Category Archives: Marmaris

Collecting Stories

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Iyi Geҫler

     When we began planning what would have been our trip from Malaysia to India and then up the Red Sea, I started to read books that would help me fight my fear of that long ocean passage and cruise through some iffy parts of the world. None were sailing books or even country guides.  They were stories of people and their connection to places we would visit.   As you know, we never made that passage, but the books I read weren’t wasted.  One of my favorites was Sue Monk Kidd and  Ann Monk Kidd’s Traveling with Pomegranates.  Her stories referring to pomegranates hooked me right off and I’ve been connected with them ever since.  (Except to eat them which I’ve no patience for at all.) 

Ru

DoraMac

“’What’s the point of a bracelet if it doesn’t have a story.”    That’s what I told Bora AYYILDIZ , owner of Bazaar Ayyildiz  when I returned to buy the silver bracelet with the pomegranate story.

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Sterling silver bracelet with small garnets like pomegranate seeds.

Break open a pomegranate: see the tiny glossy red seeds? Now you can see why garnet comes from the Latin name of pomegranate, granatum . To the ancient world, garnet was a tiny glossy red gem, bursting with fire and brilliance.  http://www.addmorecolortoyourlife.com/gemstones/garnet.asp

      Why did I want any bracelet at all?  Along with her lovely clay pipe necklace and earrings, our friend Jane Parker had been wearing 3 lovely silver bracelets (at least one with a boot sale story) and I really liked them so had set off to find one for myself.  It would be my cruising memento/keepsake/souvenir*.   Well, as you can see, I didn’t get the plain silver bracelet I had gone seeking.  But this one came with a pomegranate story so how could I resist?  And to top it all off, when a link was removed  (now on my necklace)  to make the bracelet fit my stick wrist,  it left 6 garnets representing pomegranate seeds, which is the exact number of seeds Persephone ate in the Greek myth of her abduction by Hades.  Below is the link to our visit to Enna, Sicily where I went looking for the temple of Persephone’s mother Demeter. 

Visit to Enna Part 1 of several | MY Doramac  www.mydoramac.com/visit-to-enna-part-1-of-several/    Jun 21, 2013 – (While in Hades Persephone ate 6 pomegranate seeds so we have 6 months of winter.)      

Other countries we visited also had pomegranate stories.  North Cyprus, Israel and Tunisia. Links are below.

Bora Ayyildiz had other stories to share and traditions to explain. 

“If you have bought or received something new, when you first get home you must drink something in 3 quick sips for longevity.”   Longevity for the item or you or both;  I wasn’t so clear about it.  But I remembered to do it anyway.  Bora told me about the pomegranate’s use to foretell the number of children a couple will have.  And about sifta, the market tradition connected with the first sale of the day. 

“In Turkey, after the marriage ceremony, the bride throws a pomegranate on the ground. The number of arils that fall out are believed to indicate how many children she will have.  http://pomegranates.org/index.php?c=5     (In Bora’s version, the guests throw the pomegranate at the door of the new couple’s home.)

“The first sale of the day is called siftah and is considered lucky by traders. The customer should throw the money on the ground to show they are giving it freely and the trader should leave it there to show he isn’t greedy and grabbing. In practice it doesn’t stay there long but this is the tradition -as it was explained to me many years ago) http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293969-i367-k1172875-Throwing_money_on_the_ground-Turkey.html   (Bora demonstrated  after the fact as I’m sure I was his first customer that day as I had watched him open the shop.) 

(I remember the bracelet ladies on the beach at Subic Bay in the Philippines made a big deal of the first sale of the day too.  But it also meant they had no change so I had to take more bracelets instead.) 

And then there is the hair, chicken and headache superstition which I found while researching Turkish  traditions. 

•Hair in comb after combing is not thrown to street; if it is thrown, it may entangle in a leg of chicken, so you may have headache continuously.

http://www.turkishculture.org/lifestyles/turkish-culture-portal/superstitions-512.htm?type=1   So watch where you discard the hair in your comb! 

Bazaar Ayyildiz just near the old mosque at the end of Bar Street. 

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Bora Ayyildiz opening his shop for customers.  Bora = tempest or hurricane  Ayyildiz = ay (moon) + yildiz (star)    Bora was born in California where his parents were graduate students at UCal Davis.  Maybe that explains his name.  I’ll have to return to ask.  But what a cool name if I’ve translated it correctly.

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  Bora showed me this book his parents had made while at Davis.  They collected recipes from the other international graduate students.  Also in the book is a photo of Baby Bora!

