Touring the Lycian Coast Fethiye, Turkey 36 37.46N, 029 05.66E April 25, 2002 We are in a tranquil anchorage in a small bay in the northwest corner of Fethiye Limani, across from the town of Fethiye in 3 to 4 metres of water, 100 metres from a pleasant park inhabited by a family of ducks, a couple of donkeys and a small herd of goats. We had a pleasant exchange with a local fisherman who has a set of his nets 100 metres astern of us. A lovely evening panorama of the waterfront of town presents itself to us with the mountains in the background and an illuminated columned tomb of Amintas etched into the rock face adjacent to a crusader castle. We hope to be here for a few days doing some touring, as the anchorage is secure enough for us to leave Veleda for a day unattended. Fethiye is on the Lycian coast in the south west corner of Turkey facing the Mediterranean, about 40 miles north east of the Greek island of Rhodes. A few miles westward the coast angles up into the Aegean Sea. The cruising we have been doing since leaving Kemer on April 17 has been fantastic, not so much the actual sailing, as we have sailed only for about 4 hours in the past week, the rest being motoring into dead calms or heavy Meltemi winds. The scenery, the mountains, the ancient ruins everywhere, the friendly people, the many anchorages; all make for spectacular experiences, making Turkey one of our top three areas since leaving Canada almost four years ago. The other two are Scotland and Croatia. As you may surmise from my descriptions, Turkey abounds with archeological ruins dating from the dawn of civilization, inhabited by various Anatolian tribes, conquered, and occupied by Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and finally establishing independence in the 1920's under Ataturk. The highest points of its remnants are the Greek and Roman eras. Many of the ruins are just part of the landscape, not fenced off or part of any park or archeological development. A few days ago in Kekova Bay, when we were exploring on the outskirts of the hamlet of Ocagiz, there were so many ruins that, as the town had expanded into the necropolis area, we saw one ancient sarcophagus (Lycian, dating back to about the 4th century BC) being used as a storage shed in a local inhabitant's backyard. I have a picture showing the sarcophagi in the foreground with Veleda at anchor just offshore in the background. These are of a distinct high rectangular shape, and most still have their tops intact, but holed in the sides by grave robbers centuries ago. A few of them still have their Greek inscriptions visible, but little other ornamentation. Bozuk Buku, Carian Coast of Turkey 36 34.1N, 028 00.8E April 30, 2002 We had an early start today to minimize the effects of the Meltemi, leaving our previous anchorage at 0545 and arriving here at 1400, and after wandering the extensive ruins of the citadel, I have the rest of this lovely afternoon to continue this log. As mentioned in my last log, prior to leaving Kemer, we did some sightseeing. I have described Termessus, and Aspendos outside of Antalya in an area of a great plain called the Pamphylia. Kemer itself was a small fishing village until the tourist boom of the last 25 years turned it into a pleasant well-equipped vacation site. Kemer is at the eastern end of a historic region known as Lycia, an independent Greek confederation of cities originating in the 8th century BC, reaching its high point in the 4th century BC and then becoming a Roman province in the 1st century BC. The Lycians were an ancient tribe of fierce warriors possibly originating from Minoan Crete in 1400 BC, and also known as "sea wolves". There are records dating back to ancient Hittite documents referring to them as the "Sea People" who gave more importance to the afterlife than the terrestrial life. This explains the extensive necropolis remains, the sarcophagi, and other monumental rock tombs and facades sculpted in cliff walls. The Lycians were mentioned in Homer's Iliad when they fought as allies of the Trojans. Subsequently they were under Lydian rule until King Croesus fell to the Persians in 546 BC. The inhabitants of the Lycian city of Xanthos, realizing they could not win, burnt their city with their women and children inside, then marched out to fight to the last man. This happened again in 44 BC. Marc Antony had the Roman eastern provinces, and during the Roman civil war after the assassination of Caesar, Brutus was conquering the area when the Xanthians rather than give in, again slaughtered their women and children and burnt themselves alive. It is reported that Brutus wept at the spectacle. (This preceded the Jewish zealots' mass suicide at Masada in 70 AD by over 100 years.) Prior to leaving Kemer, we did an overnight anchorage at Phaeselis, only 8 miles down the coast. It was a prosperous trading city in the ancient world, but rather than fight against conquerors as the Xanthians did, Phaeselis co-operated, and submitted to the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Seljuk Turks until abandoned in the 11th