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Gulf of Fethiye The Gulf of Fethiye is surrounded by lower slopes of the Taurus Mountains, pine-clad to the water's edge, and its crystal-clear water invites swimmers and snorkelers. It is an area of flat-water sailing easy on those not accustomed to open sea, and is rimmed with innumerable coves and anchorages.
Gocek The Club Marina at Gocek is the scenic ultimate in yacht marinas and the place the TGE calls home. It is situated up against pined slopes across the bay from Gocek Town and is reached by regular ferry service. Both the marina and Gocek Town are 30 minutes by road from Dalaman International Airport. Gocek Town itself has a unique charm as a working village and yacht rendezvous. From Gocek we like to take our guests by car up into the foothills of the Taurus Mountains to lunch on fresh trout with our feet cooling in fresh-water streams. In Gocek Town, and because we live there half the year, we are able to introduce our guests to reputable carpet, craft-art, and other merchants.
Tomp Bay Six miles from Gocek, Tomb Bay is delightful for dining, swimming, or boat drive-by below Carian and Lycian rock tombs (porticoed temple tombs). The ancient Lycian city of Crya is still evident among the olive trees and oleander. Lycians, Herodotus noted, were Cretans driven from Crete by Minos of Knossos. Carians, he believed, were native to Asia Minor.
Deep Bay One mile from Tomb Bay. Pine trees and crystal-clear water. Swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking. Enough said except that Yuksel, the local restaurateur, is not only a fine cook but offers an after-dinner campfire camaraderie that cannot be duplicated. Neither can be his breakfast the following morning. Year after year our guests describe Deep Bay as their favorite stop.
Cleopatra's Bay Two miles from Deep Bay. Another exquisite setting with thick pine right down to the water's edge. Monastery ruins half submerged attract the curious. Also called Ruin Bay, a 45-minute hike takes you to ancient Lydae. Off the beaten path and rarely visited, Lydae features sarcophagi, temple walls, cisterns, Corinthian columns and inscribed tablets from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Cleopatra, by the way, was here twice, once with Julius Caesar and once with Marc Antony. He, Antony, was en route to Actium. She, Cleopatra, came for the scenery. Or whatever. Recep, the restaurateur, bends any bendable ear while pouring cold beer or hot tea.
Gemiler Island 15 miles from Cleopatra's Bay. Once home to Lycian and Byzantine pirates, the remains of an entire village are there to be explored, from pirate-ship parking to covered passage to temple and basilica. A wonderful place to swim and snorkel, and an equally wonderful place to take
Myra Actually, the boat anchors at Gokkaya (three miles from Ucagiz) from which we water-taxi and road-taxi to Myra, which was the bishopric of Saint Nicholas before he relocated to Gemiler. Of the several Saints Nicholas, this one is the patron of sailors and thieves, sometimes called Santa Claus. Myra's most striking feature, however, is not his basilica but rather the conjunction of Lycian and Roman architecture.
Marmaris Ancient Physcus 27 miles east of Loryma. Bazaar town full of crafty rug merchants, beach tourists, and waterfront restaurants. The world's greatest doner kebap. Yacht-voyeurism, like Donald's "Marla" and Ted Koppel's Gibraltar-flag ketch, all 120-feet of it. In 480 BC, however, voyeurs watched Artemisia the Elder outfit 50 galleys for the Persian Xerxes, each about 128' in length and propelled by 170 Carian oarsmen.
Ekincik 20 miles east of Marmaris, Ekincik is like, well, a mountain lake plopped down with its own pine trees against the red buttes of Sedona, Arizona. And does it have a restaurant! Turkish meze (hors d'oeuvres) and fresh seafood. River boat to ancient Caunos. You can read about Caunos in Herodotus's History, and enough of it remains to get the picture. Dramatic rock tombs further up river near Dalyan and its fresh-water lake.
Aegean Special This itinerary is limited to April, May and June as the Meltem begins to blow in July making for a short and choppy sea. Unpleasant heading north, to say the least.
Bodrum Nee Halikarnassus and birthplace of Herodotus, this town is striking from the sea and interesting once ashore. The Hospitaler castle is well preserved/restored, the bazaar has more variety than that of Marmaris, and there is a broad selection of good restaurants. Site of Seven Wonders tomb (c353 BC) of King Mausolus of Caria and port in which his wife, Artemisia the Younger, trapped the Rhodian fleet in 352 BC. |