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I liked the drawing of the bottles with the Japanese recipe but definitely had to photograph the pecan pie recipe for Randal.  Bora said his dad did most of the illustrations. 

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I bought this pomegranate to model for my painting attempts.  They came out no better than the ones I did in North Cyprus years ago.   I cut it open to see if that would help me began to see it better to paint it better.   I had thought about hanging it up to dry after seeing the ones in Bora’s shop and learning how to do it.  But this one had a ding on one side so wouldn’t have worked too well and it was really too big.  When they dry the seeds are loose so make a lovely sound when you move it.  This one also had a clipped off crown so not so good for drying.  I’m really too lazy to eat a pomegranate though Reverend Ken suggested that it be broken in a bowl of water and the seeds float to the top. 

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I squeezed it into juice which is quite good and needs no sugar.  Lovely color too! 

Memento/Souvenir  because souvenir just didn’t capture my feelings about the bracelet.

“A ‘memento’ is a keepsake of a person or event that has come and gone — for example, a locket once owned by a beloved aunt or the autograph of a celebrity you happened to meet.

A ‘souvenir’ is an item kept as a reminder of a place visited — a place that’s still there, even though you aren’t. Souvenirs are usually manufactured expressly for that purpose, such as that postcard you bought for yourself of Disneyland or a replica of the Statue of Liberty…”

       From “What’s the Difference: A Compendium of Commonly Confused and Misused Words” by Jeff Robin (Ballantine Books, New York, 1994, Page 119).  http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/29/messages/627.html

Pomegranate trivia

pomegranate (n.) Look up pomegranate at Dictionary.comc.1300, poumgarnet (a metathesized form), from Old French pome grenate (Modern French grenade) and directly from Medieval Latin pomum granatum, literally “apple with many seeds,” from pome “apple; fruit” (see Pomona) + grenate “having grains,” from Latin granata, fem. of granatus, from granum “grain” (see grain). The classical Latin name was malum granatum “seeded apple.” Italian form is granata, Spanish is granada. The -gra- spelling restored in English early 15c.  http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pomegranate

Pomegranate is a very pop­ular fruit all over the Middle East. Though it can’t be proven defi­nitely, the fruit of the “Tree of Knowl­edge” (ets ha-daat [עֵץ הַדַּעַת]) men­tioned in the biblical history of creation most probably was meant to be a pome­granate — though most West­erners would hardly believe it, it’s no­where said to be an apple! Rather, the Hebrew text uses pəri [פְּרִי], an un­specific term meaning just “fruit”. There is also a parallel in Greek mytho­logy, where the earth goddess Demeter [Δημήτηρ] lost her daughter Perse­phone [Περσεφόνη] to the underworld god Hades [ᾍδης] because of one single pomegranate grain the daughter had accepted. http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/Puni_gra.html

Pomegranate stories from the past…..

22 | April | 2011 | MY Doramac www.mydoramac.com/2011/04/22/   Apr 22, 2011 – Doramac will supposedly arrive April 28th rather than the first week in May so … Ann Monk Kidd’s Traveling with Pomegranates was the most …

Ay Trias Basiilica Flip Flop Mosaic and a Lost Puppy:..   www.mydoramac.com/ay-trias-basiilica-flip-flop-mosaic-and-a-lost-pup…   Aug 14, 2011 – Here are the sandals….and the pomegranate tree mosaic to the left of the lower pair of sandals. … Pomegranates were used by the early Christian as a symbol of resurrection and everlasting life.

May | 2012 | MY Doramac  www.mydoramac.com/2012/05/   Instantly DoraMac attracted attention and right after lunch I gave a boat tour ….. “Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe …

The lighter side of Jerusalem | MY Doramac  www.mydoramac.com/the-lighter-side-of-jerusalem/

May 26, 2012 – The hospital also has a sculpture garden and the pomegranate sculpture caught my eye. I seem to find them connected to every place I’ve …

Visit to Enna Part 1 of several | MY Doramac  www.mydoramac.com/visit-to-enna-part-1-of-several/

Jun 21, 2013 – (While in Hades Persephone ate 6 pomegranate seeds so we have 6 months of winter.) My reasons for wanting to visit Enna? In the Netsel …

Tunisia 3 Belgacem Abderrazak Mosaic artist of Eljem |  …  www.mydoramac.com/tunisia-3-belgacem-abderrazak-mosaic-artist-of-el…     Jul 18, 2013 – We spent a good deal of time looking at everything and finally settled on mosaic letters for DORAMAC and a small pomegranate mosaic for me.

