Patara - Turkey

Liman Caddesi - Harbour Street

We are planning to set out tomorrow - June 21st - for our trip up the Turkish Coast.  It is possibly the wrong way to go as we will be sailing against the prevailing winds but it is the way we need to go.  The sail back down to Marmaris will be easier as we will be sailing with the wind.  Since we are getting ready to depart lovely Kaş, Turkey we thought we should take a day and make a trip to Patara - birthplace of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus).  

Inside the Assembly Building

Patara was once a major seaport for the ancient Lycian civilization.  Eventually the port silted up and the area lost prominence.  Like most ruins here there is evidence of the various reigning empires.  And like most cities in the region Patara (along with all of Lycia) surrendered to Alexander the Great!  However, Patara's claim to fame is that the city is the birthplace of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus or Noel Baba).  St. Nicholas inherited a bit of wealth when his parents passed.  Legend has it that he then distributed that wealth to the poor by giving secret gifts.  Definitely seems as though he started something... although our gift giving is not often in secret!

Roman Theatre

The remarkable feature in my view was the Assembly building.  Outside of the building were plaques honoring various important people.  The stones had the ancient Greek wording chiseled into them.  Archeologists had interpreted them and so you could see who they were honoring and why.  Somehow the writing makes it all so real for me.  Remarkable!

Plaque outside Assembly Building

Its always awe inspiring to me to think that I am walking on the same ground that Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and other ancient legends trod.  I have been reading about Alexander the Great lately and to see the place names and battles mentioned at sites like Patara just brings it all home.

Reed Boat replica

 

 

 

 

In addition, to the fabulous ruins there was on site a replica of  a reed boat that would have been common at the time.  The replica on display at Patara was actually sailed to test the viability of the ancient maritime trade routes mentioned in Herodotus writings. 

After an hour or so trudging through the ruins we were really hot!!  So we headed over to Patara beach for a quick dip in the Mediterranean to cool off.   Since we had a car for the day we then went to complete our provisioning for the trip up the coast.  Busy, busy day!

Assembly Hall of the Lycian League

 

Covid, Covid, Covid

Gardens at University of Tennessee

 As it turns out there is quite an active community of ex-pats living here in Turkey.  Most from the UK but there are Americans and others as well.  There is one enterprising fellow that puts out a newsletter daily keeping everyone on his list apprised of the Covid situation here in Turkey as well as any other relevant news.  On April 26th, we learned via the newsletter that Turkey was going to institute another lockdown as the Covid numbers kept rising.  Michael and I had applied for and received Turkish residency (for one year) which made him eligible for the vaccine.  Priority number one after receiving residency was to get him vaccinated as soon as possible.  I had been vaccinated before leaving the US as I work in healthcare.  Thankfully, Turkey allows you to choose your vaccine so we set about trying to get his appointment to receive the Pfizer vaccine.  Several people spent several hours trying to assist us with getting the appointment to no avail.  And then came the April 26th newsletter.  

UT Gardens

 Not only did the Turkish Health Minister announce a three week total lockdown (as in cannot get off the boat at all) but also that there was a shortage of vaccine with no known resupply date!)  April 26th was a Monday and the lockdown was to start on Thursday evening.  Decision time.  Michael did not like it but I made a snap decision to get a quick flight home to get him vaccinated.  We were looking at three weeks of just sitting around doing nothing which did not seem like a good use of time when we could be working on getting him vaccinated.  By the end of that day I had booked a flight, booked a hotel room in Chicago, arranged transport to the airport and most importantly arranged for our pre-flight Covid test.  We had just enough time to get the test and the results back before the lockdown started.  And I had also made an appointment to have his first vaccination injection the Monday after we arrived home.  

Lots of deer at the campground

 So we flew to the US, gathered up our camper and went camping for a few weeks.  The timing was perfect as our son was graduating from college and we really wanted to be home for his big day.  Michael was two weeks out from his first shot so we felt comfortable having a graduation celebration for Ross at the campground.  We spent the rest of our time visiting with family and friends.  We even managed to make a quick trip to Tennessee to see Michael's favorite aunt.  

