The Odyssey - A Whistle Stop to History

 

Question:  What do I have in common with Odysseus and FDR?

(This is not a question anyone is likely to find on Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit!)

Answer:  We all undertook long, epic, historic journeys, with many stops along the way.

My recent journey will never reach the history books in such a fashion, and "epic" is far too hyperbolic.  Nevertheless, mine was exhilarating, educational, and the subject of this installment of "Past Forward".  

My Odyssey was a week at sea on board "The Whistle" (aha! "Whistle Stop!), a 49 foot sailboat co-owned by two of my friends, Huseyin and Mustafa, both retired officers from the Turkish Navy.  We sailed up and down the west coast of Turkey on the Aegean sea in the vicinity of Fetihye and Göçek, stopping whenever we encountered an ancient site to explore - which was quite often.  

As I am not exactly Homer, I will tell this saga with photos and videos - and a few witty, yet informative, captions.

"The Whistle", anchored off St. Nicholas Island

(yes, that St. Nicholas.  More about that later)

Day 1

"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor" - FDR

Day 1 of our journey was cold and blustery.  Requiring many layers of clothing, hats and gloves, thermal underwear, and a strong stomach.  

After loading up the boat with provisions, we set out from Göçek bay under engine power until we reached the open sea.  

Where the wind blew twice as hard.  

At which point my naval officer friends decided it was time to kill the engine and hoist sails.  

Stoically, I faked being being calm and offered a hearty "All right, let's go!" as we got the boat underway under sail.

My friends, let me tell you.  I've sailed quite a bit, but never under winds quite like this.  My crewmates were completely calm as the boat heeled over at ridiculous angles and we hit 9 knots (very fast for a sailboat of this type).  

At this point I knew enough to stay the hell out of the way and find the right spot on the correct side of the boat to hang on for dear life as we plowed through whitecaps and ocean spray.  

Later, as we recounted the day's events over dinner, both veteran officers said that you won't find many sailboats out in such weather, and that any observers probably labeled us "crazy".  I would probably agree with such observers, although I was never for a second in doubt that the boat was under full and efficient control and command.

Still.   A bit of a wild and crazy ride to start the journey.  Now I know a little of how Odysseus must have felt when Poseidon tried to drown him by throwing a storm at him.  A little.

After the wild ride we skirted the coast for a bit and found a quiet cove at a small island called Göbün and anchored for the night.

Just a hole in the rocks.

Huseyin and I went ashore and explored the island, as we had heard there was an ancient amphitheater and other ruins somewhere inland to be found.  We never found those, but we encountered some folks living happily and completely off the grid, one of whom offered to sell us some locally raised honey which we bought. We did eventually find evidence of very old dwellings, but nothing I would classify as ancient.

The bay at Gobun as seen from above.

A very old hand-powered grain mill.  The milling stone appeared to be marble and was carved with grooves for grinding the grain.  I think it was probably pushed by hand, we didn't think anything like cows or horses or donkeys could live there.

Just a very old dwelling.

Yours truly earned his passage on this voyage primarily as head chef and bottle washer, so I whipped us up a dinner in the galley of pasta with homemade marinara sauce and homemade artisan bread.   After some coffee and cards, we hit the sack and fell asleep to the gentle rocking of the waves.

Day 2

“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.” – Alaine Gerbault

The sunrise promised a quiter, warmer day, and it kept it's promise. 

 A warm, sunny, gentle day for exploring.

That weather turned sunny and calm as we sailed along the coast.  I was in a constant state of awe - of the surrounding beauty, the crystal clear blue water, the snow-capped mountains and rolling hills, the gentle bays, and that feeling of freedom and peace you can only get from being out on the sea with not much more than the wind and the sun and the water around you.

We slowly made our way back to Göçek marina to grab a shower after three days without.  I love that kind of shower, after being out and away from civilization for a few days.

Snow-capped mountains overlooking the bay

Ruins of a Roman bath house.  Legend has it that Cleopatra visited at least once.  

Sites like this just pop up all over the place.

Dinner found us back at port for the night, where we enjoyed a luxurious hot shower and a draft beer in the Marina.  Dinner on board of lamb chops, rice pilaf and shepard's salad (arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil and parsley).  Coffee, cards, and crashing.

Day 3

"You wouldn't abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn't control the winds".

 - Thomas More

On this day we drove inland and explored Kayaköy and Tlos.  

Kayaköy is famous today for being a ghost town.  

It was a city inhabited primarily by people of Greek origin from the 1400's through the early 1900's.  After the Turks defeated the Greeks in the Greco-Turkish war, all of the citizens of Kayaköy, then known as Levissi, were deported to Greece in exchange for Muslims living there.   However, the arriving Muslims from Greece chose not to inhabit the abandoned Greek city, possibly due to it's hilly location? Or maybe they didn't want to live where their enemies had lived?  Anyway, earthquakes later made many of the buildings unsafe.  It now stands as a haunting, eerie museum site.  The houses, churches, and schools all remain... windowless, empty... except for the ghosts of the Greeks.

The abandoned city of Kayaköy 

Onward to the ancient city of Tlos, located in a stunningly beautiful valley.  Tlos is the epitome of ancient sites in Turkey - originally settled by Hittites, followed by Carians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans.

 

Day 4

"It is every Christian's duty to take care of the poor and those who suffer".

 - St. Nicholas

Today was all about Santa Claus.

St. Nicholas, as you know, was originally from this part of Türkiye - before he moved to the North Pole, that is.  It is believed that he was originally entombed here on the tiny island of Gemiler, known to most people now as St. Nicholas island.

There is no port or pier of any kind on the island, so we anchored off-shore and I rowed over on the dingy to explore on my own.  

Being off-season has it's advantages.  I was, truly, alone on this island, with only the ghost of St. Nicholas, and one bird.  On a beautiful, sunny, warm day, I strolled through the Byzantine ruins of churches, tombs and other ancient structures, and communed with the spirits.

Remains of a Byzantine Chapel, circa 500 AD.

My companion for the day

View of the surrounding bay

Ruins of another Byzantine-era basilica

Aqueduct? Roadway? Just not sure.

Kind of a cool shot

More ruins of Byzantine-era structures, other side of the island

Just a nice shot I think

My ride.

Day 5

If we are strong, and have faith in life and it's richness of surprises, and hold the rudder steadily in our hands, I am sure we will sail into quiet and pleasant waters for our old age."

-Freya Stark

Today was what the Cyrkle called in the 1960's "A Turn-Down Day."  Nothing on my mind.  Just a casual sail along the coast.  Let the pictures take us back to port.

We ran across Bill Gates.  Or at least his yacht, anyway.

Day 7

The drive home.

To my everlasting joy, there are ancient ruins virtually every mile of every road in this part of the world.  Along the road home we stopped at Caunos, Lagina, and Stratonikeia.  Caunos is famous for it's rock tombs, Roman baths and amphitheater.  At Lagina we found a pagan altar, and Stratonikeia dazzled us with still-intact mosaic floors.

The famous rock tombs of Caunos.  How they carved those tombs is beyond me.

The Amphitheater at Caunos, with it's Acropolis atop the mountain overhead.

The Roman bath at Caunos.  You could still bathe there.  

To the sound of the Imam calling the faithful to prayer.

The entrance to the temple of Hecate, in the ancient city of Lagina. Near Milas, Turkey. Total coincidence that I caught the sun at just the right time of day and year.

Hecate was a Greek goddess often associated with witchcraft. In fact we found what appears to be a makeshift pagan altar on the site.

The ancient streets and mosaics of Stratonikeia

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails."

-Mark Twain