Aboard the Gulet on the Turquoise Coast

The Mediterranean coast in the south of Turkey is called the Turquoise Coast for good reason. The water is just that color. It is also called the Lycean coast because of the Greek Lycean culture that once inhabited the area. Rumor has it that this area was Antony's wedding gift to Cleopatra.

We spent five days aboard the Gulet, cruising and relaxing our way from Fethiye to Marmaris. We anchored each night and often during the day for walks and swimming.

Our first stop was for a walk on some small islands where we had a snack of homemade potato pancakes made by a family camping on the sand bar.

Unavailable in the US but common in Europe, a Magnum is an ice cream bar dipped in chocolate, quite delicious. Claire goes for the double chocolate ones, where Bill likes the caramel (in a layer under the chocolate). These are addictive. An enterprising vendor motored out to our Gulet and sold us some (at an exorbitant price).

At another anchoring, we saw some ancient tombs on the hillside. A group decided to hike up to one. It was hard climbing and most turned back. After deciding that they were too high, Bill and Don adjusted and, being the intrepid explorers they are, finally came upon it. It is a Lycean royal tomb from the fifth-century BC.







We then had another delicious dinner on board ship; but this time we feasted on grilled fish caught by Surhat and cooked by his father. His mom, Salih, was the chief cook and kept us happily fed with a classic Mediterranean diet of fresh vegetables & fruits, fish, cheeses, olives, honey and lamb.







The next day we anchored in a small town and took a smaller river boat up through a river delta. This was the area where Bogart's "African Queen" was filmed. After about an hour of cruising past a long cliff of royal tombs and a very crowded resort area, we came to the mud baths where several of our party indulged themselves.







After a wonderful five days, we sailed into Marmaris and said goodbye to our great crew. Marmaris is a beach, harbor, resort town filled with tourist facilities (and a US destroyer in port for R&R). We did explore an old Ottoman castle.

If you are interested in details of our crew and their boat. see www.serhatbeyyachting.com.