TURKIYE: Sailing in the Turquoise Coast on the Southern Shores of Türkiye

What better way to end our time in Türkiye than sailing on the southern Turquoise Coast on the Mediterranean Sea.

Türkiye's Turquoise Coast runs along the southwestern Mediterranean coast, from around Antalya west toward Muğla and Bodrum. 

It gets its name from the unusually clear, blue-green water.

We had just spent 18 days on the northern Black Sea coast, which is green, wet, with villages, tea plantations and dramatic mountain scenery.

In contrast, we then flew down to the southern Turquoise Coast where it is sunny, dry, HOT, beach-oriented, with ancient ruins and lots of tourism.

Both have their own charms.

TURKIYE: Turkish Faces and Hospitality

When we were along the Black Sea coast in northern Türkiye, despite language challenges, we met some of the friendliest, nicest and most generous people.

I will post photos of some of the people that graciously posed for me. 

This lady, with a farmers stall at the Amasra's Women's Market, agreed to let me take her picture. 

I finally coaxed a reserved smile out of her. 

After I took her photo and showed it to her, she offered me a taste of some of her fruit.

She must have been satisfied with my efforts.

TURKIYE: Tea Cultivation

Turkish tea (çay, pronounced chai) is the country's most popular drink. 

The average person in Türkiye drinks several cups a day, making the country one of the world's highest tea consumers per person.

Most Turkish tea is grown around the city of Rize on Türkiye's eastern Black Sea coast on the steep mountain slopes.

The region's mild, rainy climate is ideal for growing tea, and it produces nearly all of the country's tea.

TURKIYE: Mystic Mountains and Living Simply

In Turkey's mountain regions a yayla is a high-altitude summer pasture and seasonal settlement.

Traditionally, families would move themselves and their livestock from the lowlands to the cooler lush mountain pastures for about 3–5 months during the summer.

They stay in simple wooden or stone houses, graze animals, make products like cheese, butter and yogurt, and then return to the lowlands before winter.

TURKIYE: Coffee Culture

It seems that in most places we have traveled to, coffee is part of the culture, in some way or another.

In Türkiye, drinking Turkish coffee is a social tradition.

Turkish coffee is different by how it is prepared and served, rather than by the type of coffee bean used.

Turkish coffee is concentrated and served in small cups, similar in size to espresso, but it has a different texture because the coffee isn't filtered.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not a coffee drinker, so, I have to rely on what coffee aficionados (i.e. John) tells me.

TURKIYE: Sümela Monastery

Sümela Monastery is dramatically perched on a sheer cliff 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the valley below, in the Pontic Mountains near Trabzon, northern Türkiye.

It was founded in the 4th century AD, making it one of the oldest monasteries in the region.

The monastery was built into the cliff for a combination of religious, practical and defensive reasons.

Sümela Monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was an important center of Greek Orthodox Christianity, in primarily a Muslim country, for more than 1,500 years.

TURKIYE: Horma Canyon

The Horma Canyon hike, in Küre Mountains National Park, is a scenic walk in northern Türkiye.

The walk follows an elevated wooden boardwalk that winds through the narrow gorge above the Zarı Stream.

With the suspended wooden platforms it reminded me a little bit of the Caminito del Rey that we did in Spain at the end of last year.

 

TURKIYE: Preserved Ottoman Old Towns

Our next footsteps led us to the northern part of Türkiye along the Black Sea coast.

The Ottomans controlled the area since the mid 1400’s, and held it for roughly 450 years, until WW1.

We stopped in Safranbolu, slightly inland, with a well preserved old Ottoman city.

The name Safranbolu comes from saffron, which has traditionally been cultivated in the surrounding area.

By the 17th century Safranbolu had become a prosperous city as a trading and stopping point on the East–West caravan route between Anatolia and the Black Sea, part of the wider Silk Road network.

Safranbolu is a UNESCO World Heritage site because so much of the old town has survived.

 

TURKIYE: When Opportunity Knocks on the Turquoise Coast

When opportunity knocks, I always believe it is important to open the door to check it out.

Sometimes it opens to a big fat nothing. And other times, you hit a home run.

TURKIYE: Ephesus

Ephesus's history goes back. W-A-Y back. 

It's origins involve myths and legends. Facts can date it to before 700BC. 

It is one of the 7th wonders of the world and a UNESCO World heritage site since 2015.

Ephesus is located on the western shores of modern day Turkiye, where the Aegean Sea meets the former estuary of the River Kaystros. At one time it was considered the most important Greek trading centre in the Mediterranean. At another time it was the Roman Empire's capital of their province in Asia. It was considered second only to Rome as a cosmopolitan centre for culture and commerce and was one of the most populated and affluent cities in the world. 

TURKIYE: Pamukkale and Hierapolis

Pamukkale and Hierapolis are located in Southwestern Turkiye and together they are a UNESCO World Heritage site and an 8th Wonder of the World. 

Pamukkale literally translates to mean "cotton castle". 

It is used to describe the white pools cascading down a cliff, that from a distance resemble a cotton castle. 

TURKIYE: Kayakoy, Now A Ghost Village

Kayakoy was a Greek village in southwest Turkiye that was founded in the 14th century. 

Fast forward to the early 1900's and it was occupied by about 10,000 inhabitants consisting of Turkish Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians. 

TURKIYE: A Name Change

The day we landed in Istanbul, June 2, 20022, Turkiye became the officially recognized name of the country that we know as Turkey. 

The explanations that I have read is that they did not like both the association with the bird served at North American Thanksgivings and the negative connotations of a person being called a “turkey”. 

If you don’t believe me, Google it.