Power outage in Turkey

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

   Iyi Geҫeler

Just a quick email to say that the power is off in most of Turkey. Thankfully, like most boats, DoraMac can generate her own power so we have lights and also heat from our diesel stove.  Oddly the wifi seems not disrupted.  Not sure what is causing the problem, but hopefully it will be resolved soon.

Other than that, all is well here.  Sun is finally expected for tomorrow.

Monday movie at Sailor’s Point was The Water Diviner which revolves around the battle at Gallipoli / Ҫanakkale and the early battles in the creation of modern Turkey.  Needless to say everyone watching related to the film in many ways and could really appreciate the story.  Much of it was filmed in Turkey with scenes of the Blue Mosque and Cisterns in Istanbul.  It was definitely a thumbs up.

Ru

DoraMac

Jane Parker comes to visit

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Merhaba,

   Randal has been really, REALLY busy working hard on perfecting DoraMac for her future owners.  Now my works starts cleaning the interior from top to bottom.  So it was a treat to have our London pal Jane Parker come to visit while she is here in Turkey and have some fun adventures these past few days.

Ru

DoraMac

From one of my London emails : “While researching mudlarking I’d found the website of Amelia Parker.  AKA Jane Amelia Parker.  So when we saw her “live and in person” at the Spitafileds Market we had to stop and chat.  Turns out Jane was about to fly off to Fethiye, Turkey  where she owns a home.  (Not so far from Marmaris.)  So we had to talk about our mutual Turkish experiences.” http://www.mydoramac.com/jane-and-jane-young-and-parker/

The rest, as they say, is history.  We’ve kept in contact with Jane since meeting in London.  This year we’re all in Turkey at the same time so were able to have a short visit. 

Jane arrived mid-afternoon Monday on a rather dizzily dreary day.  But no matter, after a bit of a rest, she and I went touring around the Marmaris waterfront and bazaar so she could stretch her legs after the 2 hour bus ride from Fethiye where she has a “vacation home.”  I have that in parentheses as vacation homes seem to require almost as much work and maintenance as boats.  In the evening she and I went off to Sailor’s Point for Monday Movie night.  The Two Faces of January was showing.  Thumbs down was the consensus from the 8 folks who were there.

Thankfully the weather cooperated for the rest of her visit which involved lots of walking both days. 

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Rest stop at Joya Delmar between Netsel Marina and Yacht Marina

Tuesday was a perfect day for the 6 mile walk along the coast and over the hills so Jane and I packed up some Netsel library books to swap at Yacht Marine’s library.  Joya Del Mar, the small resort/restaurant/marina mid-way on our hike,  was the perfect place to take a break.   Turkish coffee for Jane, cappuccino for me, and a shared plate of fresh fruit were just perfect.

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Wednesday we walked another 6 miles to Iҫmeler and half the way back and Jane still had the energy to jump up and down!

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Jane modeling the jewelry she crafts from clay pipe pieces she hunts along the Thames in London.  She selects them for their color and uniqueness as many are just plain tan.  http://www.mydoramac.com/mudlarking-at-new-crane-wharf-wapping/ tells lots about the historic clay pipes found in the Thames and my adventure with cruising pals to find them.  None were this lovely. 

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Coffee morning at Kahve Dünyası

Randal reading the paper, Scruff and his owner Georgina, Colin, Ken, Doug, Jane (red jacket) and Tony.  Between Monday movie night, Tuesday Happy Hour, and coffee mornings, Jane pretty much met the whole gang (minus those off in Cappadocia, Jane and Tom back in the UK, and Princess Connie diligently doing lots of boat work.)  Sean and Ron and Jack came after the photo ops.

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Jane takes a selfie with Mayor Colin                And, of course, Buttons!

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Back to Fethiye

The forecasted rain held off while Jane and I walked the 15 minutes to the small bus station. 

THANKS FOR COMING JANE!!   Next visit will be in London or Virginia.

http://www.janeslondon.com/ is Jane’s blog about life/art in London.

http://www.janedesignedthis.com/ is Jane’s graphics company

http://www.janemadethis.com/ is Jane’s site for her leather wallets and holders.

Old Datҫa

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Merhaba,

    Our London pal Jane Parker is here visiting for a few days.  She has a “vacation” house in Fethiye just down the road two hours by bus.    The weather will hopefully cooperate today as it didn’t yesterday and the forecast is iffy for tomorrow.

