Picnicking Pigs

Marmaris, Turkey

View of old quarter & fort from Marmaris fuel dock

Marmaris, like Fethiye, was destroyed in a 1958 earthquake, so little remains of ancient Physkos and only a modest portion of the old Ottoman city exists (a medieval fort and its quaint old quarter, reminiscent of Chefchaouen, Morrocco).  Tourism has taken its toll, and like most of the coastline we have explored so far, restaurants and deck chairs cover the best beaches whilst remote bays are cluttered with gulets, tour boats or charter fleets.  Marmaris also offers a safe cruise ship port and we had seen as many as two arrive in one day to unload passengers for a “Turkish Resort Experience”.  Sadly, the local bazaar is boring (though big) and the Ottoman Fort (built by Suleiman for his attack on Rhodes in 1522) plus the in-situ museum, was closed.  Marmaris is hardly a historical lightweight however as it was also used by Lord Nelson to coordinate his fleet for an attack on the French (Abukir, 1798). 

Our anchorage away from the centre of town

Otherwise our anchorage has been interesting; today it's models posing on the beach, yesterday it was Porky, the picnicking pig (actually a feral boar that quite scattered the late stayers) and one or two exceedingly crazy turtles.  Madness extends to the Caylak Firtinasi (or Kite Gale*) which finally caught up with us – two days of battering ram waves across the bay – predicted as long ago as the Egyptian Coptics put together an Almanac of Gales that synthesises with the Turkish Storm Tables.  Today it’s finally easing and we have great hopes of getting some chores done pre-haul out at Marmaris Yacht Marine, boatyard of choice.  Finally a decision’s been made! 

Happy as a pig in mud (well, picnic leftovers actually)..

Yes, that’s right…we’re hauling out early with a plan to travel (sans sail boat) to see a little more of Turkey, leaving a week to explore Istanbul.   So, it’s time to bid WJ3 a fond farewell in her new home and for us to start planning next year’s explorations of the Med….all around the %$#@*!! Meltemi. 

WJ3 dwarfed by this huge travel lift - normally used for superyachts
We can always pretend

Don’t tune out however, as we hope to post up our travels in Turkey as we explore further….all things being equal!)

* Although we rocked wildly inside Marmaris Limani, we've since been told winds outside reached 45kts G50. 

Sunset over the yard - finally some cloud action!