at least 5) when we brought the boat and had been repaired already (and a lot more since in our 7 years sailing).  I have replaced two of canvas panels and reinforced seams again in 2018 and then replaced the ‘plastic clear windows’ with new plastic and then later sail cloth when a hail storm shattered them all in 2020.  Realistically it has been on its last legs for 3 years now, we could no longer open any of the window panels it was all so very very fragile and held together by hand stitching, and haven’t been able to see out of the windows for the last two years.  We had heard Turkey was the place to do this work, with great tradesmen for the job.  Within a week of docking for winter, we had sourced some fluted plastic sheeting to begin ‘mocking’ up the shape and design we wanted before getting in the professionals to quote for the build.  Phil spent two weeks building a frame and template and shaping and changing and refining the hard structure he wanted, then we made windows out of cardboard and placed them, changing sizes and shapes until we settled on what we wanted – we were really pleased.

Then we went out to the recommended skilled tradesmen to get quotes for the work.  This is where it didn’t go to plan.  We had a few visit the boat and they all admitted they couldn’t do the job justice.  They could build it in aluminium (like the boat) but the materials they can source isn’t the high quality marine grade aluminium.  The existing aluminium arches and structure on the boat are all finished round and to the highest quality (can’t tell they are welded), and we are thankful to the specialists for being honest and telling us they couldn’t do the work to that standard.  The reasons being it would have to be built off site which is a challenge and a risk of not not fitting well, and welding and work on the pontoons is not allowed due to fire risk.  We can attest to that as there have already been 3 boat fires since we have been here.  This was all a huge disappointment to us but on the bright side they were honest that they couldn’t produce what we wanted which is better than them taking on the job and us being really unhappy with the result.  With our bubble burst it was back to the drawing board and we are looking to get a new canvas dodger built.

We also were on the hunt for a new dinghy after our much loved hard bottom Caribe dinghy had its last ride in Malta in June last year.  We had brought (for a carton of beer) a second hand inflatable  soft bottom replacement dinghy off our friends Andy and Karina on “Tartuga” in Malta, who had upgraded and wanted to offload it.  It had been great through Malta, Greece and Turkey but we wanted a hard aluminium bottom dinghy and had been searching Malta, Italy, Greece and Turkey for one over the last 6 months without success.  We knew the exact brand and model we wanted just couldn’t find it!  We kept being told new shipments for dinghy’s don’t arrive until April, ready for next summer.  So imagine our delight when walking in the industrial area of Marmaris we happened to spot a shop which had a Highfield dinghy flag flying out the front.  We went inside and spotted a big Highfield (too big for our boat).  We told the guy in the shop we were looking for a Highfield Ultralight UL260 (2.6 meters long), he replied “I think I have one in a box unopened out the back”, well did we get excited!  The big one on display had sold and was being collected in a week and he said once it was taken out of the shop he would unbox the UL260 set it up, inflate it and give us a call, and furthermore he promised to hold it (not sell it until we had seen it).  A week later we were the proud owners of a new Highfield (Australian company) dinghy.

We have had great company in the Marina all winter with a great live aboard community here.  There are around 10 other boats with great people on board who we have enjoyed getting to know.  We have a weekly get together each Friday night in the bar/restaurant, and often have a beer or hot drink together during the week to discuss boat works/problems or check in on each others projects.  Six of them live past us in the marina and stop at our boat to sing us a song on their way home from the pub (drunk) of a weekend – it is quite amusing.  They are known as the drunken sailors choir as the first song they sung us was “what shall we do with a drunken sailor”.  A note went out the sailing group advertising the choir along the lines of “Drunken sailor choir, meets Friday nights around 11pm outside Red Roo, new members welcome, no previous singing experience necessary”.

Many, many winter jobs were completed over the weeks in the marina, things such as preventative maintenance on major systems, some systems shut down for winter, sewing jobs including a new series drogue deck storage bag & gennaker sail deck storage bag, intensive cleaning inside the boat (every cupboard, locker and nook & cranny cleaned and inspected for mould or any water residue, water tanks cleaned and flushed, fuel tanks cleaned, sails washed, dried and folded and packed away for winter, engine service, oil change & impeller change, gearbox service, propellor maintenance, anode replacements, anchor chain regalvanized, all seacocks cleaned, galley sink drainage pipe replacement, bow locker clean, backstay sheaves inspected and replaced, inspected and maintenance where required, toilet service, rigging inspection, .  The big shopping list gets taken to town each time we go, looking for specialist bits, or items to replace used things, or spares that need to be ordered, etc.

