Turkey Alanya to Marmaris

Turkey

 Alanya to Marmaris

 Hello Again

 Well, eventually we were checked into Turkey after 48 hours sitting around the Alanya Marina waiting, and waiting and waiting!!!!  A long story, but it turns out there is a bit of a political battle going on between the new marina with the officials.  Something they really need to get sorted.  We did manage a couple of trips into town, one on the second day, before we were checked in as there was no one around.  Alanya is a modern tourist resort around a high peninsula which was known as Calonoros, and in the 2^nd century B.C. was a very big pirate stronghold. (Thought we were well clear or that area!!) The restored castle and walls were worth the visit, along with the stunning views up and down the Mediterranean coastline.

Cyprus And Lebanon

Hello Again

We left Ashkelon Israel on Tuesday 31^st May, and the run to Famagusta in Turkish Cyprus took us 32 hours covering 230mn.  We managed to sail most of the way which was great.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – the fact that the only country in the world that recognises this state is mainland Turkey does not faze the locals at all.  They still regard themselves as Cypriots, but realise that they can’t return to the old days when it was one country, as the Greeks want to run the whole show. Back in 1983 we visited the Greek side of the Island, so this time decided we would visit the Turkish side. 

Israel and Jordan

Hello to you all again

As we settled into the marina here in Ashkelon, we did all the usual jobs one does including giving the boat a good wash down, then, a couple of nights later we had the most wonderful downpour of rain.  It was amazing what Red Sea dust and sand we still must have had in the rigging as it was all over the decks again in the morning.  So we are very clean now having washed the boat down again.

As I said in our last note, Ashkelon is just north of the Gaza Strip – only 16ks.  The Gaza Strip is only 45ks long and 10ks wide.  The locals here have given it the nickname of ‘Hamastan’.   In March of this year the Palestinians sent rockets into Ashkelon, but no one was killed thank goodness.  In fact one of the American yachts that was here at the time told us they came out of their boat to watch to see where they were landing!!  Alec reckons the reason why this is the cheapest marina in the country is because of its location.