     This email tells of our visit to Old Datҫa during our two day hiking trek.   

Ru

DoraMac

AnadoluJet Magazine – July 2010

Write:Melih Uslu

A Break From The Mad Crowds: Datça    What a Wonderful Place This Is!

     The turnoff to the right about three kilometers before the town center leads to Old Datça. This fascinating Mediterranean village consists of a small square and its surrounding streets. All the houses in the village are made of amber colored masonry. White garden walls are crawling with vines, shrubs, almond, and olive trees. Kind-hearted people, who mostly moved here from larger cities, own the local art galleries and restaurants. Müberra Poyrazoğlu, for example, quit her job as a financial advisor in Istanbul and relocated here. She has turned a century year-old stone building into a studio for arts and crafts. Another Datça devotee, Yaşar Aydoğan, is determined to resurrect silk weaving, one of the oldest traditions of the region. Lessons of silkworm breeding have been given to twenty women from nearby villages at an isolated school building in Old Datça. This year there are seven weaving looms and, for the first time in Datça, 250 kilos of silk cocoons have been manufactured. The house of the famous poet, Can Dündar, is also here near pleasant boutique hotels. Can Dündar said of Datça, “What a wonderful place this is!” His personal library will be opened daily for visitors from August 12th. And if you take a break at a coffeehouse in the village of Old Datça, don’t be surprised if the owner asks you, “Would you like thyme, lavender flower, or watermelon tea?”

Honey, Fish, Almonds

The last surprise before reaching Old Datça is the historical windmill farm. It is really an extraordinary experience to enter one of the six windmills that have been waiting on Don Quixote for three hundred years at the entrance of Kızlan Village.

http://www.anadolujet.com/aj-en/anadolujet-magazine/2010/july/articles/a-break-from-the-mad-crowds-datca.aspx

      My three trips to Datҫa have never disappointed.  In 2011 Randal and I traveled there by motorbike and spent the night. http://www.mydoramac.com/datca-knidos-and-palmutbuku/   In 2013 while Randal was off in China, Rhino Randal and I joined a day trip organized by Gwen.  We visited the olive farm and the silk weaving center. http://www.mydoramac.com/data-and-more-part-1/  (part 2 seems to have vanished or was never written?)   

      Late afternoon after our first day of hiking John suggested we drive into Eski Datҫa (Old Datҫa.)  I’d been before and loved the stone houses, narrow streets, and painted doors.  On the way we stopped off to take photos of the old windmills which aren’t opened this time of year apparently as they weren’t opened last visit in 2013 either. 

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The old windmills; off in the distance you could see the new ones that look like airplane propellers.

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Stone houses, artists’ shops, restaurants!  Perfect place!  We were just too early in the season for most of them to be open late Wednesday afternoon.  Maybe it would be different on the weekends.

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Hürriyet Abla Marifetli Eller

Art Gallery and private home according to some internet info I could find in English. 

I knew the word Hürriyet meant freedom and Abla meant older sister and finally remembered that Eller meant hands.  I really like the name of this place!

Hürriyet Abla Marifetli Eller translated by Google =  Hürriyet sister deft hands   Hürriyet  means freedom or independent.  I love the stone and blue doors.

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Lots of cats in Datҫa too.

This might well be an almond tree just starting to bloom.  Datҫa is famous for its almond cookies.

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I love the ladder to the roof of the stone house.  Across the road was something better!

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A wise woman of Datҫa: 85 years young and loving her life

I saw this lovely lady in her yard and asked if I could take a photo.  Her English was excellent so we started to talk.  She has 2 daughters and one son who are all doing well. She moved to Datҫa in her retirement.  Her story includes studying Greek and Latin but when her husband died very young, she went to work as a secretary to support her children.  She has a beautiful stone house, a garden of flowers and orange trees and two cats for company.  She said her life is very happy because her children are well and she has all she needs.  The famous Turkish poet Can Yὕcel also studied Greek and Latin.  Maybe had things been different this woman would have been the famous poet of Datҫa.

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Same door and motorbike from 2013!

Michael’s photo

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Cat in the basket in the window

 

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A friendly restaurant just near the small bus stop.  We had coffee here in 2013!  Two women would have missed their bus if Debbie hadn’t called to them that their bus was about to leave.  They’d missed the previous one while drinking their coffee.

