Turkey

[OldBawley]

Some question for Turkey sailors. Back when we ware wintering in Turkey we could anchor wherever we wanted. All bays ware free except for one ( English harbour ) where a high official had a residence. Escorted out on gunpoint.
I have read that many bays, among them the Göcek bays are now rented or leased out to whoever paid most or had most influence.
Now my question ; is one still allowed to anchor in those bays without paying or using the “Restaurant”. ?

For instance, we anchored often on the north side of Kapi bay. The restaurant was empty in winter, and as soon as clients for the restaurant turned up and their pontoons ware full we left for Greece to sail the Dodecanese islands during summer.
We had an excellent relation with the family running the restaurant, I did some technical repairs for them and learned them some French cuisine cooking. One of the women was a great cook.

How is the situation now in those “private” bays ?

 

[Resolution]

Some question for Turkey sailors. Back when we ware wintering in Turkey we could anchor wherever we wanted. All bays ware free except for one ( English harbour ) where a high official had a residence. Escorted out on gunpoint.
I have read that many bays, among them the Göcek bays are now rented or leased out to whoever paid most or had most influence.
Now my question ; is one still allowed to anchor in those bays without paying or using the “Restaurant”. ?

Last year in mid summer we anchored near English Harbour, down near the "official's " residence. No problems except that loads of big brown jellyfish made swimming in-advisable. There was a lot of building work and a blooming enormous perimeter wall nearing completion, so we were aware of the sensitivity, but no-one disturbed us.
This year we went back but moored up to the first restaurant jetty, where we had the usual excellent welcome and good food. The perimeter wall is now complete, with guard towers, and we understand that the residence is now a 300 room residence. A small ship was anchored off in the bay, delivering sand for the beach...............Full time police presence on the water, waved us away from going nearer or anchoring where we did last year, but very politely done.
We are of course guests in their country, and should be alive to the strains that currently affect them. Still wonderful place to sail, many very hospitable people.

 

[satsuma]

One would be a fool not to be concerned about the current situation in Turkey. One would be equally foolish to get involved in a debate with a clearly prejudiced commentator who spews out “alternative facts” without a scintilla of proof and who links the profit margin on water in a marina to the marital status of the Finance Minister. I’m a guest in this country and I’ll keep my opinions to myself. If you’re a Turk then stop bleating and do something to change the things you are unhappy with. That’s how politics works.

I will continue to comment and act as I feel, if it offends you or anyone else, I really couldn't care less. I'm not sure if it is some limited capacity on your part, or some undiagnosed mental condition, either way, you clearly have not the slightest clue how politics works in turkey, but you demonstrate as a supporter of the dictator erdogan, (previous winner of the Gaddafi award for human rights), that being so it is unlikely even the published evidence showing his unbridled support in arms, training and medical aid to terrorist groups including at times oil trade with Isis and across the border in Syria, will change your view.
Irrespective of your own opinions or beliefs, or prescription for that matter, on a public forum, everyone's opinion and contribution is equally valid, even your own!

 

[Irish Rover]

I will continue to comment and act as I feel, if it offends you or anyone else, I really couldn't care less. I'm not sure if it is some limited capacity on your part, or some undiagnosed mental condition, either way, you clearly have not the slightest clue how politics works in turkey, but you demonstrate as a supporter of the dictator erdogan, (previous winner of the Gaddafi award for human rights), that being so it is unlikely even the published evidence showing his unbridled support in arms, training and medical aid to terrorist groups including at times oil trade with Isis and across the border in Syria, will change your view.
Irrespective of your own opinions or beliefs, or prescription for that matter, on a public forum, everyone's opinion and contribution is equally valid, even your own!

Geçmiş olsun.

 

[OldBawley]

Had a nice encounter in English bay.

Anchored in the east arm, a bit north of the restaurant. Nearest neighbour was a small caique.
Saw a dinghy arriving with an older man and a young women. Among the luggage was a big violin or cello case.
In the evening I heard music fragments, someone rehearsing cello. Then a beatifull piece of music.

The volume was decent so I slipped into the water and swam up to the caique, just floating in the water, looking at the stars and listening to that divine music.
I am a jazz fan but this classic piece was a world opening to me.

Next morning I met met the older gentleman at the dinghy landing spot. He offered me a ride in his car to Marmaris market. Driving he told me he had spotted me the night before.

I confessed my sin, asked who played the cello. His daughter was studying cello, but the piece I heard was a CD, it was yo yo ma. A fan since.

