Out and About in Finike

People often ask us, 'Don't you get bored being on the boat all the time?' particularly when we're parked up in a marina for the winter. Well....no actually. Here's why.

Taking a break at the lighthouse at Gelidonya

The view over Kumluca from Greek theatre at Rhodiapolis

 

Leighton warming his hands on the Chimaera the mythical fire-breathing monster

Neighbours Mel and Ian brought marshmallows to toast - why didn't we think of that?

Arykanda occupies a strategic location over a mountain pass

The view from Arykanda's theatre rivals that of Delphi's and it's deserted

Classic Lycian sarcophagus perched high on a ridge at Belos

In search of a drink - we'd walked 

 

 

 

several hours to re

 

ach Belos

More Lycian rock tombs - this time beside the road to Hasyurt

Boxing Day walk to Turuncova - will the bridge stand the strain?

The best preserved Greek theatre in Asia Minor - Aspendos

Standing on Perge's main street on a freezing January afternoon

Killing ground  - the stands at the stadium at Perge

BBQ lunch in the snow organised by Faiek (centre)

A spring walk up the valley

Graham braves another dodgy bridge across a river

With typical generosity smallholders offer us oranges from their orchard

Back onboard with the haul

 Spring may have come to Finike but it's time to step back into winter with a fortnight in the UK for Easter to catch up with family and friends.

Jim provides transport to the bus station for our suitcase

Istanbul trip

We didn't know it, but we timed our November visit to Istanbul badly as it coincided with Bayram, the Turkish festival of sacrifice. That meant big crowds of Turkish holidaymakers on top of the usual hordes of tourists. Since we aren't used to seeing more than a dozen or so people in Finike at any one time, it was a bit of a culture shock.

Where do you start your tour of Istanbul? With the Blue Mosque of course. Head covered (for the women that is) and shoes off.

Massive space for the men.....

.........and the women are penned in here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view of Aghia Sophia from our excellent pension, and inside...

...is the largest covered space in Christendom at one time....

.....topped by this magnificent dome inlaid with gold mosaic

One of two bridges linking Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus

Intense blue and red Iznik tiles are everywhere

Classic Byzantine architecture - this is in Topkapi

 This is the entrance to the harem - a one-way street for the concubines who lived out their lives here.

Balik Ekmek for lunch - mackerel in a bun served from boat rocking in choppy waters of Bosphorus

Freshly squeezed oranges and pomegranates from Finike

Making lurid coloured twists of candy

If you think your bargaining skills are up to scratch - think again. The Grand Bazaar is where you meet the real pros.  The crowds were something else as well - think Oxford Street on the first day of the sales.

Abandon hope..........we needed a compass to find our way out

Peshtamal salesman - he's just made a sale

Buying up the lighting shop

Hand-made in Iznik - which one to choose?

A free cat with every carpet

The Museum of Ottoman Science and Technology showed we Europeans were way behind the Arabs in clever inventions like water clocks, telescopes, siege engines and the like back in the Dark Ages.  And how about these to solve our energy problems these days?

Ingenious water wheel  moored in a fast-flowing river

A wind turbine without blades - clever, eh?

 

 

 

 

Which one is the Hittite lion - or is it a bear?

Daily life in Finike

Happy New Year! May you have fair winds and calm seas for 2012.

Finike is all about oranges - they're legendary - and you get a 10kg sack for 8 lira (£2.50). The town lies in the centre of the orange-growing region of Turkey.

Surprise, surprise, the town's emblem is an orange.

We were given all these oranges while we were out walking one afternoon

The Saturday market is amaaazing. All the fruit and veg is locally grown and unbelievably cheap.

Although it's only February, the stalls are loaded with fresh strawberries, mange-tout peas and broad beans. We eat very well for ridiculously little.

The simit seller doing his rounds in the market

Finike has a benign microclimate which protects us from much of the bad winter weather. Even when thick cloud hangs low over the hills, we often have a patch of clear sky above us.

Snow lies on the mountains inland which makes it bitterly cold in a north wind. But we don't mind if it's sunny.

View of the marina on a calm day

Our pontoon - all bikes and satellite dishes

Plenty of activities take place in the Porthole common room for us liveaboards - potluck suppers, quiz nights, movies, coffee mornings, yoga. We tend to spend most days writing (Cathy's now working on the second novel; Leighton is getting down his thoughts on how to save the planet).

The marina dogs Sugar Bear (left) & Tripod (right) - so-called as he's only got 3 legs!

Puzzle on the lookout from the next door boat

The coastguard patrol boat and helicopter on exercise in the marina

Fast & Furious to Finike

Finike, journey's end for this season - 17th October

We made the most of a run of five days of fine weather anchored in Gokkaya Limani just beyond Kekova. It's a beautiful spot, and home to a several loggerhead turtles that would surface from time to time for us to watch.  Leighton is distinctly wary of turtles from his time as a diver in a marine park when he was a student. As the seawater had a layer of icy cold spring water on the top, it was no great hardship to leave the swimming to the turtles.

Idyllic Gokkaya Limani

 













We were anchored close to Petronella, a 39' Joshua steel ketch, owned by John and Jill from Cumbria, whom we'd first met in Ucagiz. We spent every evening with them over a drink or two swapping sailing stories and using up our remaining locker stores. We enjoyed being with them and found we had a lot in common, so we were sorry to discover they're overwintering in Kas.

We met these goats along a stretch of the Lycian Way from Gokkaya Limani

We decided to spend our last night before tying up for the winter in Karaloz. It's a tiny fiord-like inlet on the east side of Kekova island.  When we arrived there was only one other boat there, but by the end of the day four charter boats squeezed themselves in as well.  One boatload of Swedes, three boatloads of Germans.  One with small children onboard; another with a crewmember who fancied himself on the guitar.  Peace shattered. 

Morning calm in Karaloz

According to the pilot, the passage between Kekova and Finike is often windless.  Determined not to motor our last day if we could help it, we'd waited until there was wind forecast.  We got it. Plenty of wind and a steep swell gave us a fast and rolling downwind ride to Finike.  Leighton hand steered all the way as it was too tough for Cathy.

Surfing downwind to Finike

Approaching the marina at Finike

"You're just in time for the BBQ", announced our neighbours as the marinero was expertly tying Makarma to the pontoon in the marina. And so our feet had hardly touched the ground before we were getting to know the liveaboard community here over a few beers.  What a welcome!