We drove back to the hotel and rested up for dinner.  Even after walking all those miles, I still couldn’t come close to finishing all of the food we were given.  First a huge plate of Turkish Meze.  Then a big salad.  Deb and I had the grilled chicken and the guys had meatballs.  I ate the chicken and some salad, but couldn’t make a dent on the rice or fries.  Last came a huge plate of fresh fruit.  No complaints from anyone about anything! 

Old Datҫa

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Merhaba,

    Our London pal Jane Parker is here visiting for a few days.  She has a “vacation” house in Fethiye just down the road two hours by bus.    The weather will hopefully cooperate today as it didn’t yesterday and the forecast is iffy for tomorrow.

     This email tells of our visit to Old Datҫa during our two day hiking trek.   

Ru

DoraMac

AnadoluJet Magazine – July 2010

Write:Melih Uslu

A Break From The Mad Crowds: Datça    What a Wonderful Place This Is!

     The turnoff to the right about three kilometers before the town center leads to Old Datça. This fascinating Mediterranean village consists of a small square and its surrounding streets. All the houses in the village are made of amber colored masonry. White garden walls are crawling with vines, shrubs, almond, and olive trees. Kind-hearted people, who mostly moved here from larger cities, own the local art galleries and restaurants. Müberra Poyrazoğlu, for example, quit her job as a financial advisor in Istanbul and relocated here. She has turned a century year-old stone building into a studio for arts and crafts. Another Datça devotee, Yaşar Aydoğan, is determined to resurrect silk weaving, one of the oldest traditions of the region. Lessons of silkworm breeding have been given to twenty women from nearby villages at an isolated school building in Old Datça. This year there are seven weaving looms and, for the first time in Datça, 250 kilos of silk cocoons have been manufactured. The house of the famous poet, Can Dündar, is also here near pleasant boutique hotels. Can Dündar said of Datça, “What a wonderful place this is!” His personal library will be opened daily for visitors from August 12th. And if you take a break at a coffeehouse in the village of Old Datça, don’t be surprised if the owner asks you, “Would you like thyme, lavender flower, or watermelon tea?”

Honey, Fish, Almonds

The last surprise before reaching Old Datça is the historical windmill farm. It is really an extraordinary experience to enter one of the six windmills that have been waiting on Don Quixote for three hundred years at the entrance of Kızlan Village.

http://www.anadolujet.com/aj-en/anadolujet-magazine/2010/july/articles/a-break-from-the-mad-crowds-datca.aspx

      My three trips to Datҫa have never disappointed.  In 2011 Randal and I traveled there by motorbike and spent the night. http://www.mydoramac.com/datca-knidos-and-palmutbuku/   In 2013 while Randal was off in China, Rhino Randal and I joined a day trip organized by Gwen.  We visited the olive farm and the silk weaving center. http://www.mydoramac.com/data-and-more-part-1/  (part 2 seems to have vanished or was never written?)   

      Late afternoon after our first day of hiking John suggested we drive into Eski Datҫa (Old Datҫa.)  I’d been before and loved the stone houses, narrow streets, and painted doors.  On the way we stopped off to take photos of the old windmills which aren’t opened this time of year apparently as they weren’t opened last visit in 2013 either. 

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The old windmills; off in the distance you could see the new ones that look like airplane propellers.

clip_image003 clip_image004

Stone houses, artists’ shops, restaurants!  Perfect place!  We were just too early in the season for most of them to be open late Wednesday afternoon.  Maybe it would be different on the weekends.

clip_image005

Hürriyet Abla Marifetli Eller

Art Gallery and private home according to some internet info I could find in English. 

I knew the word Hürriyet meant freedom and Abla meant older sister and finally remembered that Eller meant hands.  I really like the name of this place!

Hürriyet Abla Marifetli Eller translated by Google =  Hürriyet sister deft hands   Hürriyet  means freedom or independent.  I love the stone and blue doors.

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Lots of cats in Datҫa too.

This might well be an almond tree just starting to bloom.  Datҫa is famous for its almond cookies.

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I love the ladder to the roof of the stone house.  Across the road was something better!

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A wise woman of Datҫa: 85 years young and loving her life

I saw this lovely lady in her yard and asked if I could take a photo.  Her English was excellent so we started to talk.  She has 2 daughters and one son who are all doing well. She moved to Datҫa in her retirement.  Her story includes studying Greek and Latin but when her husband died very young, she went to work as a secretary to support her children.  She has a beautiful stone house, a garden of flowers and orange trees and two cats for company.  She said her life is very happy because her children are well and she has all she needs.  The famous Turkish poet Can Yὕcel also studied Greek and Latin.  Maybe had things been different this woman would have been the famous poet of Datҫa.