Just before Christmas we became offical residents of Turkey (temporary residents).  We have offical residency documentation and identity cards.  As a tourist we were only allowed to stay for 90 days, which wasn’t quite long enough over winter, but we were able to apply and pay for temporary residency and choose either a 6 or 12 month stay.  We chose six months and are now able to stay until the end of May with all the benefits associated to natural citizens, including health insurance and tax numbers etc.  This also allowed us to get our COVID Vaccine booster shots which we are both very thankful for.

We celebrated Christmas twice, our American friends on “Sweetie” whom we celebrated Christmas with in Morocco in 2018 hosted Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (apparently that’s how they do it in the USA), it was a great evening as it was with the crews of Sweetie (USA), Caffe Latte (Canada), Tartuga (Canada) and Pharea (Brazil) whom we had spent last winter with in Tunisia.  It was a reunion of sorts and just like being with family, and the typical Christmas feed – we all brought dishes to share and we of course had WAY TOO MUCH excellent food!  Then on Christmas Day we had the Marina Christmas Party, here at the marina pub and restaurant.  Complete with local musician to sing and DJ for us into the wee hours as we danced, drank and danced some more.  

The New Year saw us both go to the private hospital for full thorough medical checks.  Can you believe in one day we had blood taken and tested, urine sample tested, ECG heart monitor test, chest x-ray, abdominal ultra sounds, prostate check for Phil, mammogram and pap smear for Maree and then saw the following specialist Doctors with all our test results; General GP/Surgeon, Dentist, Optician, Urologist, Internal Organ Specialist, Neurosurgeon, Ear Nose & Throat Specialist, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Cardiac Specialist, Dermatologist (for skin cancer check) and for Maree the Gynaecologist.  All this for $350 Australian Dollars.  I am pleased to say we both passed all our tests (without studying!), although we got a few reminders about ageing and how we may not be doing it gracefully.

Time flew by and soon enough it was January 19 our winter haul out date.  We took Red Roo around to the slip and the boat hoist wrapped slings under her belly and lifted her out.  Always a nervous day but the professionals here know what they are doing. They lift boats all day every day, many of them HUGE.  Our neighbour on the hard is “EXTREME” a 40 meter sailing super yacht, with 3 decks (three levels) 6 staterooms, and 4 crew cabins, it caters for 12 guests and 7 crew and is currently for sale for €7.9 million Euros.  They have people doing their maintenance, Red Roo’s maintenance work is all done solely by us!!

Once out of the water the weather turned foul again, and living on the boat out of the water is a little harder and a little bit less pleasant so we took the opportunity to go on another road trip with Yo & Jean. 

We hired a car and took a week to drive east along the coast.  Our hire car guys asked where we were going and were pleased to hear we were travelling along the coast as all the inland roads and highways were covered in snow and dangerous.  We actually had to adjust our plans as one of the attractions off our coast road was inaccessible to due to snow, 6 days later on our return journey we were able to visit when the snow had almost but not quite cleared.

Kayaköy (Ghost Town). A Greek settlement in Turkey established around 1860 and abandoned due to the population exchange in 1923 (when the Greeks were sent back to Greece and the Turkish living in Greece were sent back to Turkey). There were 14 chapels, 2 churches, 2 schools & a customs house and 760 houses. The houses although close together do not cover each other in regards to daylight and shade, most houses are 50 m2. They were all built on the hillside on natural ground levels.

Fethiye Region, the sign at Fethiye, a coastal beach along the highway, Saklikent Canyon/Gorge, The Lycian Way Hike (outside of Antalya).

House Tombs (burial chambers) at Fethiye and Myra, dating from the 4th century BC.

Lycian Ruins at Xanthos & Myra

Antalya.

Chimera, it took us two attempts over two days to find the fire in the rocks, natural gas escaping from the rocks which keeps dozens of small fires burning constantly on the rocky hillside. We did test the theory by extinguishing one which sure enough reignited after a couple of minutes. We also toasted hotdogs and marshmallows.