Coast road in Turkey - driving from Antalya to Kaş

 

So now here we are back in Turkey.  The lockdown is over and Michael is fully vaccinated.  Supposedly, the number of Covid cases are going down in Turkey so maybe the lockdown helped.  In one more week Michael will be two weeks out from his second injection and we will be able to get out and about more.  Our plan is to sail up the coast and then make it back down to Marmaris in time for our scheduled boat work.  But for now the weather is perfect and the days are sunny!
 

 

Boat Maintenance

Talaria at anchor - Gemeler Island

It took every bit of three weeks in Marmaris to make arrangements to have Talaria painted (the rest of the hull this time) and the starboard fuel tank replaced.  Marmaris (Netsel Marina) is a big marina with a big working boat yard.  Little did we know several charter companies have their fleets berthed at the marina.  As with everyone, 2020 was a dismal year for the charter companies so they were certainly looking for better business in 2021.  The race was on to get their boats serviced for the start of the season which left all boat workers booked up solid.  Good for them, bad for us!  Finally we found folks to do the jobs and set dates for all the work later in the summer.  We arranged with the marina to have the boat lifted out of the water on July 25th and are hoping the work commences on that afternoon!  Meanwhile as we were busy getting quotes and speaking with various workmen about the work needed we also managed to get the teak decks and cockpit scrubbed. 

We used Oxaclic acid and boat soap to clean the teak rather than a commercially prepared cleaner.  All the prepared cleaners have Oxaclic acid as the primary ingredient anyway.  In the past, we have just used soap to clean the decks so were quite pleased with how nice they looked after using the Oxalic acid.  Since Netsel Marina is a "working" marina  it was not a problem for us to work on Talaria there.  Doing that sort of work at Kaş Marina would have been a problem.  We actually are very happy that Kaş Marina works so hard to keep their water very clean but it makes it difficult when you have work to do.  Marmaris is most definitely the place to be in Turkey if you need anything related to boating.  There are around three blocks of chandleries and every kind of workshop and craftsman imaginable. 

New dinghy

In fact due to the abundance of boating supplies we decided Marmaris would be the place to find a replacement dinghy.  Our dinghy is very old and not holding air well.  We ended up purchasing a new four person Zodiac dinghy while there.  A new dinghy was not actually on our list of things to replace or repair but seeing its sad state we decided that now was the time to find a replacement.  Slowly but surely the work is getting done and I must say Talaria is starting to look pretty spiffy.  The new batteries are perfect, the bottom is painted, the hull scrubbed, teak cleaned and all the varnish stripped and new varnish applied.  We have rented an apartment in Marmaris while Talaria is out of the water again.  Once the work is done, which should be early September, our plan is to set sail for Greece.  We hope to spend around eight weeks sailing in Greece and then sail to Sicily for the winter.  Thats the working plan... but we all now know how plans need to be a bit flexible.  The EU is finally opening to "third country" citizens and just this last week Greece decided to let folks sail from Turkey to Greece.  All good news - so we will see :).

New Exide AGM batteries

 

Pamukkale

Walking across the travertine formations (no shoes allowed)

Our most recent sailing trip was from Kaş to Marmaris which is about 100 miles up the coast in order to arrange some boat work.  After Talaria was put on the hard in Kaş last September the starboard fuel tank started leaking.  Captain Andrea cleaned it all up but we now have to replace the starboard tank.  Marmaris has a big boat yard with many skilled workers able to complete just about any boat task.  Kaş does not have that capability.  Our friends made the trip with us and we all decided to visit Pamukkale since it was close by.  It turned out to be a rather rainy, cool day but we wanted to go while we had the opportunity.  Pamukkale in Turkish means "cotton castle" - more on that later.

The Cotton Castle

 

 What you see is the result of calcite rich thermal springs trickling down the mountain and leaving behind deposits.  The deposits formed travertine shelves and small mineral rich thermal pools.  However, the principal crop in the region is cotton.  So the Turkish legend is that the formations are actually the cotton that giants left out to dry. Hence, the name - Cotton Castle 😊.

Thermal pool

What is true is that folks have been visiting the thermal springs for thousands of years.  The ancient city of Hierapolis was built at the top of the mountain overlooking the formations.  It was founded as a healing center due to the thermal springs.  Now the whole area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Hierapolis ruins are well preserved and vast.  

