Note: The Turkish Waters Pilot uses the ancient titles for the Turkish Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, rather than the modern ones such as the Blue, Turquoise, Emerald coasts etc. We will use the ancient.
After checking out at Latchi harbour in Cyprus, we did a short 10-mile sail to Pomos fishing harbour in north-western Cyprus, to reduce the next day’s sailing distance to Turkey to 53 miles. We had a pleasant dinner at a restaurant overlooking Pomos harbour.
The conditions for the crossing to Turkey were perfect, with a flat sea and starting with an easterly wind, which by midday had swung 180 degrees to a westerly – both on beam reaches. We anchored off Cape Anamur in Turkey at 4:30 pm and had a swim in crystal clear water before sundowners. At 7 am the next morning, we motored 6 nm to the east to anchor at Anamur Kalesi, to visit the castle of Mamure Kalesi. It was built in the 12th century and is one of the best preserved castles on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
An hour was enough to explore the castle, before we motored back to Cape Anamur to visit the ruins of ancient Anemurium, founded by the Phoenicians in the 4th century BC. It reached its heyday in the 1st to 4th century AD during Roman times. In 580AD an earthquake damaged the aqueduct and many buildings. Still, it is amazing to walk around the baths, the theatre, the remaining houses and a large necropolis for the inhabitants.
We set sail in the afternoon and anchored at Yakacik (ancient Charadus), about 20 miles to the west before motor sailing to Alanya to tie up in Alanya marina the following day. The checking into Turkey through an agent went smoothly, albeit expensively. Turkish transit log cost AUD 155, visa for Australian passport AUD 75, visa for UK passport AUD 25. It gave us the opportunity to wash the boat down, after a dust storm from Syria hit us on the way. We bought local SIM cards and Annie went to have a filling repaired at a local dentist. The marina chandler had passerelles (gangplanks), so we invested in a 2m folding model for local use.
After two nights we headed west and anchored off Side in a bay between the old town and the modern tourist strip. An early morning walk through this charming old town showed its various stages of settlement, from the early days when this strip of coast to Alanya was a pirate stronghold, until the Romans drove them out and settled here. There are remains of the Temple of Apollo, Roman baths, Theatre, Aqueduct and Agora. Also Byzantine structures like churches etc. All in all, a town worth visiting – can’t get enough of old stones.
Our next stop was Antalya, where we tied up in the fishing harbour on Monday the 28th May – just in time for Michelle and her Kiwi cousin Julia, to fly in and hop on board to join us for 10 days of cruising. Or so we thought – they only arrived the following day! We got the date wrong, but it gave us the chance to explore the beautiful old town of Antalya and watch the tourists coming down to visit the quaint little harbour.
Once the girls were on board, we set sail the following day for the Lycian Coast to anchor in the bay south of Kemer Marina.
More in the next post, until then, cheers for now!