Sailing In Turkey

The Turquoise Coast

The area we sail is a stunningly pretty coastline, scattered with reminders of long-ago cultures. Although Greece is often termed the "cradle of western civilization", Turkey in fact has many more intact and fascinating ruins from ancient times. Elaborate Lycian cliff tombs dating back to 500BC; the labythrinthe city of Ephesus, remains of pirate villages - most of them completely open to wander around, no gates, guards or "tourist shops" !

And then there's the modern-day fun stuff too - Turkish Baths, bazaars, hotsprings and mudbaths... great waterfront "nightlife" in the bigger places.... some very entertaining and idiosyncratic local characters in our little, out-of-the-way anchorages!

Turkey does not have the advantage of Greece's romantic "image", and it has suffered much in recent years from misconceptions that it's filled with Moslem extremists. "But don't they hate all westerners??" , some people have asked us. Hmmm. That would be a bit like saying "But isn't everyone in New York a druggie?" . Personally, we feel a whole lot safer in Turkey than New York, that is for sure!

The fact is that SW Turkey is very "western" these days, keen to join the EU and become even more so ! Fortunately in the process, the locals haven't lost their own distinctively spontaneous and friendly nature, their deeply-rooted cultural tradition of looking after visitors. Many of our clients tell us tales of random helpfulness from an unknown local - for no obvious gain. What they would love is for you to go home and tell your friends "Turkey is a beautiful country" .... in the hopes that your friends will decide to come visit too !

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• Getting There