Sailing Turkey
Turkish Coasts
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Turkish coasts
Sailing in Turkey means cruising along the many gulfs and bays of the much indented Turkish coastline. It is also a journey back in time, with a plethora of archaeological sites, castles and temples that reflect its importance in ancient and medieval times.
Especially the south-west coast - roughly speaking the stretch of coastline from Izmir via Kusadaşi, Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye and Kaş to Antalya - is an ideal cruising ground.
This stretch of Turkish coastline is usually divided into four different yacht charter areas:
If you wish to charter a yacht and would like independent advice on reliable charter companies in Turkey,
please see my yacht charter or gulet charter pages.
Turkey abounds with archaeological ruins dating from the dawn of civilization, inhabited by various Anatolian tribes, conquered, and occupied by Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and finally establishing independence in the 1920's under Ataturk.
Besides the rock tombs and sarcophagi, most relics are of Greek and Roman origin. Many of the ruins are just part of the landscape, not fenced off.
Crewed yacht charters or Gulets
Besides marvellous options for bare-boating, many sailors will appreciate the
luxury Gulet cruises or Blue Voyages. Although these sailing holidays lack the privacy of a bare boat, you will be pampered and nurtured by your own captain, chef cook and hostess. And so it should be on your luxury crewed charter!
These gulet holidays known as Blue Voyages or Blue cruises originate from the time that Cevat Sakir Kabaagacli - a political writer- was exiled erroneously to Bodrum.
The judges who sentenced Cevat Sakir to a number of years in the remote port, knew nothing of local life, which as Sakir discovered, was heaven on earth. He settled down and started writing stories about the town and its locals - in particular, the fishermen.
On his regular outings with fishermen, he gradually got to know the various coves and bays near Bodrum and introduced this rich fisherman's life to visiting writers, scolars and artists from Istanbul. Sakir's tours became famous and were given the name "Blue Cruise"...
For independent advice on Gulet companies (private charters or cabin charters) please see my gulet charter page.
Religion in Turkey
The minarets, covered bazaars, the exotics smells and of course the fairy tale palaces of the sultans, all instill the feeling of travelling the orient in a country that is not only foreign but also harbours a predominantly moslim population.
Islam means submission or one that submits himself, in arabic.
Moslim means the same but is a Persian word.
Yet, it is very important to realize that the Turkish state is not Islamic, but rather secular and enlightened, with much more separation between state and religion than in for instance the USA. It was the father of all Turks - Atatürk - who diminished the influence of the islam and transformed Turkey into a modern and western orientated country, even embracing the Latin script (with some additional diacritical marks, see below).
Although 90% of the population is Moslim, most take a very pragmatic role toward their religion and are not regular visitors to mosques and don't pray as often as is dictated.
Turkish Alphabet
The Turkish alphabet contains 29 letters. There are 8 vowels and 21 consonants, and the letters Q, W, X do not appear, yet there are 6 unusual pairs of minuscules and capitals
:
| Dotted I |
İ |
Breve G |
Ğ |
| Dotless i |
ı |
Breve g |
ğ |
| Diaeresis O |
Ö |
Cedilla C |
Ç |
| Diaeresis O |
ö |
Cedilla c |
ç |
| Diaeresis U |
Ü |
Cedilla S |
Ş |
| Diaeresis u |
ü |
Cedilla s |
ş |
A handy list of turkish phrases for your sailing holidays or blue cruises in the Turquoise waters of Turkey.
Flights
There are several flights each day Istanbul-Bodrum and Istanbul-Dalaman (which is the airport for Göcek (30 mn), Fethiye (60min+ and Marmaris (90 min).) Milas-Bodrum airport is 40 mn from Bodrum harbour.
Important reading
Enjoy a blue cruise on a gulet motorsailer.
The Provisions onboard (bareboat) charter yachts.
Selecting your charter yacht.
Catamarans vs monohulls.
How to prevent seasickness.
Wind roses for Turkey and Cyprus.
Further reading: Indispensable books about (sailing in) Turkey.
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