Gocek. The Club Marina in Gocek is the scenic ultimate in yacht marinas and the place the Charter Sailing Yacht T.G. Ellyson calls home. It is situated up against pined slopes of a national forest in the NW corner of the Gulf of Fethiye and may be the site of ancient Hyparna, a fortified town defended by mercenaries which fell to Alexander during the winter of 334/333 BC. By the first century before the Christian era Gocek was called Callimache, a port the Roman Stadiasmus places 50 stade (about 5 nautical miles) each from Rhodian Daedala (Inlice) and Lycian Crya (Tomb Bay). Today Gocek has an enviable charm as an emerging second-home destination and yacht haven twenty-five minutes from Dalaman International Airport. It is also the site of a rare temple tomb in the Doric order. From Gocek we often accompany guests by car to ancient Calynda, and from there up into nearby hills to inspect temple tombs in the Ionic order at a site not yet identified but which may be ancient Telandros. A bit further down the road may be found an Ottoman bridge to rival the UNESCO World Heritage bridge at Mostar. In Gocek there are several good restaurants, among them the Lemon Restaurant on the waterfront and Dursun's Palm Cafe set in an orange grove adjacent to the town's municipal office building.

Tomb Bay (Taskaya). Six miles from Gocek, Tomb Bay is delightful for dining, swimming, or boat drive-by below Carian rock tombs (Ionic temple, house, and pigeon-hole tombs). Originally Carian and latterly Lycian, the ancient city of Crya's baths are still evident among the olive trees and oleander, while its acropolis is a short scramble above a seaside restaurant. Lycians, Herodotus asserted, were Minoans driven from Crete by Minos of Knossos. Carians, he believed, were native to Asia Minor.

Tersane Island. One mile from Tomb Bay. Perhaps once Telandria, a dues-paying member of Athens' Delian League. Ancient evidence, however, is limited to remains of what may be a watch tower now mostly watching the Simavi estate on Domuz Adasi, a substantial fortress-like structure the lower courses of which are isodomic, and the remains of a handsome tomb in the Cadyanda order. There are in addition numerous ruins reminiscent of 1923 when the last Greek residents were forcibly deported. Yesim Acar, the local restaurateur and full-time goat herd/shepherd, serves a superior fare based on her pastures.

Cleopatra's Bay (Manastir). Three miles from Tersane. Another exquisite setting with thick pine to the water's edge. Monastery ruins half submerged testify to medieval presence of the Greek church. Also called Ruin Bay, a 55-minute hike takes the inquisitive to ancient Lydae. Off the beaten path and rarely visited, Lydae features mausolea, agora foundations, statue remnants, Corinthian column sections, and inscribed pedestals from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Cleopatra was here twice, once in 46 BC and again in 32 BC honeymooning with Marc Antony. He, Antony, was en route to Actium. She, Cleopatra, was transporting the Egyptian treasury to fund his misadventures. Recep, the off-again-on-again restaurateur at Cleopatra's Bay, bends any bendable ear while pouring cold beer or hot tea.

Wall Bay (Manastir). Wall Bay is a quarter-mile from Cleopatra's Bay with as much Force 4-5 sailing en route as wished. Pine trees and crystal-clear water. Swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking (the TGE carries two kayaks, a single and a twin). Enough said except that Yuksel and Mehmet, the local restaurateurs, are not only fine cooks but offer an after-dinner camaraderie that cannot be duplicated. Neither can be their breakfast the following morning. The wall giving the bay its name crosses the Lydae peninsula and formed a medieval defensive perimeter on the land side for both Lydae and its satellite Arymaxa.

Sea Gull Bay (Yavan Koyu). One mile from Wall Bay, Sea Gull Bay is yet another locale in an idyllic setting, this one pastoral among fig trees. The bay may be recognized by its large signature symbol done in white stone. The restaurant here is that of a magnetic Greco-Turkish woman and her nine offspring; both fare and ambiance are rustic. A pleasant hike through pine trees followed by a short climb takes the venturesome in thirty-five minutes to ancient Arymaxa. Arymaxa features Roman mausolea, one inscribed in Greek, a Hellenistic tomb also inscribed in Greek, a unique sarcophagus partly in situ, and a Byzantine cistern.

Gemiler (St. Nicholas) Island. The meaning of the Turkish word gemiler is the ships, and this island fifteen miles from Sea Gull Bay is remarkable in part because its north shore is lined with galliot and other vessel parking slips. Once home to Lycian and Byzantine pirates, the remains of an entire village are there to be explored, from the aforementioned pirate-ship parking to unique covered passage to basilica. A wonderful place to swim and snorkel, and an equally wonderful place to take in a hilltop sunset with a bottle of wine. This part of Anatolia, it might be noted, has harbored pirates since arrival of Lycians in the second millennium. Tablets found at Tel-el-Amarna in Egypt mention Lycian sea raiders as early as the fourteenth century BC.

Cold Water Bay (next photo). Less than a mile from Gemiler Island, Cold Water Bay derives its name from a pair of fresh water springs rising beneath its sea and, perhaps, from its site under hills which block the sun during late afternoon. The ghost-town of Kaya emptied of its Christian population during World War I begins at the crest of those hills about twenty minutes distant. A century ago Kaya was known as Levisse, a prosperous Greek town, and Fethiye (see below), then Macry, was Levisse's thriving port. Careful examination of the ghost town reveals an occasional ancient block. These and tombs in the valley below mark the only remains of Lycian Cissidae. Ali Tuna, the accommodating restaurateur at Cold Water Bay, is a genial host who entertains with campfire and conversation, often accompanied by a braying Pavarotti.