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Same door and motorbike from 2013!

Michael’s photo

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Cat in the basket in the window

 

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A friendly restaurant just near the small bus stop.  We had coffee here in 2013!  Two women would have missed their bus if Debbie hadn’t called to them that their bus was about to leave.  They’d missed the previous one while drinking their coffee.

We drove back to the hotel and rested up for dinner.  Even after walking all those miles, I still couldn’t come close to finishing all of the food we were given.  First a huge plate of Turkish Meze.  Then a big salad.  Deb and I had the grilled chicken and the guys had meatballs.  I ate the chicken and some salad, but couldn’t make a dent on the rice or fries.  Last came a huge plate of fresh fruit.  No complaints from anyone about anything! 

DATҪA HIKE DAY 2 PART 1

Our turn around point was this abandoned site. 

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John, Debbie and Michael climbed to the top of the fortress.  I stayed below (where the red line is)  where we ate lunch.  As of late, avoiding breaking my neck or any other limb has become uppermost when off on an adventure. 

“A point of note on the general settlement pattern of these villages is that the locations chosen were never in the immediate coastline, but always at a mile’s distance or more from the sea and at a relatively safe altitude on the slopes of a hill. The reason was from times immemorial was the fear of pirates, advantaged as they were by the intricate geology of shores of southwestern Turkey and of the many islands and islets that are its natural extensions, in an environment not unlike that of the Caribbean Sea. Piracy remained a serious security problem well until the beginning of the 20th century and especially during the weakening of the Ottoman Empire and the issue often necessitated foreign intervention.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dat%C3%A7a#Tourism

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Blooming time for poppies.

Poppies always make me think of the WW1 poem “In Flanders Fields” by Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.   We checked into Turkey in Ҫanakkale  which is the biggest town near to Gallipoli.  Before our cruising days I only knew of Gallipoli from the Mel Gibson movie.  Now I know Aussies and Kiwis and ANZAC Day. 

http://www.flandersfieldsmusic.com/thepoem.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHJeto0ObxI  is a 6 part series about Australian and New Zealand nurses who served in the Dardanelles and other  the battle sites.  Though fiction, it is based on real nurses who took part and made a real difference in the survival rate of the soldiers and in the advances in the care of soldiers.

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Debbie and John who always had a flask and his tea!

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Michael holding a poppy.  We really are “miles from nowhere.”

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Sparkling wine to go with our bread, cheese and tomato sandwiches. 

I thought my pack was heavy, but John had lugged up a full glass bottle of very cold wine.  I shared mine with Rhino Randal who then needed a snooze.  

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It was lovely sitting and relaxing over some sparkling wine until it was time to get going and my legs felt like lead!  I always walk several miles each day, but Marmaris miles aren’t mountainous miles and I can certainly tell the difference.  I think we averaged 2.something miles per hour the second day.  John’s phone had an app that calculated his mileage and calories burned.  Maybe we broke even considering the breakfast the hotel provided and the snacks along the way.  They also provided a half loaf of crusty bread as a sandwich for lunch which I managed to eat every bit of.

Yea!  Goats!!

Just at the end we finally saw some goats.  We’d seen goat poop and donkey poop and cow poop but no animals except for a couple of turtles/tortoises 

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Michael’s photo 

Datҫa hike day 2 Part 1

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Merhaba,

   Sending photos has been an issue lately.  Very frustrating.  I’ve divided up Day 2 of our hike into 2 parts.  And I’ve saved our visit to Old Datҫa for the final email of this story.  We met for our huge hotel breakfast at 9 am.  Eggs, cheese, bread, börek, and more.  Should have been able to walk back to Marmaris on that food.  The hotel packed us a lunch to go.  We checked out from the hotel, loaded the car and went off to hike the other side of the peninsula which overlooks the Aegean.

Ru

DoraMac

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This hike was an out and back.  It was shorter but perhaps steeper.  Or maybe my legs were just tired from the 8 miles the day before.  Legs, lungs, everything!

