Turkey 2016
Having heard about a fire in the Yat Marin where we had left White Rose 1, we were not surprised to return to find her grubby. The local rain drops contain fine orange dust so that mixed with what appeared black sticky soot (a very fine layer) meant a lot of scrubbing for someone. The inside of the boat was pristine – always good to return to no mould, bugs or dust.
Whilst White Rose 1 was still safely tied up in her winter dock we booked an overnight tour to visit Ephesus, Pamukkale and Heirapolis.
Ephesus
The ancient city of Ephesus had a succession of empires—Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and, finally, Ottoman. The city always remained one of the most vibrant metropolises of the ancient world housing nearly 300,000 people at its height in the second century A.D. Its busy seaport ferried goods from Asia to Greece, Italy and beyond.Ephesus' greatest claim to fame was its temple to the goddess Artemis. One of the "seven wonders" of the ancient world, it was almost four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens. According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul preached in Ephesus, prompting a riot led by silversmiths who crafted shrines to the goddess and feared for both their livelihoods and the future of the temple.
Today, a few columns are all that remain of the temple. At the site is a three-tiered theatre, built into the slope of a hill and once seated 25,000. Just outside the city stands the Church of Saint John, built in the fourth century over the evangelist's presumed tomb and expanded into a basilica some 200 years later. Southwest of the modern day city, Selçuk, stands the house where the Virgin Mary is believed to have lived.
Our tour guide brought the city to life with many historical facts and amusing stories.
Pamukkale
A UNESCO World Heritage site, Pamukkale literally means “Cotton Castle” in Turkish. Pamukkale sits on a cliff side almost 200 metres high and overlooks the plains of Cürüksu in South-West Turkey. Calciteladen thermal springs originating from the cliff have created a series of waterfalls and dazzling white terraced basins. The terraces have formed a semicircular steplike formation, ranging from less than 1 metre in height to over 6 metres, and contain pools filled with warm 35°C water.
Don and I visited the site in the late afternoon and watched the sun go down displaying colourful reflections on the white terraces. Whilst enjoying the sight a bride, groomsman and photographer appeared – they particularly wanted a photo of the bride in front of the terraces in the waning light with her long veil gently flowing out behind her as though a gentle breeze had collected the fine material and raised it up to float gently back down. No breeze appeared so Don was organised to do the job (all hand signals from the photographer as they did not speak English). Being a man Don grabbed two handfuls of the delicate fabric and chucked it up in the air – it was so funny. The veil fell before Don could get out of the frame and I am sure the photographer had to delete many photos with Don trying to make a hasty retreat. Upon returning to our hotel we soaked in the thermal pool, supposedly in health beneficial mineral water – it was wonderfully warm.
Hierapolis
The next day after a huge Turkish breakfast we were transported to the top of the hill and given a talk on the ancient Greek – Roman city of Hierapolis, the name meaning “sacred city”. This World Heritage site is remarkably well preserved and we spent hours walking around the baths, temple ruins, a monumental arch, a nymphaeum, a cathedral, several churches, a necropolis and the remains of the best preserved ancient theatre in Turkey.
Hierapolis, founded by the Attalid kings of Pergamom at the end of the 2nd century B.C., at the site of an ancient cult. Its hot springs were also used for scouring and drying wool. Ceded to Rome in 133 B.C., Hierapolis flourished, reaching its peak of importance in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., having been destroyed by an earthquake in 60 A.D. and rebuilt. Following the acceptance of Christianity by the emperor Constantine and his establishment of Constantinople as the ‘new Rome’ in 330 A.D., the town was made a bishopric. As the place of St. Philip’s martyrdom in 80 A.D., commemorated by his Martyrium building in the 5th century, Hierapolis with its several churches became an important religious centre for the Eastern Roman Empire.
The combination of striking natural formations and the development of a complex system of canals, bringing the thermal water to nearby villages and fields, is exceptional. The springs are the source of a hydraulic system extending 70 km northwest to Alasehir and westwards along the valley of the Menderes River. Pamukkale forms an important backdrop to the original Greco-Roman town of Hierapolis and the cultural landscape which dominates the area.
The next few hours were spent slowly wandering down the Pamukkale travines stopping to bath in every pool. The white was blinding but absolutely spectacular.
Returning to the cleaning of White Rose 1 was a bit of a let down. A few days later we left the marina and began our lengthy trip of a few hundred metres into the anchorage. The next few weeks were spent between two anchorages, the one near Yat Marin was peaceful with wooded shore the other was the town anchorage which was busy, lumpy with passing traffic, radiant at night with all the coloured lights on shore and music. All with the added benefit of shops just a short dinghy ride away.
We finally decided to leave our comfort zone and head out for places yet unknown – we set sail for the next bay south to visit Gocek and Fethiye. This large bay is simply beautiful, hundreds of small bays hidden in pine forests where boats can spend wonderful days. Islands scattered around with mooring balls placed to enable boats to enjoy the beautiful scenery, calm waters and quiet without having to anchor in deep water. In the past few days we have been visited by the bread boat, the market boat, the ice cream boat, watched the rubbish collection boat go past and also the black water pump out boat – today we watched the pancake boat go past – most of these are small dinghies with an ancient outboard and nan and pop selling goods.
We could stay indefinitely.