Walking through the Necropolis (cemetery)

The ruins include a very large necropolis and the preserved gates to the city.  At one point in time this was a very large city.  The Jewish population purportedly was around 50,000.  Eventually, it became primarily a Christian city.  The apostle Paul had a church built here and the apostle Phillip is said to have spent the last years of his life here. 

The entrance gates to the city (notice the inscription)

 As an added bonus to this wonderful day the wildflowers were in full bloom.  Poppies everywhere.  So beautiful!

Little red poppies

Although Hierapolis was built on a mountain it seemed to us a much better site than Sagalassos.  It was more like a plateau, suitable for growing crops, rather than just the steep face of a mountain.  And, of course, there was that built in spa.  What could be better! 

The road through the city gates

As with most sites in Turkey, you could easily while away an entire day here but we just spent a few hours as we had to drive those mountain roads back to Kaş.   Mountains, mountains everywhere.

This is the last outing for awhile as we have to get to work now.  We need to find someone to paint the boat and replace the fuel tank.  In Kaş, we were unable to do anything on the boat at all - such as washing the boat or cleaning teak.  They have very strict rules and do not allow any soap in the water (biodegradable or not).  Marmaris is a bit more lenient so we have some serious cleaning to do.  They say that cruising means working on your boat in exotic places - there is much truth in that statement!

Sagalassos

Upper Agora (public space for markets, etc...)

On the way to Cappadocia we spent the night in Konya.  Konya is the home of the whirling dervishes but there was no "whirling" going on when we passed through -Covid strikes again.  Konya is a very religious Muslim city and at the time was also a Covid hotbed.  So we sprayed everything down with lysol and stayed in our rooms.  On the way back from Cappadocia we took a different route so we could go visit the ruins of Sagalassos. We had a room booked at the Sagalassos Lodge and Spa in the tiny town of Ağlasun (the town was named after Sagalassos).  You could actually see the ruins on the top of the mountain from the lodge.  Driving to the lodge and the next day to the ruins was quite the experience.  Steep and narrow mountain roads with no guardrails!!!  You just cross your fingers and pray that you do not meet another vehicle on the road.  As it turned out we were the only customers in the lodge that night so we were treated royally.  They actually cooked us a nice meal complete with appetizers and a lovely desert.  The meal was topped off with a nice bottle of wine.  It was so nice to be able to sit inside and eat without worrying about being near other people - especially after a long day of driving.  That night the wind howled and the temperature dropped.  In the morning the wind was still howling and it was cold.  But being the brave souls that we are we drove up that mountain anyway.  Sagalassos sits on top of a mountain in the Taurus mountain range at 1700 meters (5,577 feet).  Now first you marvel at how in the world they even built that city up there and secondly you wonder why?  

The ancient road coming into the city

 

Supposedly, the answer to "Why" is defense.  They thought that the top of the mountain would be an easily defensible position.  That turned out not to be true as Alexander the Great who was on his way to conquer Persia thought - oh what the heck why not conquer Sagalassos as well.  After all its on the way.  And he did conquer the city - so much for the "defensible" position.  In the end, after earthquakes, pandemics and other tragedies the folks did finally abandon the mountaintop city and move into the valley.  

Nymphaneum

 

It is hard for me to even fathom how much labor went into constructing this city.  Such opulence and skill.  And the vastness of the ruins give credence to how very large the city was in its heydey.

One of the many statues found

It must have been a majestic site to behold, looking up at that city on the mountain.  And to demonstrate how clever they were the archeologists reconstructed their water system in the Nymphaneum (what a word).

Water collection

 As it turns out we were the only tourists at the ruins that day.  No wonder considering how cold it was up there with the bone chilling wind.  Of course, the pandemic now keeps everyone away.  The only worker there that day was the ticket guy.  Thats it - no gift shop, no hot coffee... nada.  You could easily spend a full day walking around there but we did not.  A fairly quick look around and back to the warm car for the trip back down the mountain.