The peninsula – between 15 kilometers and 500 meters wide and with the highest point, being the 1.162 meter high Kocabağ mountain, which at times rises steeply up from both the Agean and Mediterranean sea – extends approximately a hundred kilometers from Marmaris in a westerly direction until Knidos. Besides this important excavation site there are further such sites on the eastern side of Datça itself and below the village of Emecik. Those who go hiking and look closely, can discover little known historic settlements and cultural sites from the Carian and Mycenian cultures through to the Knidian and Roman and up until the Byzantine times. “The Turkish settlement of the peninsula probably began from the sea during the time of the Seljuks”, wrote the specialist in Middle Eastern and oriental studies Horst Unbehaun. According to his analysis the Roman name Stadia for the Dorian city of Knidos changed to Dadya in Ottoman times, out of which emerged the name Datça in the 1930’s.

http://www.gebekum.de/e/gd_e_010.htm

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Michael’s photo

Here we are pointing the way.   And very color coordinated I must say.

I can’t really balance my way across the rocky streambeds so had picked up a light stick the first day.  There was a brisk chilly breeze, but it definitely warmed up as we walked up.

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John has explored many of the hiking trails in the area and had chosen the routes.

A few days prior to the hikes, he had driven to Datҫa to check the routes for bees and rushing streams which can be a problem this time of year.

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An abandoned stone house in a lovely setting.  Very reminiscent of the area around Karpaz on North Cyprus.

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A sign post indicating the route was part of the Karia Yolu or Carian Trail.

http://www.cariantrail.com/

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My camera, John the photographer.

Abandoned stone fountains and plantersin what looked like a planned garden area made a great resting place.  We all managed to have some snack too though it was less than two hours since breakfast. 

Hiking the Datca Peninsula, Day 1

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Merhaba,

Gwen tries to organize trips to meet a variety of interests. Some of us wanted a “trek” so that’s what we got. We were a small, but very companionable group. The weather cooperated; the hotel was comfortable; and the food really good.

The trek was led by John who has been the leader of several local hikes and who is very familiar with many of the forest trails in the area. We met Wednesday morning at 9 am and were at the start of our hike before mid-morning. Randal continued his work on DoraMac so Rhino Randal came along.

Ru

DoraMac

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In 2013 Rhino Randal came on a day trip to Datҫa, but this was his first hiking adventure.

Turkey’s nine environmental ‘hotspots’ (Datҫa was on the list)

Datҫa and Bozburun Peninsula

Located In the southwestern Muğla Province, this 80-kilometer-long peninsula separates the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. A tourist spot in the summer, it features sandy beaches, many natural beauties, and ancient cities, such as Knidos and Amos. The peninsula is also known from Can Yücel, one of Turkey’s most acclaimed “bad boy” poets, who famously declared in his poem “Testament,” “Bury me, my dear, in Datça, near that view by the sea.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-nine-environmental-hotspots.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69042&NewsCatID=340

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Michael, John and Debbie taking the photo of the trail map

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I also took a photo showing the loop trail.

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Views from our lunch spot overlooking the Mediterranean.

Back in Marmaris is was raining, but 40 minutes further along the peninsula towards Datҫa we had a mix of clouds and sun and cool breezes and t-shirt weather.

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Most of the trail was packed dirt road.

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Rhino Randal, me, John and Debbie

Michael used my camera to take the photo. Hard to know how to credit photos when they are taken by someone else with my camera.

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Debbie had requested we see some turtles/tortoises and one showed up each day.

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I think they must have opened the hotel just for us; we seemed to be the only guests this time of the year.

http://www.adaburnu.com/default-eng.htm hotel website

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View from my balcony

We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 and after checking in met up at the restaurant for something to drink. While we were there, a man joined us who claimed to be the hotel manager. He also had a farm nearby with goats and he demonstrated that they were goats by making ‘milking motions.’ Though his English was somewhat limited, Debbie understood him to say the hotel provided a beach area for nudists. After a bit, the restaurant manager brought him a glass of cherry juice mixed with vodka and we began to think it wasn’t his first of the day. John, refreshed from a short nap, came along and suggested a drive to Old Datҫa and off we went leaving our pal to his Vodka and cherry juice. But he wasn’t kidding about the nudist beach.

Turkey’s first hotel for nudists welcomes foreign guests to bare all

By Travelmail Reporter

Updated: 12:32 GMT, 29 April 2010

Nude sunbathers will, however, have to share their beach with the goats and chickens that belong to the hotel owners

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1268851/Turkeys-nudist-hotel-Adaburnu-Golmar-opens-May.html#ixzz3UwZJUTST

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1268851/Turkeys-nudist-hotel-Adaburnu-Golmar-opens-May.html#ixzz3UwYyHjvB

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1268851/Turkeys-nudist-hotel-Adaburnu-Golmar-opens-May.html

Websites about the Carian Trail which included our second hike.

http://www.cariantrail.com/index.php/sections/datca-peninsula http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-carian-trail-turkey-on-two-feet-9698085.html

Art

Dock B Netsel Marina

Marmaris Turkey

Merhaba,

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone.  We’re having a pot luck to celebrate.  Randal had intended to make some type of beef stew but as three other folks had announced that intention first, he reverted to the recipe he really wanted to try.  Much more Italian than Irish with its sundried tomatoes, garlic, mozzarella cheese, chicken, basil, half and half all served over pasta. 