He was a major in the Turkish army , spoke excellent French and gave me an insight in his idea´s about Erdoḡan and his party. Very informing.

 

[Perrycas]

I have made a couple of boat trips and several road trips around the Turkish southern shore of the Black Sea. Its pretty nice. One of the boat trips was to catch the ferry from Sinope back to Istanbul. It was then in 2003, $20usd a night for a first class cabin. An hilarious night entertained by young Georgian entertainers in the ball room. It looked like and old channel ferry, lots of wooden decks. Tiny little swimming pool. The coast line is great. Some very pretty little keyhole harbours like the roman one at Amasra. And several ex NATO ports with big breakwater arms - at Amasra and Sinope. Along the way there are lots of little fishing harbours that look quite new.
I am very fond of Turkey. I was back in Istanbul in Sept '18 visiting some young friends who are, since the coup, as part of an educated intellectual class, doing it tough. One is a documentary maker who hasn't worked since the coup. Depressed. Yes its an understatement to say its a country polarised, in some ways along similar fault lines in the UK shown by Brexit.
As for the referendum mentioned, Erdogan has been cementing his position for a long time he's a great tactician. Not unlike Orban in Hungary, Erdogan has been actively legislating, changing the constitution, by parliamentary means to ensure his position is unassailable. And of course has been working for a long time to get rid of 'dangerous smarties' in the military, the guards of the secular constitution, set up by Ataturk. No wonder the coup crumbled. There was no one to effectively lead it.

 

[Majic]

Does anyone have current information on the situation in English Harbour?
We have been told that the whole bay is now closed and the restaurant family have gone.
We visited last year and loved it and are heading back that way shortly.

 

[cegri]

Currently it is open. But can be closed at a moment's notice if the president or his family decides on a holiday.

Personal guess: he will be there in the religious festival week 10th of August.

 

[Majic]

Thanks

 

[Norman_E]

I keep my boat on Turkey and sail the south western coastline every year. With very few exceptions the people I meet are some of the nicest anywhere. It is true that the President has cemented his position, but things may be changing as his party lost the election for mayor of Istanbul, and called foul and organised a rerun, which they lost by a bigger margin. It does look as if the biggest opposition party, which had little success in recent years is now getting its act together. As one UK politician famously said when asked what won and lost elections, "Its the economy dear boy." and in Turkey a strong economy and some stability in the exchange rate is what has kept President Erdogan and the AK party in power for so long. That is now faltering but even with the Lira falls of the last year the fall in the currency is nothing as compared to what happened back in the 1990s. I remember the Lira at 4000 to the Pound about 30 years ago and more recently at about 2.5million before the "New Lira" had six noughts knocked off. Turks with long memories look at more recent devaluation and just shrug their shoulders. Politically interesting times could be coming in Turkey, but its still a wonderful place to visit and to sail.

 

[Resolution]

Does anyone have current information on the situation in English Harbour?
We have been told that the whole bay is now closed and the restaurant family have gone.
We visited last year and loved it and are heading back that way shortly.

If you do go there, can you report just what is happening? We might well be there again in September.
Thanks

 

[Majic]

If you do go there, can you report just what is happening? We might well be there again in September.
Thanks

We arrived at English Harbour today. Definitely closed. Large coast guard cutter at the entrance, we were chased out by a speed boat with flashing lights. I don't know yet if it is permanent or a temporary closure, but will post if I find out.

 

[Resolution]

We arrived at English Harbour today. Definitely closed. Large coast guard cutter at the entrance, we were chased out by a speed boat with flashing lights. I don't know yet if it is permanent or a temporary closure, but will post if I find out.

That's a really great shame, it was one of our top spots. We had our September crew round to our house last night to do some route planning (over a jug of Pimms), and we decided to go straight on to south of the Datca peninsula, maybe loaf around in the Hisonoru (sp?) Gulf, maybe on round to Marmaris.
Anticipation is growing!!

 

[Irish Rover]

http://www.anews.com.tr/gallery/turkey/gulf-of-gokova-a-holiday-makers-paradise-with-its-incredible-coves/2

 

[OldBawley]

Real pity those bays are closed now. My original question about Kapi bay in The Göcek – Fethiye area is never answered. So I guess the “free” is no more.

English harbour was extra beautiful since often we came from de Dodecanese with its barren islands to arrive in a water paradise like Sogut. At places the water was just spouting out of the ground.
One day I was making a walk. In the hill where the road was on top of was a sort of stable or garage dug out. I heard some guy singing inside. He could sing like many Turks.
I had a sneak peek into the cellar like construction. Inside was a man filling 1,5 litre water bottles from a pipe with many holes. The man was singing, putting empty bottles under the flowing water, sealing full bottles.
Bottles war branded “Nestlè “
I am pretty sure better water is hard to find.