Kekova – The Sunken Village due to an earthquake now all underwater.

Once back at the marina in Marmaris it was time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.  We had a BIG job in front of us.  We were going to polish the boat and hopefully bring Red Roo back to Red!  She was suffering severely with white oxidisation from sun exposure turning her red sides white.  We had been approached by several contractors whilst in the water and whilst being hauled out to do this work for us.  One came and looked and told us we couldn’t sand and polish it out, the whole boat would need to be stripped and repainted and they would do it for €15,000 Euro, the other group approached us telling us they use the best products and can do the work cheap and really good, they took us to look at a dark blue boat they were polishing.  We told them we didn’t think their products would work and that it needed to be sanded, they disagreed and offered to do a test patch to show us how good they work.  They did a small A4 size patch about 10am and by the end of the day you couldn’t even see where the patch was, it was back to faded red with white.  These people then watched in amazement and visited us daily to see the transformation of ‘white roo’ back to ‘Red Roo’ then they asked how we did it.

It was a long 7 step process;

• Hand sand around pin stripes and detail.
• Machine Sand with 1000 grit sand paper to remove the majority of the oxidation. 
• Machine Sand with 1500 grit sand paper to finish oxidation removal and remove 1000 grit scratches
• Machine Sand with 2000 grit sand paper to finish and remove 1500 grit scratches.
• Course polish 
• Fine polish (two coats)
• Wax (two coats)

It took us two weeks, 14 days to do the boat, with a rest day every 4th day which was timed well as it usually rained every 4th day!  It felt slow and hard as we were only completing 2 meters along the boat a day working from 9am – 5pm, but really looking at the process we were doing on that 2 meters which was 7 layers, we were actually completing 14 meters a day. I am sure you agree the hard work was worth it.  We both worked the entire time, we had hired two scaffolds one set up on each side of the boat.  Phil would sand one side while I polished the other, then we would swap as we worked our way down both sides.  The stern took three days in itself to finish as so much of it was hand work around the corners and fittings and boat name decals.  I congratulate Phil as he had nutted out our strategy and approach over the last few months of cruising last year by doing test patches of all sorts on the hull and seeing how they lasted.  Regardless of the test patches it was a brave move to take the sander to the boat with the risk of taking all the paint off, but knowing we had to sand off the white to get the red back.

Our reward for finishing the top sides polish was a very timely one day trip with 5 others from the marina to go skiing for the day.  A 2.5 hour drive from the Marina to the ski centre at Nikfer Bozdag Ski Field near Denizli saw us enjoy an incredible day on the slopes.  Maree having only ever cross county skied once before in Alaska, spent the day on the learner slope and taught herself to ski, only falling twice!  Phil and the others (all very proficient skiers) spent the day up in the hills, first taking the chair lift up to the top, but with limited visibility due to low clouds were skiing flag to flag (not enjoyable) so spent the morning on the t-bar slope before mid afternoon when the sun broke though to reveal the most amazing day! Phil, Jean and Yo were off and cutting up some fresh untracked powder down some cool slopes.  They were the first to ski down two great hills, I must say it was amazing to watch them coming down so gracefully throwing up snow each time they turned.  Again Turkey turned it on for us and we had an amazing day out, and talk about value for money, it was a great deal.  We arranged it through Outback Travel which is run by a Turkish Man who worked in tourism in Australia for 30 years before coming back to Turkey to run his travel business, he was thrilled to arrange this outing for 5 Aussies and 2 Canadians.  We had a driver, a tour guide, a Mercedes Van, were driven 3 hours to the snow (stopping for breakfast on the way, included in the deal), a day skiing and also included our evening meal on the return drive home all for equivalent of $65 Aussie dollars each.  Phil carries his skis on the boat so didn’t need to worry but it cost Maree an extra $8 to hire ski’s, ski boots, a helmet & poles.  The unlimited lift ticket for the day cost us $15.  