Fethiye. Twelve miles from Kappi Creek, Fethiye is ancient Telmessos and site of several of the finer rock tombs extant, some featuring Ionic porticoes, some featuring Lycian inscriptions. Once home to Alexander's seer, Aristander, there remains a part of a Roman theater as well as a Byzantine fortress atop an ancient acropolis. Fethiye has for at least three thousand years been the gateway to ancient Lycia, and from there excursions to Cadyanda, Tlos, Pinara, and other Lycian settlements are rewarding. In Fethiye there are covered markets and lots of other shopping, particularly on Tuesdays. There is also excellent dining at the fish market where fresh seafood may be selected at wholesale for preparation by surrounding restaurants, including Reis Denizcilik. Bougainvillea abounds. And a truly exhilarating sail in and out of port.

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This page last updated on 06/09/2009

Dear Homo Sapiens, There is no need to continue reading this page. What follows is intended for search engine robots and spiders and perhaps for eclectics. Further information about sailing in Turkey and honeymoon yacht charters may be obtained by clicking on the blue links immediately above. Thank You. Are you considering a sailing holiday in Turkey? One of the photographs on this page and others elsewhere in our pages are the creative product of Alex Brennan, an accomplished photographer and 2002 guest aboard the T.G. Ellyson. Would you be interested in seeing his inspiration? Are you thinking of a honeymoon yacht charter sailing in Turkey's Gulf of Fethiye? From the Club Marina in Gocek? By way of Tersane Island, Cleopatra's Bay, Wall Bay, Gemiler Island, Cold Water Bay, Olu Deniz, Butterfly Valley, Sarsala Bay, and Kappi Creek? Are you thinking of a flat-water Blue Cruise sailing from Gocek, Turkey? On your honeymoon? Would you like to charter a crewed sailing yacht to cruise flat sailing waters in this small corner of the ancient world? While you honeymoon or holiday? Cleopatra did. Cleopatra honeymooned with Marc Antony right here. At Cleopatra's Bay near ancient Lydae. She perhaps honeymooned at Tersane, too. Or at Tomb Bay, which was ancient Crya. She did not honeymoon at the U.S. concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That's certain. Would you honeymoon at a U.S. concentration camp! (If uncertain, you may read about U.S. concentration camps in The Guardian.) Or would you prefer to honeymoon or holiday aboard a sailing yacht cruising under a much more gentle sun? Crya (Tomb Bay), by the way, was Carian during the Classical and Hellenistic periods before and after Alexander. By the first century AD rule of Vespasian, however, the border between Lycia and Caria had shifted and Crya was then Lycian. Prior to Alexander the citizens of Crya were likely fluent in both Carian and Lycian, but by the second century BC Cryans spoke only Greek. Come see Crya for yourself, with Telmessos one of only two cities in the gulf worthy of AD 43 mention by the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela. Embark in Gocek and cruise to Sarsala Bay, Kappi Creek, Tersane Island, and Cold Water Bay, as well. Come aboard a sailing yacht proceeding leisurely to these and other nearby destinations. To Fethiye. Also known as Macry. What happened to the rest of the Roman theater at Fethiye, anyway? Could anyone imagine carting those massive blocks any distance? The Ottomans could. And did. Those blocks were used in 1850 to construct military barracks at Uskudar on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Theater or half-theater, a century ago Macry was the port for Levisse, a prosperous Greek town on the other side of the hill behind Macry. According to Charles Fellows writing in 1840, Levisse was thought to be ancient Cissidae. More recent but less prominent sources suggest Levisse was ancient Karmilissos, a site Fellows believed to be Gemiler Island. The confusion may have stemmed from the 8th Century AD flight of Gemiler's residents to Levisse, flight prompted by belligerent Saracen sea raiders. Whichever the case, Macry remains a gateway to ancient Lycia. While Lycia is famous mostly for warriors it also had its share of philosophers. One of these was Diogenes of Oenoanda, a philosopher of the epicurean school. Epicureans believed life was for living, not warring. Let us take you from Macry to Oenoanda where Diogenes left a philosophical inscription sixty yards in length addressed to barbarians as well as to Greeks ".....while not meddling with politics, I am....trying to show what is appropriate.....to help people of good sense.....to give persons in an evil condition my best advice." The world is losing confidence in the U.S. dollar. Money-sophisticates like Warren Buffett are losing confidence because the U.S. is issuing to non-Americans more than $700 billion in annual claims on U.S. assets. Much of the rest of the world is losing confidence because of America's extra-legal conduct in the Middle East. The consequences of loss of confidence could be cataclysmic for American and non-American alike. For more on dollar inadequacy see our disclaimers at www.tgeyacht.com/Hire.htm and at www.tgeyacht.com/Itinerary5.htm. Or let us take you on our sailing yacht to discuss this and other matters as we cruise further along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Starting in Gocek. The aforementioned temple tomb on Gocek's outskirts features two circular warrior shields fronting swords within the tympanum. Which warriors were interred there? When? The Doric order preceded the Ionic order. Were these locals who perished resisting the Persian invasion of 545 BC? Certainly not. Why not? Who then? A stepladder and gentle brush might disclose the answers. We can take you there. We can help you see for yourself! And, of course, we can also put you aboard a chartered sailing yacht for the balance of a holiday or honeymoon not to be forgotten. We can as well obtain for you a copy of the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of prisoners of war, conventions to which the United States is signatory. And of which the United States is a violator. Come talk to us about it. Talk to us about it aboard a crewed charter yacht able to show you a part of the world rich in history. Join us! Sailing Turkey! Contact us today at tgeyacht@aol.com