Meandering along the Mediterranean

As former residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, we are accustomed to looking at lots of water. But to actually be able to swim in it? That privilege is reserved for surfers with thick wet suits, the rare 100 degree day, and for Midwestern tourists who have never seen the ocean. But the Mediterranean is a welcoming host, and its warm waters call to us.

Sailing along the Mediterranean coast is an idyllic way to experience the coastal life of Turkey. Fortunately, Turks are keen to this fact and organize trips to take willing travelers up and down the coast on 3-night/4-day gulet cruises. We sign up for a boat, and join a potluck of other travelers.

Once on board, we discover that our group is a mashup from five continents: a father and son from Turkey, two Aussies, two Kiwis (New Zealanders), a Brit, a Dutchman, an Egyptian, and another American couple. Our crew consists of three Turks: the captain and a married couple, who serve as the cooks / deck hands extraordinaire.

We are all assigned cabins, but discover quickly that we rarely will use them. It’s so hot that sleeping on the deck each night is the far better option, so the dozen of us bring up our bedding and settle in like two rows of sardines under the canvas awning. Sleeping under the stars turns out to be one of the highlights of our trip.

We board our gulet in Fethiye (fleeing bed bug hell), and sail first to Butterfly Valley, accessible only by boat. It turns out that the butterflies fluttered off to cooler climes in May, but we walk up the unshaded valley until we reach a small waterfall, where we take an impromptu shower to cool off.

Back on the boat, we make our first overnight stop at St. Nicholas Island, named after its most famous resident, the patron saint of sailors, marriageable maidens, and of course the inspiration for Santa Claus. St. Nicholas is beloved for several compassionate acts, including giving dowries to poor girls so they could wed (and avoid a life of slavery),  stopping a serial killer whose methods involved pickling students in brine, and for protecting small children.

Wonder how a 4th century Turkish saint became the jovial chubby guy in the red suit?  So did we.  Turns out the transformation from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus was courtesy of New Yorkers’ ingenuity in the early 19^th century. Christmas then was celebrated a bit differently than today:

“Christmas of old was not images of families gathered cozily around hearth and tree exchanging pretty gifts and singing carols while smiling benevolently at children. Rather, it was characterized by raucous, drunken mobs roaming streets, damaging property, threatening and frightening the upper classes.”

In modern times, revelers must wait another week to engage in such behavior.

We arrive at St. Nicholas Island slightly after sunset, and as we disembark our boat, we are surprised to note a long-haired shifty-eyed man swimming toward us. He rises from the water, proceeds to a nearby kiosk, and demands an 8 TL entrance fee.  Aphrodite he was not, and as we were given no receipt, we suspect our fee went straight towards his personal beer fund – and to smell him we thought he could stand to dry out as well as dry off.

We wander around the monastery ruins, enjoying ancient stone buildings and arches as we work our way to the top of the hill. The sun has gone and the stars are arriving. We admire the night sky, and then head back to the boat, a few bats buzzing us as they begin their night.

Another day we visit Kekova, a small fishing village accessible only by boat. Small twisty dirt paths weave through the village to the castle ruins at the top of the hill. Ancient Lycian tombs carpet one side of the hill, their gaping holes revealing where they were looted, perhaps centuries ago.

On our way through town, we pass villagers selling bracelets of nazar beads. These blue eye symbols are believed to ward off the “evil eye” of envy. These talismans are often hung outside shops, cemented into the ground, and worn as jewelry. Our Ephesus tour guide informed us that blue-eyed people do not need to wear them, since they already have natural protection. So Mark is blessed and this brown-eyed girl bought a bracelet.

The days begin to follow a simple pattern. Mornings start when the sun breaks over the land surrounding our cove; this leads immediately to rolling into in the water for a quick cool off. A traditional Turkish breakfast of tomatoes, cucumbers, melon, cheese, white bread, tea, and coffee follows. We pull up anchor, then sail along the stunning coastline, stopping in the better coves for more swimming, island visits, or a ride on a banana boat.

Mornings roll into afternoons, afternoons into evenings, punctuated only by meal times. A favorite visitor is the ice cream man, whose small speedboat zips from boat to boat offering overpriced but always welcome frozen treats. We spend a lot of time lazing on the deck reading books and sharing stories with our fellow travelers.

Three nights go by too quickly, and soon it is time to disembark. We leave the gulet and board a tour van bound for Olympos. Along the way our group slowly shrinks as we pass through rendezvous points for the next step in each traveler’s journey. Brought together for a few days, we fling ourselves back into the world for our next round of adventures: to Greece, the Black Sea, Syria, and for us – Cappadocia.

See more of our Turkey gulet cruise photos…