Talking dollars and how cheap our day out skiing was, it should be said it is all relative.  It was a municipality run ski centre and therefore affordable to the average Turkish family.  Still very cheap for us but not so much for most Turks who overall have a very low income.  Whilst it is a relief for us to be able to live cheaply and enjoy fabulous cheap fresh food at the market, it is only because of the low incomes here for locals that it is all so cheap.  I can buy two weeks worth of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat for under $40 Australian dollars (a bunch of coriander is 25 cents, a kilogram of chicken breasts $3.50, potatoes 60 cents a kilogram).  Also their currency and dollar (the Turkish Lira) is very vulnerable, and since we arrived in November it has been up and down, in fact within 6 days it went from +21% to fall to -17%.  When we arrived we would get 10 TL for every 1 Aussie dollar and in the few months since it has gone from 1 Aussie dollar buying you 7 TL to 12 TL.  When we arrived a bus ride from the marina into the city was 4.5 TL (around $0.45 cents) and it is now 13.00 TL (around $1.30).

Whilst we have lived cheaply and therefore been able to afford to tour inland and see a lot of Turkey we have also done our bit to boost the local economy.  We have dropped a lot of money in Turkey, buying a brand new dinghy, new canvas work on the sprayhood/dodger, a new custom made (custom shape) bed mattress for the master cabin, a considerable sum spent of the materials to sand, polish and paint Red Roo, full service and overhaul on the dinghy outboard motor, and the cost of a six month marina contract to allow us residency in Turkey.

In finishing this post and to explain the title, we have now been in Turkey 3 going on 4 months and the only words we are proficient in are “merhaba” (hello) and “teşekkür ederim” (thank you very much) – this is by far our worst performance yet in learning the local language.  Luckily for us most Turkish folk are very good at English.

We had been in Turkey 3 weeks, Red Roo was safe and secure in the marina, our most pressing and immediate winter jobs underway (many more to go, but they could wait until the new year) and we were itching to get out and explore some more of this wonderful country, we wanted to go inland.  

A trip was planned with our Canadian friends Jean & Yolene (Caffe Latte), we hired the car and we were off heading inland (north/east) to explore Cappadocia.  

In 9 days we covered 2,500 km taking in some spectacular and hugely diverse scenery.  The stars on the map below indicate our travels and the major stops/attractions.

We went from lake country, to the fruit bowl and orchards, to cities with magnificent mosques and history, valleys full of prehistoric rocks, cave houses and cave churches to underground cities that housed more than 10,000 people, then past ski mountains and onto to Roman ruins and some more of the Turkish coast line. 

We shall let the photos do the talking.

Day 1. Marmaris – Lake Eğirdir

Lake Eğirdir is Turkey’s fourth largest lake and second largest freshwater body.  The total size of the lake covers an area of 482 km squared, the lake lies 917 meters above sea level and has an average depth of 14 meters. This provinces lakes provide water for agriculture and recreation.

Apples are one of the main products of this areas broad open plains and lakes. The province grows 20% of the Turkeys total annual production of apples which is 500,000 tonnes.  Turkey grows 5% of the worlds apple production and ranks 4th after China, USA & France.

Day 2. Lake Eğirdir -Konya

Mosque washrooms are built in order for Muslims to perform there “wudu”. Wudu is a washing ritual which takes place as part of prayer. It involves washing the hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, head & feet. This ensures they enter the Mosque to prayer pure. Some of these washrooms are just as enchanting to the eye as the Mosques themselves, and also very practical with the low stools and rails to rest/wash your feet on.

WHIRLING DERVISH ceremonies were started as a form of meditation by Jalaluddin Rumi, the famous Sufi Muslim mystic and poet, in the 13th century. The Persia-born Rumi — who was living in Konya, then the capital of the Turkish Seljuk Empire told his followers, “There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.” He would fast, mediate and then dance to reach a state of unparalleled enlightenment. Inspired, other sects started to spread his dance, called the Sema, throughout the Ottoman Empire. By the 15th century, the order had established rules for the ritual to maintain its myriad traditions.

Dancers wear long white robes with full skirts, which symbolise the shrouds of their egos. On the dancers’ heads sit tall conical felt hats called sikke, ranging from brown to grey to black depending on their sect; these represent the tombstones of their egos. Over the robes, the dancers wear long dark cloaks, which embody the wearers’ worldly life and are cast off during the ceremony. When the dancer is finally wearing only his long white robe, he is assumed to be without fault and ready to start the mesmerising complex whirls that define the Sema.

