With Melvin, Nick and Keith safely
embarked we finally departed Celebi marina late on the Sunday
afternoon, having filled the boat to bursting point with victuals,
done battle with the bureaucracy to update the cruising permit and
overcome the unplanned closure of the marina fuelling jetty by hiring
a taxi and carting three 25Ltr jerry cans of diesel from the local
petrol station.
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| Selimiye |
It being too late to head for the next safe port of
call along the coast we settled for anchoring and swimming in the
shelter of a small island just south of the marina. Interestingly it
was also the preferred anchorage for one of the night disco boats who
arrived at 2200, making a close pass down our stbd side, and then
continued to serenade us until 0200 when it left again, this time
with a little more clearance!
We departed at 0900 the next morning in
a slight southerly breeze.
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| Waterfront at Side |
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| Selimye |
Our first stop was in the very small
and ancient harbour at Side; site of the ancient city of Selimiye. A
real tourist town in the most part but bursting with antiquity. The
ruins, amphitheatre and museum were all worthy of a visit and hence
we stayed a full 24 hours departing late the next afternoon. The town
seems to exist for German and Russian tourists but that did not stop
every restaurateur propositioning us as we walked through the town;
they all own the best restaurant in town with the freshest fish!
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| Riverbank restaurant at Manavgat |
From Side we motored the five miles
along the coast to the river at Manavgat where a river enters via a
small canalled section and is navigable for about 4 miles upstream.
We turned at the low bridge, which was blocking our way at this
point, and decided to moor up at the only restaurant on the river
bank, where we were berthed outboard of a French boat; onboard were a
very sociable family and our whisky stocks took another hammering!
The only problem was the occasional grockle boat passing too close
and too fast, good fenders were essential! Next morning the French
were leaving at 0600 so we had to haul off to let them out; in the
process reducing the overhang on the trees as I backed Kurukulla's
mast gently into the branches, not having seen them! I don't function
that well at that time in the morning and besides they were behind
the bimini, out of sight! At a slightly more sociable hour we too
departed exiting the river and heading east again, sailing on the
wind, for Alanya.
The majority of the coastline between
Antalya and Alanya is heavily commercialised with more than it's fair
share of massive hotel blocks; mostly built in the modern, tasteless,
fashion. Alanya is no exception but it does have wonderful
fortifications and the most complete arsenal where ancient ships were
hauled for repair, all very impressive.
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| Castle at Alanya |
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| Alanya from the castle |
At Alanya we were able to berth on the
public pier, at no cost, assisted by some very welcoming fishermen.
The berth was well protected and directly alongside the Coastguard
berth so security should be fair, not that crime is a worry in most
parts of Turkey. That evening was spent wandering the town and
familiarising ourselves; this was followed, the next morning, by a
tour of the castle. “Discretion being the better part of valour”
we declined the opportunity to climb the ramparts, in 40 deg C, and
took a taxi to the top and back. On completion we breakfasted in a
local restaurant and then set off for Yakacik, an anchorage some
distance down the coast.
From Alanya eastwards the coastline
changed from unending hotels to unending banana plantations; this
coast must provide the entire banana crop for Turkey! Yakacik is a
relatively open anchorage but by following the recommendation in
Heikell and anchoring in a small bay near a “wooden”, now
concrete, hut on a rock, we were able to have a very pleasant and
quiet night including a midnight swim in the most amazing
phosphorescence.
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| Kurukulla anchored off Anemerium |
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| Aquaduct at Anemerium |
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| Anemerium |
Next morning it was off again eastwards
to the anchorage under the ancient city of Anemurium, one of the most
complete ruins I have seen so far. A massively impressive city with
many parts complete up to the second storey including the ancient
baths, odeon (theatre like meeting hall), and gymnasium and all with
remnants of the original mosaic floors. All this surrounded by the
ancient dwellings and the usual mass of sarcophagi! The anchorage
here is open to the east and by mid afternoon it was time to leave
with the onshore wind setting up nan uncomfortable sea, but a place
not to be missed nonetheless.
Our next overnight port was only an
hour to the north east, Bozyazi. Here the government constructed a
ferry port to serve Northern Cyprus but like so many things on this
coast it now lies virtually unused save by the Coastguard and a few
local fishermen. We berthed stern to on the main jetty alongside the
only other two boats there. A Dutch couple and an ex Army WO and his
wife who live in Cyprus and spend their summers cruising in their
motorboat. Bozyazi had very little to offer other than secure
berthing and a welcoming population. Melvin and Nick were due to
leave from here and after a few nervous moments next morning their
taxi duly arrived only 25 minutes late! Fortunately they had allowed
plenty of time. Later in the morning Keith and I set off to find a
supermarket but after a walk of 45minutes we had found only a small
local store. We decided this would have to do as the temperatures
were already 35 deg and it was only 1000! A taxi back to the boat was
essential.