century AD in favour of Antalya as a trading centre. We had a pleasant wander through the ruins of the town, appreciating its port, wide main marble paved avenue, theatre, acropolis and necropolis. Back in Kemer we went by car with Jill and Jonathan from Supertramp to Olympos, one of the major Lycian cities founded in the 3rd century BC. (It is not the Olympos of Olympic games fame. That one is on the Greek Peloponnesus. The Greek word "olympos" simply means "mountain", and there are more than 20 sites around the Mediterranean with that name.) It is located in a vale surrounded by tall hills and leading to a magnificent stretch of beach that extends northward to the next vale leading up to the Chimaera. The ruins of Olympos have never been excavated but are well preserved in the wooded overgrowth. One might expect Indiana Jones to come out of the ancient tree covered ruins that abound in the area. The remains of a Roman bridge across the river, Byzantine arches, domes and mosaics, tombs of a necropolis, an aqueduct winding through the ancient foundations and a Roman theatre all make for an intriguing sense of exploration through the haunting rocks and stones of this ancient settlement. It alternated between respectable city and pirates' lair until the last occupants, the Venetians and Genoese, were chased out by the Ottomans in the 15th century AD who simply abandoned it. In driving off the main highway we had to actually cross two rock strewn fords through the stream still flowing past ancient Olympus. Another interesting stop we made for lunch was at the Tree House Inn, a rustic set of tree houses that people could rent for overnight or longer during their sojourn in the area. It was an unusual combination of the Flintstones and Ozark hillbilly décor, one such tree house given the name of Fawlty Towers. However, we had an enjoyable economical meal of calamari and fish. The fish had just been brought in by a local fisherman, and Judy selected the one she wanted. We then went to the ancient shrine of the Chimaera, the legend of antiquity in which the hero of the Iliad, Bellorophon, was sent on the quest to kill the Chimaera. It was a fire-breathing monster whose fierce breath ravaged the harvests and forests. Bellorophon rode on his famous winged horse Pegasus, and from above the clouds threw his lance into the creature's mouth, plunging it into the entrails of the earth where its fiery breath has never ceased. Now, over 2500 years later, the flames still emanate from this rocky plateau 350 metres up a steep ascent. There were at least 12 spontaneous fires emanating through cracks and holes in the soft rock, some only small flickers trying to stay aflame, while others were larger bonfire conflagrations on which people could cook food. We noted a few puddles with gases oozing through the water, and when a lighted stick was placed over the bubbles, it flared up. We are not sure of the chemistry, but it appears a methane type gas spontaneously ignites when it reaches the open atmosphere in sufficient quantity. These fires have been going on for over two millennia, and have spawned the legend of the Chimaera. The ancients also associated it with the cult of Hephaestus, the blacksmith-god of the forge (the Roman god Vulcan) and debris of a grand temple with Greek dedications were found near the site. Also the remains of a Byzantine church confirm that the site was still sacred in the Middle Ages. We could see the flames over two miles away, from Veleda, a couple of weeks later when we sailed past the area near sunset. It is an impressive site to think of the legends and beliefs generated from this phenomenon and that the flames are still active two or three millennia later. I was getting anxious to leave Kemer and to start cruising again. We were paid up until the 19th of April, but I was wanting to get away two weeks before. However, one thing and another kept postponing our departure. I had been helping write up descriptions of places to be visited on the East Mediterranean Yacht Rally (EMYR) for its manual, and had to make several revisions. In addition, I was proposing a flare demonstration for the start activities of the EMYR in which boaters could learn how to handle flares properly, to practice by igniting their old flares (under Turkish Coast Guard supervision), and encourage them to buy new flares with a special deal I worked out with the local chandlery. Just after I had all this material ready, the main committee members representing the boaters had to fly back to the States due to a medical emergency, and I was asked to complete the entire manual. They left me their computer disc with most of the material on it, but of course it had to be revised and re-revised before being ready for printing. After several meetings with Hasan, the main organizer of the EMYR, the final draft was completed at 1500 on the 17th. We left at 1600 to anchor in Cineviz Limani 16 miles down the coast by 1930. Back cruising at last! More about the actual cruising in my next log.
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