The dancers, who fast for many hours before the ceremony, start to turn in rhythmic patterns, using the left foot to propel their bodies around the right foot with their eyes closed. Their whirling is fuelled by accompanying music, which consists of a singer, a flute-player, a kettle-drummer and a cymbal player. As the dancers turn, the skirts of their robes rise, becoming circular cones, as if standing in the air on their own volition.

Day 3. Konya – Göreme (Cappadocia)

Caravanserai, is this where the “caravan” lifestyle was invented?

A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travellers could rest and recover from the day’s journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe, most notably the Silk Road.  The Sultanhani Caravanserai that we visited was built in 1229 and expanded in 1278 to make it the largest Caravansary in Turkey, it was used in both summer and winter with the summer quarters being 50 x 63 m and the winter quarters being fully enclosed and measuring 33 x 55 meters.  To meet the accomodation and other needs of the travellers the caravanserais housed workshops for raffles, rope makers, horseshoes, iron smiths, kitchens, sleeping rooms, hamams (communal baths), coffee houses.  Sultanhani caravanserais provided accommodation food and drink free of charge for up to three days for both local and foreigners of different ethnic groups and religions without prejudice.

After more hours in the car and a couple of service station pit stops (and rave reviews over the cleanliness of the service station toilets, all no touch automatic and fantastically clean) we drove around a normal looking corner there were suddenly 4 audible gasps and a series of “wow – stop the car!” We had arrived in Cappadocia and our first taste of this fantastic landscape was the town of Uchisar.

Phil and Jean were astounded by the number of Renault 12’s in Turkey, specifically in the inland Cappadocia region. They began keeping count, and soon ran out of finger and toes! There were thousands, many in great condition. Research informed us that they were actually built in Turkey from 1971 until 2000.

Day 4. Cappadocia

The fairy chimneys are a result of a geological process that began millions of years ago when volcanic eruptions rained ash across what would eventually become Turkey.  That ash hardened into “tuff” a porous rock, which was covered by a layer of basalt.  Finally, the long work of erosion began.  As millennia passed, and rivers came and went the softer tuff wore down (creating valleys) and leaving pillars – some that stand over 40 meters high.  The harder basalt erodes more slowly, forming a protective mushroom shaped cap on top, each one is shaped uniquely due to the erosion process (the softer rock closer to the bottom, and harder layers on top), the different colours are due to the minerals within the different rock types at each layer.  Just like that a fairy chimney is born – no pixie dust required. 

Day 5. Cappadocia

Derinkuyu Underground City

The Derinkuyu underground city is an ancient multi-level underground city, extending to a depth of approximately 85 metres. It is large enough to have sheltered as many as 10,000 people together with their livestock and food stores. It is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey and is one of several underground complexes found throughout Cappadocia.

It could be closed from the inside with large stone doors. Each floor could be closed off separately, and had amenities such as wine and oil presses, stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories and chapels.

The large 55-metre (180 ft) ventilation shaft appears to have been used as a well. The shaft provided water to both the villagers above and, if the outside world was not accessible, to those in hiding underground.

When were they built and WHY?  The caves are believed to have initially built by the Phrygians in the 7th century BC, however in the Roman times (753 BC – 476 AD) the Christians expanded the caverns to deep multi level structures.  

The city at Derinkuyu was fully formed in the Byzantine era, when they were used as protection from the Muslim Arabs during the Arab-Byzantine wars (780–1180 AD).  

In short, they were built for survival.  These were times when whole races/religions of people were being hunted and executed.

The city was connected with other underground cities through many kilometres of tunnels.  

These cities continued to be used by the Christian natives as protection from the Mongolian incursions in the 14th century.

As late as the 20th century, the local population, Cappadocia Greeks, were still using the underground cities to escape periodic persecutions.

In 1923, the Christian inhabitants of the region were expelled from Turkey and moved to Greece in the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, whereupon the tunnels were abandoned.

In 1963, the tunnels were rediscovered after a resident of the area found a mysterious room behind a wall in his home. Further digging revealed access to the tunnel network.

Day 6. Göreme – Silifke

Day 7. Silifke – Side

Day 8. Side – Antalya

Day 9. Antalya – Marmais … Home

A fabulous trip enjoyed with friends. We certainly appreciate how lucky we are to be able to live and experience the culture here in Turkey and look forward to seeing more of the country.