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| Our Ports in Greece, Israel and Turkey |
Every sailor dreams of sailing around the Turkish Islands
near Marmaris, and hundreds of them fulfil their dream every year. Marmaris
caters to sailors worldwide, and yacht charter companies moor thousands of
boats in the various marinas here. A veritable jungle of masts lines the shores
as far as the eye can see. Today, most of the boats were tied up – it rained –
still awaiting the beginning of the popular sailing season, when the sea and
air temperatures heat up.
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| Prinsendam is barely visible behind the forest of masts... |
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| Wall to wall boats.... |
Apart from sailboats, motor yachts of gigantic size fill the
marinas as well.
On the sterns of the boats, every possible ‘home port’ in
the world is represented. And every stern is fitted with a gang plank to reach
the docks, as the Mediterranean mooring system is in effect here.
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| Moored stern-to |
Despite drizzle and rain I ventured out into the old
town, and passed upscale shopping
centres, dozens of restaurants and bars, and just as many souvenir stores
selling the ‘usual’. The streets were relatively empty, as the rain kept many
inside their houses, their boats or their cruise ship.
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| Belly Dancing anyone? |
Once one passes the tourist area and enters the ‘old town’
which is mostly located on a small hill, one is back in Turkey of old with
narrow lanes and lots of stairs.
The land and seascape reminded me of BC on a drizzly day:
lots of hills and mountains, lots of bays and inlets, lots of greenery and a
steel grey sea. But – I can imagine how inviting this area is once the sun
comes out and the sea glitters.
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| Turkish Birds - same as everywhere... |
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| It could be near Desolation Sound BC.... |