Vast ruins (this is actually only a very small part)

One thing we did not consider when we chose this route back to Kaş was coming over the mountains back to the coast.  Coming over the mountain into Kaş was a white knuckle experience.  Deidre, Michael and I were all glad it was Steve's turn to drive!  For the most part the roads in Turkey are very good but those mountain roads with their blind turns, numerous switch backs, no shoulder, no guardrails and no run off lane are treacherous.  And did I mention that they are incredibly narrow.  It seemed like it took at least a full hour to get down the mountain to the coast.  But thats Turkey - one mountain after another. 

Cappadocia - Turkey

Fairy Chimneys

 Our goal is to make good use of our time here in Turkey and see as much of the country as we can (in between boat projects).  Our good friends from Canada are here as well so we all decided to take a trip inland to an area called Cappadocia.  The region is known for its unusual rock formations and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Turkey is a very mountainous country with significant volcanic activity in  the very distant past.  As in 60 million years past!  That is when Cappadocia started to form.  Prior to that there were a series of volcanic eruptions with the ash and lava slowly falling down the Taurus mountains.  Eventually, over the years wind and water erosion carved out this ethereal region.  

Cave dwellings

 

 Early on troglodytes carved their homes in the stones.  And then later the area became a hidey hole for Christians trying to evade persecution.  There is one whole section that is just old "cave churches".  It begs the question as to why there was a need to put several churches right next to each other?

Drawings on side of cave dwelling

 

 

 

Something to ponder.  You could spend days just hiking all the trails running through the national park or you could do what most folks do and take a hot air balloon ride to get a birds eye view of the area.  

Balloons over Görme National Park

We opted for a little of both.  A sunrise hot air balloon ride and later in the day a hike through Red Valley.  Of course, we are in the middle of a pandemic but due to that our balloon ride was a bargain - as was the rate for the cave hotel (Azure Cave Suites).  

As I mentioned nowadays most folks live in houses and the only people in caves are tourists - for the most part that is true.  But there are still some cave dwellers.  I suppose they have always been there, before the area became known as a national park.

 

Cave House

 This place looks more like a "cave complex" rather than just a house.  Just grandfathered into the area I guess.  

Red Valley

 It is fascinating is seeing all the different types of rock.  All from different volcanoes, different lava.  It is like stepping onto a different planet, you are left to marvel at the force and beauty of Mother Nature.  

Cappadocia was never on our bucket list.  As a matter of fact we never even thought of visiting Turkey but fate put us here and we are loving this adventure.  We are so excited to see what else there is to see in Turkey - since we really did not plan this trip its all a nice surprise😊.
 

Kekova

After 2 months of solid working we finally took Talaria out for a sail.  We needed to do a shakedown sail to make sure everything still works (and that we know how to work it after all this time) so we decided to sail over to the island of Kekova.  During the "tourist" season boat trips to Kekova are big business as the island has an interesting history.

Modern town on Kekova

 There was once a town perched on the hillside similar to this modern town.  And then one day there was an earthquake and much of the town sank into the sea.  The remains of the town are preserved under the water and some of it still stands on the hillside.  Swimming is not allowed in the region but you can view the submerged ruins via boat or kayak.  To be honest we never got close enough to the shore to see anything under the water as we were worried about the depths up that close.  If we did not have a 6 feet keel underneath the boat we might  have chanced it.  Nonetheless it was a beautiful day and we were able to see what was left of the town on the hill.  

Remains of town that sank on Kekova

 If you look closely you can see the walls and some steps.

Walls of house

 The stone here is very soft so even without tools they were able to carve out walls and build houses.  Unfortunately, some folks felt the need to leave their mark on these ruins.  Turkish graffiti!

Steps

 Imagine just having your coffee one day and all of a sudden your whole town just slips into the sea.  That would ruin the day.  They actually did rebuild but eventually abandoned their town - not due to fear of mother nature but rather out of fear of their neighbors.  

Stacked rock walls

All and all a great day.  And I am happy to report that all systems did work so that was great news.  There is still much to do but we are slowly making headway.  On our way back to Kaş we saw a couple more sailboats.  One from Australia and the other from the US!  Small, small world that we live in and shrinking every day!  We are planning to take a road trip with our friends up to an area called Cappadocia before we sail to Marmaris for yet more boat work.  Our starboard fuel tank sprang a leak and must be replaced.  That work cannot be done here so we well be heading to Marmaris which is a bigger city.  More news on the road trip soon.