Turkey travel blog
Who remembers that great Aussie movie ‘Dead Calm?’ For those unfamiliar with the film (or is that unfilmiliar with the falm?), Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman are coupling their way around on a yacht, when they pick up Billy Zane and everything slides to the shitter. I won’t give too much away, but it’s a great thriller and well worth a look. So you might be wondering why I’m bringing up a film from the 80s, and why I chose…
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is considered the founder of the Republic of Turkey. Revered as a hero, he served as its first president, establishing a secular and modern nation. ‘Ataturk’ translates as ‘Father of the Turks’, a title he was given when surnames were introduced to Turkey in 1935. The handsome, chiselled image of Mustafa can be seen everywhere. There are statues… …billboards… ….and flags. The other day I even saw a couple of Mustafa Ataturk bumper stickers. Which got me…
I was keen to have a look at Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace Museum, but on the day I turned up it was closed for a public holiday. I decided to walk along the outside of the Palace walls and down to the waterfront parklands below. The Palace overlooks the point where The Golden Horn and Bosphorus waterways meet, and is a flurry of spray and activity as ferries plough back and forth. As I walked past a statue of Ataturk, the…
After a 36 hour sail we finally dropped anchor at Bodrum sometime around midnight. Bodrum is a popular resort town for sun-deprived Europeans, but isn’t just hotels, souvenir shops, nightclubs and STIs. The place has a long history, and some interesting sites to check out. Bodrum Castle, or the Castle of St Peter, was built in 1406. It changed hands several times over the years as invaders booted out the previous tenants. In addition to military uses, the Castle was…
I was fortunate to work in Central Australia for nearly twenty years, and a big part of the jobs I did was working with Indigenous people. I remember a friend of mine, who also worked cross-culturally, once saying: ‘I envy Indigenous people. They have a true sense of place. They know where they are from. They know where home is’. For some people, home is where they grew up. Perhaps they have never left their home town, or maybe they…
Ayvalik, Turkey We arrived in Ayvalik, a harbour town in the north Aegean, in a strong 25 knot breeze. The forecast was for the wind to increase further, and it delivered, whistling and booming around the boat throughout the night. The following morning we agreed to sit out the weather, deciding it was a good opportunity to get some laundry done. The four of us piled into the dinghy (the ship’s dog is getting more confident with the small craft…
Today I motored down the Dardanelles, along the Gallipoli Peninsula, one hundred and five years after my relative John (Jack) Gibbs arrived at ANZAC Cove (see ‘Honour Them With Peace‘). Our situations could not have been more different: I’m cruising on a private catamaran; Jack was on a troop ship bound for battlefields where 8,709 Australians lost their lives. As we moved steadily past farmland, towns, wind farms and shipping, I was relaxed but contemplative. I wondered how 18 year…
After a public holiday closure thwarted my previous attempt to visit, I took a day off from boat preparations and headed back to the Topkapi Palace. I’m getting familiar with the Istanbul rail network, and managed to get to the Old City precinct without too much trouble. Save for the fact that the Turkish automated ticketing ‘top up’ system accepts only cash, and constantly rejects notes that are not crisp and creaseless. After having my fifty lira bill rejected multiple…
Liveaboard yachts, as the name suggests, are floating houses. They have all the conveniences of their land-based cousins (although usually a little less convenient due to limited space), such as a kitchen (‘galley’), toilet (‘head’), bedrooms (‘cabins’), and seating areas (‘saloon’). Houses require maintenance, and liveaboards are no no exception. Add in sails, rigging and engines, and it takes a lot of effort to keep a yacht in working order. The last two weeks in Turkey have been spent preparing…
As of today, Turkey has had 259,784 cases of Covid-19, of which 9,727 have proven fatal. Daily totals of new cases are on the rise, and have been around 2000 each day for the last week. Measures are in place to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in Istanbul. At street level, everyone is wearing a mask. The only time it’s considered acceptable to remove it is when eating, drinking, or having a smoke (which is very popular). It is not…