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| Bozyazi harbour |
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| Soguksu Limani at sunset |
From here we cruised further along the
coast to the anchorage at Soguksu Limani, which literally translates
as Cold-water Bay. The river that runs into the northern part of the
bay brings meltwater from the mountains, hence it's temperature. We
sailed in, dropped anchor in 5m in the northerly, smaller, bay and
enjoyed a cool refreshing swim; still surrounded by greenhouses and
banana plantations! The bay is also the Turkish end of the water
supply pipeline that feeds Northern Cyprus hence a significant part
of the water that used to flow into the bay now finds its way to
Cyprus!
The water embarkation platform and buoys in the entrance to
the bay referred to by Heikell have now been removed, stand-fast one
buoy, since the completion of the pipeline.
Next morning we sailed relatively early
to try to catch the last of the offshore breeze and set course for
the anchorage at Ovacik, surrounded by the ruins of the city of
Afrodisias. This was a surprise! Described as a relatively deserted
bay, ruins and a restaurant that opened occasionally in summer we
arrived to find a thriving holiday resort, designed in good taste if
that is possible, built around a wonderful sheltered anchorage. Not
spoilt but also not tranquil!
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| "Peaceful bay" at Ovacik |
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| The best preserved of the castles at Kizkalesi |
The following day we sailed on again to
the next anchorage on our list, Akyar Burun. This is a collection of
three bays, some more protected than others, but we had arrived
during the Bayram holiday, a three day festival marking the end of
Ramadan, and the whole world was afloat in their boats or dining in
the restaurants/camp-sites that lined the edges of the inlets! The
consequence was we opted for the least protected but also least
crowded bay and had a night of rocking and rolling! Not so bad as to
prevent sleep though! Given the motion the next morning was perforce
an early start! By staying close to the coast for the first two miles
we got a good look at the twin castles at Kizkalesi, both of which
are very well preserved but the southerly one particularly so.
Unfortunately the anchorage was untenable for the breakfast stop we
had intended. Hence we carried on.
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| Kum Kuyu marina |
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| Diner at the Pelican restaurant |
The next port of call was to be Kum
Kuyu, a brand new, never commissioned marina, which had the semblance
of a ghost town. It has been built by the government in preparation
for privatisation and never sold. We were greeted by an enthusiastic
security guard who informed us in broken English that we could not
stay … unless we had an electrical problem we had to fix. Needless
to say we immediately discovered an problem that was going to take us
24 hours to fix! We were one of only four boats in the marina and one
of those was on the hard standing! Nearby was a camping ground
overflowing with families still celebrating the end of Ramadan. It
was very enjoyable just taking a stroll through the area and meeting
so many happy people, enjoying some freshly made local food and
partaking in a drink or two. All part of a great experience. Dinner
was at the adjacent Pelican Restaurant and then next day we set off
for Mersin at 1100, not a long distance but done in a flat calm; a
boring motor.
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| Mersin marina on departure at 0600 |
Whilst at Ovacik we had been warned off
the small harbour in the “Old town” of Mersin and recommended to
go to the new marina. This was good advice, a later visit on foot to
the old port showed it to be crowded, and the water was filthy. We
arrived in Mersin at 1630 and were greeted by a highly efficient team
in a modern, well equipped marina; the only problem was that it was
virtually empty! Not quite as bad as Kum Kuyu, but almost. It
obviously survives on the commercial revenue from the extensive array
of shops, bars and restaurants inside the confines of the marina.
That evening we dined ashore in an ethnic local “restaurant” and
ate very well. Much to the amusement of the staff with whom we had
one minor phrase of any language in common, “tessekur ederim” =
“thank you”. Next day Keith departed for UK and I set about the
task of organising myself for departure west. Organising the boat is
easy, getting stores, water etc onboard. Battling with bureaucracy
not so. My first attempt to register the change to my crew list was
met with an assurance from the authorities that I did not need to do
so; obviously I knew the rules better than they did! The instructions
with the Transit Log make it very plain that all changes must be
registered! A second attempt, including a second call to the
harbour-masters office in the commercial port, produced the same
result. Not to be defeated Tuna, the director of the marina, and I
set off to call on the harbourmaster's team. On arrival the problem
was obvious, a useless functionary, seated in his air conditioned
office and determined to be as unhelpful as he could. After an hour
of watching him idly fiddling with his computer, accessing
Kurukulla's records, Tuna lost his patience and even though Tuna had
also accessed the necessary elements of the record via another
computer the functionary still refused to authorise the changes. We
departed frustrated and angry, Tuna in particular as he saw this as
reflecting very badly on Turkey, his country. The final result was
that no change was made and I will have to do battle with the team in
Alanya on the return leg! We will see what happens.
On the final night I returned to the
same restaurant as the night before and was greeted like a long lost
friend. A meal for 15YTL, equivalent of £5.50 and mineral water and
endless “cay”, i.e. tea, thrown in.
This morning it was a 0600 departure to
try to catch the offshore breeze, no luck. As I write this we are
motoring along in a flat calm, heading south-west.
More from Alanya in a few days
….............
