Xzanthos and Patara

Just too much to report for one day so this is a continuation of yesterdays trip with Oktay and Ahmet.

On our way back from the gorge we made a stop at Xzanthos. Here are the remnants of an old city. The modern town of Kinik (not seen on this picture) is right next to it.
 A vivid contrast between the old and the new world.

 From Xzanthos we went to Patara beach but not until we made a stop at the theater which is under construction and due to be opened by President Obama when completed.
Patara dates back to the early bronze age (3000 B.C.)

As much as possible old, square cut, stone is used to rebuild this magnificent theater. 


It will be quite the tourist attraction when completed.

Right next to the theater archeologist continue to unearth more of this one time capital city of the Lycian league (167 B.C.) and Roma's Lycia state (43 A.D) 

Our last stop of the day "PATARA" beach.

A 18 km stretch of powdery white sand. The longest along the Turkish Mediterranean coast. 

our stay in Kalkan

Our med mooring in Kalakan was wonderful and we stayed an extra day.

 First thing in the morning we walked the streets of Kalkan

The beautiful water of the med. in the back ground.

While exploring the town Oktay (our Turkey's Canadian friend) who met us while tying up to the dock called to ask us to come sight seeing.

Here we are.

Oktay, his cousin Ahmet and the two of us at a gorge way inland of the  coast.

The gorge had a cat walk you could take for about 500 meters




















At the end of the cat walk the water came gushing out of the rock.












A little further you could cross the raging stream of water coming out of the rock to discover the gorge for many more miles of beautiful scenery. However we did not have the proper attire and foot wear to cross the stream.

 After our "gorge" discovery we felt a little hungry and Oktay and Ahamet took us for a REAL Turkish lunch. We climbed on the platform and seated yourself on cushions with a table about 10" off the floor and ordered a very Turkish lunch. 
Notice the shoes stayed on the floor,

 Oktay pored us some  "AYRAN" a typical Turkish drink made from Yogurt.

The cook is busy preparing the pancakes  just like we had from the people on the boat.
Except this grill was fired with wood as apposed to gas on the boat.










LOOKING GOOD!!!!!!!

 Ahmet did not think the quality of the pancake was quite what it should be, but we thought they were wonderful.

After the pancakes we were served a dish with tomatoes, peppers, and beef and bread on the side.

The meal was finished with the serving of "CHAI" (Tukish Tee)

 It was a great experience.

On our way back we noticed these fields with some kind of trees and wondered what they were. 

 Upon closer inspection we could see  these very pretty flowers
 (blossoms)

Turns out they are POMEGRANATE trees.

Here you can see one very tiny pomegranate starting to develop. 

Not far from Kalkan we drove through this large valley with endless green houses growing tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. 

From Gemiler Adasi to Kalkan

 One last look at the anchorage at Gemiler Adasi.

We had a 5 hour run to our next destination "Kalkan"

 Along the way we passed one of the longest beaches in this area " Pantara Beach"

 Lucky for us we met this man from Toronto (a Turkish Canadian) who was surprised to see a Canadian registered boat and fellow Canadians. He came to greet and welcome us before we had a chance to tie up.








 After we got settled in he took us all around Kalkan.  He also took us to the grocery store to take on fresh supplies.    

This picture shows as close as I can zoom in to where we are docked in the tiny harbor.

Good thing we got here when we did!!!

Lots of room when we got there but after we came back from our tour of Kalkan there was not a single spot left. 

Anchorage at "Gemiler Adassi"

 After leaving Fethiye we had a short cruise to Gemiler Adasi.  (Gemiler Island)
After searching for the perfect anchorage we decided to stay and anchor at the first place we checked out. What a perfect anchorage it was.  I took the dingy to shore and climbed to the top of the island.

 the island was full of 7th century ruins. 

The scenery from the top of the island was worth the climb.

 The other surprise was when the locals came calling in their fishing boats and offer us their special fare.

Pancakes in this case.

And yes we ordered one.

 Before the "man" of the boat had a chance to tie up, the "lady" of the boat was already busy rolling out the dough.

 Once tied to our boat he helped by basting the pancake with olive oil.

And  "VOILA" one pancake coming up.

Pancake with cheese in this case. 

A "longer than expected" bus ride.

 We thought it would be nice to take the bus to the next town " Gocek"

 Gocek was not a regular stop for the bus, and we did not know where to get off so we ended up in the next town "Dalaman" Above is Joanne patiently waiting for the bus to take us back to Fethiye.

Fethiye Marine

From our anchorage we went into the marine of Fethiye.













Many "mega" yachts here. 

I think they allowed us to tie up along side because we were hardly any longer than the mega yachts were wide!!!

The last night before our guest, Geert, left for home he took us out for dinner.

It's a small world

 Just before we were ready to leave our anchorage this boat with a Dutch flag came in to moor  in the same place as us. I thought that the boat looked very familiar. Upon further investigation I found out that this was the same boat we were on when it was being build. The owner of this boat is a Dutch naval architect and we talked to him about boats




                                     

                                         It's a small world in the boating business is it not!!
It was in 2001 or 2002 that we were on this boat and I remember that he mentioned he intended to take her to Turkey. The boat was build to squeeze through the French canals and from there go through the med. to Turkey. And low and behold some 10 years later we meet him in Turkey!!!

Our next stop Kapi Creek.

                                  We thought our next stop would be an anchorage. It was very
                                secluded and protected. There was one restaurant and they had
                                put in a dock so we tied up to it.

The next morning we explored the area. the cook is just putting the bread in the wood fired stone oven.

You can tell we are moving further south as the plants become bigger and more tropical.