In an other bay with a restaurant the kids ware filling small bottles of water from the local well and then sealing the caps. They used tiny dots of super glue to have the cap “crack” when opening.
Don´t know how much those little bottles of water cost at the restaurant table. They sure did not have to transport them for miles in an old fishing boat.



English harbour with our boat in the background.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Real pity those bays are closed now. My original question about Kapi bay in The Göcek – Fethiye area is never answered. So I guess the “free” is no more.

English harbour was extra beautiful since often we came from de Dodecanese with its barren islands to arrive in a water paradise like Sogut. At places the water was just spouting out of the ground.
One day I was making a walk. In the hill where the road was on top of was a sort of stable or garage dug out. I heard some guy singing inside. He could sing like many Turks.
I had a sneak peek into the cellar like construction. Inside was a man filling 1,5 litre water bottles from a pipe with many holes. The man was singing, putting empty bottles under the flowing water, sealing full bottles.
Bottles war branded “Nestlè “
I am pretty sure better water is hard to find.

In an other bay with a restaurant the kids ware filling small bottles of water from the local well and then sealing the caps. They used tiny dots of super glue to have the cap “crack” when opening.
Don´t know how much those little bottles of water cost at the restaurant table. They sure did not have to transport them for miles in an old fishing boat.



English harbour with our boat in the background.

Love the photo , sound very romantic and sure it is,
I hate to think if there was any pollution in that well what people was drinking ,
Thank god we make our own water and take it with us

 

[OldBawley]

In those days all the restaurants over there ( Göcek bays ) took water from a good source into 1000 litre tanks put onto some old fishing boat. In summer it was a man´s job to get water to the restaurant.
Later a friend of us ( The first owner of Kapi bay restaurant ) had a well drilled not that far from the restaurant. No pollution except for the occasional lizard who fell in.

Many yachtys came to tank water at Atbuku koyu. There was a pontoon with a 2” plastic hose delivering fresh water. Easy and convenient.
I was a bit suspicious after what I had seen in Italy so I put hiking boots on and followed the hose to the source. Quit a long hose trough very dense woods and up the hill.
There was no source. The workforce of some private island nearby had build a dam in a small river creating a small pond. That pond was empyed into a special water boat for the island by the 2” hose.
In summer day and night.
While I was approaching the pond I heard a big animal grunting. Some big wild boar was taking a bath in the pond.
I never took water there.

I agree that a water maker is very convenient.
We just sailed 30 miles from Porto Cheli to a small harbour on the other side of the Argolic gulf and back just to get 220 litres of good water. Could have bought bottle water but don't like paying for what God provides us.



One of the waterholes we used to fill our tanks.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Has you may or may not know I been sailing the Med for tons and tons of years , we never hardly took water from marinas but found local taps and never had a problem finding it .
But in the last three years since I build my water maker I not looked back ,
Wish I build one years ago , maybe my back wouldn't be so bad now .
No more Cans in the dinghy .
If you took them photo , you have a great talant .

 

[OldBawley]

The last marina I went in to take water was somewhere in west Italy. ( 2001 ) When they heard I just wanted to buy water they refused. Even after promising to buy diesel as well they refused. They wanted me to pay one night ( at minimum 13 meter ) , at a real ormeggio price, then I could have water.
So I took my boat out again and anchored next to the marina. Next morning our tanks ware full.

One time we entered a silted abandoned marina also in SW Italy. Marina was empty except for some small local boats and a few police boats.
Some guy was waving and shouting, he wanted me to moor “ Ate my place “ He had mooring lines.
I had some bad experiences with ormeggio´s, so I refused. Moored 15 meters further in the empty harbour. He was arguing all the time, was very pissed of that I refused to give him a line. He threatened to get de police, his friends, then he said “ only me water “ That was a good argument, we needed water.
When on land I made a fast tour of the buildings. I followed his “ drinking water “ hose to see were he took the water.

Next to one of the new but already vandalised buildings stood a trailer with a vertical rusty tank on it. From there the green plastic hose ran to the quay. Suspicious as I am, I took a ladder lying on the ground behind the trailer and climbed up. The tank was open on top and at least 3 dead pigeons ware floating in the water. One of them very decomposed.

I took no water, did not pay the guy.