   Tomorrow I’m off with a small group of folks for two days of trekking on the Datҫa Peninsular.  Randal isn’t going so Rhino Randal is getting to go on this outing.  Weather for Wednesday is iffy, though improving, but Thursday should be beautiful.  Hope to get lots of photos.  Randal and I were there in 2011 on our motorbike and it looked a lovely area for walking.

  I visited the small art center and found this charming exhibit.  I’m not one for embroidery really, but I liked this work with the treads creating images of porches and doors and sailing boats.  The “scrap bits of paper” and repurposed pantyhose were all quite clever too.  There are some links below with more images, but the text is Turkish. 

Ru

DoraMac

Ps  I had a new hard drive installed as mine was about to crash.  I’m still working out lots of kinks with the email and photo program.  Hope this works

Art and Culture House Exhibit March 2015

http://hkb-hkb.blogspot.com.tr/2013/12/dugumlere-ruh-katan-kadn-canan-goren.html

Exhibited works were carried out from household waste

was opened to visit the exhibition consisting of works from his so-called artist Canan Quoted recycling of waste material.   http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=tr&u=http://www.haberler.com/canan-goren/&prev=search

Each one of the characters below is about as big as my hand..

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These are about the size of large and medium embroidery hoops abut are made from baskets with the image on the lid.

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Friends from North Cyprus

International Women’s Day

B Dock Netsel Marina

Marmaris, Turkey

Merhaba,

    It feels almost like summer here in Marmaris.  Maybe Colin is right and March 15th is the day the weather changes from winter to summer, or at least spring.  Not that we have any right to complain about weather here where snow is something that doesn’t happen.  AT 3pm today Pineapple Restaurant is hosting a “strawberry, crème, and cake” event for International Women’s Day.  It is strawberry time here and you now see them in the Thursday market.  Men are invited and I’m sure they are all coming for the “speeches” rather than the strawberries and crème. 

   To celebrate Women’s Day, here’s an email that talks about two of my favorite ladies and the new addition to the family. 

Ru

DoraMac

Our DEKS Pals come to visit

I hesitate to use the term “old friends” because none of the folks in these photos are near the same age as Randal and I and we’re not old.  But we have known them since our time in North Cyprus back in 2011 so they are “old friends.”  Denise and her husband Erin own DEKS, the lovely restaurant down the road from Karpaz Gate Marina.  Going there was like going to Cheers; everyone knew your name and you quickly became part of the DEKS family.  Denise taught Turkish on Tuesday mornings and led hikes Thursday mornings.  Friday evening was real fish and chips night and Sunday was a big British style lunch.  If you couldn’t get yourself there, DEKS arranged transport.  I will always remember the folks who made me cry when saying good-bye and Denise was one of them. 

     Denise’s daughter, son-in-law, and brand new granddaughter live in Marmaris.  They were all in the UK for the birth of Deelara, and then Denise and Erin came along to Marmaris for a few weeks before returning to North Cyprus.  We all had a lovely visit one afternoon on DoraMac. 

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Denise, Deena, and brand new Deelara

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Denise’s husband Erin and proud papa T K

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She’ll be a singer like her mom!  Now it was just some lung strengthening exercises.

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Erin, Denise, Deelara, Deena and TK

To remind everyone just how important Denise was to us in North Cyprus here are a few of the stories from that time.   Erin was the “behind the scenes” guy but he made the best fried calamari and knew the best hiking trails.    And it was Deena and TK who came with us on our Turkish carpet adventure back in 2013.

North Cyprus Deks memories

http://www.mydoramac.com/deks-walk-1/

http://www.mydoramac.com/deks-walk-10/

http://www.mydoramac.com/deks-walks-and-charmaine-and-linda-arrive/   which tells about DEKS walks # 11 and 12

Our visit to the carpet village with Deena and TK

http://www.mydoramac.com/revisiting-the-carpet-village-of-karacahisar/  with Deena and TK