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Blog updated: 12th May 2013
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Our latest 5 Diary Entries
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27th Apr 2011 - 19th May 2011
The EMYR Part 1 - Turkey
What is the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally? Interesting question. Known as the EMYR, this rally of primarily sailing boats has been touring the Eastern Mediterranean each spring for 22 years. Depending on the political climate, it now visits Turkey, Turkish Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt. Many of these countries require special entry visas and have potential security issues. As a result, a rally was the only way we would consider visiting them as all of these cumbersome issues were sorted out by the very knowledgeable EMYR committee. And this part of the world has a rich and complex history, dating back 5000 years. If you want a brief glimpse of this history, check out this fascinating 90-second moving map: http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/imperial-history.html
We learned of the EMYR from various cruisers in the Caribbean, and it was their enthusiastic recommendations that caused us to cross the Atlantic to Europe in 2009 and to cruise on Bright Ayes in Europe until now. The rally consisted of an intensive two month program of sailing, tours, cocktail parties, and welcome dinners at each of the 18 ports we visited. This year, as time for the rally approached, more and more boats that had registered to participate backed out due to the unrest in the Middle East. Of 111 boats that pre-registered, only 51 joined the rally. Of eight American boats that registered, only two actually participated. And when the conflict in Syria continued to make headline news, Syria was dropped from the program. Luckily, we found 51 to be plenty of boats sailing the 1500 miles course, entering and departing each port at much the same time. Attempting to meet and enjoy all 175 sailors from 16 different countries who crewed on these boats was overwhelming. The idea of doubling the number of boats and people involved was not a welcome thought for our limited energy and aging memory for absorbing names.
Ten of the 18 ports we visited were in Turkey. We had chartered a sailboat for a week in Turkey in 2000 and again in 2004, and we loved it both times. Turkey is a beautiful country, home of many historical treasures and natural wonders. It has hosted some pretty famous figures, including Julius Caesar and St. Paul. Since our last visit in 2004, the Turkish economy has burgeoned. The country, at least its western half, is obviously doing something right. It is, without a doubt, currently the star performer in the Middle East. As we moved from one beautiful new marina to another, its current world status and bright future were evident. Most Turks give the credit for their country’s success to the father of modern Turkey, Atatűrk, who died more than seventy years ago. Statues and monuments to him can be seen throughout the country and his name is affixed to numerous bridges, airports and highways. It was his vision to see Turkey take its place among the modern developed countries of Europe that paved the way for the Turkey we see today.
As we left Alanya, our last port in Turkey, and headed toward North Cyprus, we marveled that, unlike our other two visits to this amazing country, we had escaped its charms without purchasing a Turkish rug! We found the line, “We live on a boat and have no room” worked pretty well to repel Turkey’s ever-present rug merchants.
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Diary Photos
| 27th Apr 2011 The EMYR’s map logo |
| Each stop along the route is marked by a sailboat. For more information, see www.emyr.org |
| 28th Apr 2011 Morning has broken after an overnight “sail” |
| Dave, one of the EMYR committee, stated often that this rally is one long party interrupted by sailing. Unfortunately, the sailing wasn’t good. Murphy’s Law generally ruled, and the wind was too frequently either on our nose or non-existent, making actual sailing a rare and cherished event. We generally motored between ports, hoping for a chance occasionally to raise our sails and get a free ride on the wind. We had been told often that there is either too much wind or too little wind in the Med. During the rally, we never saw too much, and we frequently had very little wind at all. |
| 29th Apr 2011 Group leaders' meeting |
| The EMYR fleet of boats was divided into five groups, based on boat size. Wayne was selected as the leader of Group 5. This involved some extra work and responsibility to keep the group’s ten skippers informed of and compliant with exit and entry procedures, as well as the schedule of events at each port. Wayne enjoyed the responsibility, but occasionally became frustrated and referred to the job as “herding cats.” |
| 30th Apr 2011 A potluck dinner aboard Bright Ayes |
| We were one of the first five boats to join the rally in Ayvalik on Turkey’s northwest coast at the end of April. This allowed us to meet a few people at a time as we traveled along the Turkish coast, adding boats at each port. This impromptu pot luck involved three of the “early-joiner” boats (Austrian, Norwegian, and us) and the friendships we made early were among the strongest. |
| 1st May 2011 The Çesme extravaganza |
| At every port the rally sailors were welcomed at a cocktail party provided by the host marina. Sometimes these gatherings were simple and sometimes they were crazy. In one port, Çesme, we were treated like rock stars. The camera flashbulbs were everywhere and we found ourselves on the front pages of local newspapers. There were a couple of hundred Turkish people in attendance, and the governor presented each boat with a large bouquet of fresh flowers and a basket of local goodies. As we moved south and east, and as more and more boats joined the rally, the parties grew in size and the gifts diminished – too many sailors to treat so royally! Still, at every port where was a celebration. |
| 2nd May 2011 The Temple of Athena in the Pergamum Acropolis |
| From our first port of Ayvalik we took a tour to Pergamum, the site of ancient Rome’s famous medical center. Before that Pergamum was the stomping grounds for Alexander the Great. The Athena temple ruins here overlook the Turkish countryside. Parchment made from sheep hide was invented here. Pergamum boasted the second largest library in the Roman world. Our guide, attempting to be humorous, told us that unfortunately Marc Anthony gave all of its 200, 000 parchment scrolls to the library in Alexandria, Egypt, the location of the largest Roman library, as a wedding gift to Jennifer Lopez. Or was it Cleopatra? This wasn’t the only thing given away by the ancient residents of Pergamum. Its last king before it became a Roman territory actually handed over his while empire to the Romans. Either he had no heirs or was a bit nuts, no one knows. But this region of Turkey is one of the few that the Romans didn’t have to fight to win. |
| 3rd May 2011 The square base of the Temple of Zeus in Pergamum |
| Centuries later, an important part of Pergamum’s history was also taken from it. The exquisite Altar of Zeus, with its marble friezes of an epic battle between the gods and the giants, is nowhere to be found in Turkey. Where it used to be, there is the temple’s square foundation with a tree in its center. You have to travel to Berlin, Germany, to see the ancient Altar of Zeus and many other treasures from Pergamum in the Pergamum Museum. There is, of course, much controversy over this, and it is unlikely it will be returned to the Turkish, as the Germans would have to change the name of an entire museum to do so. As our guide explained, at least it has been preserved, which the Turkish people were obviously not doing. After all, during World War II, the temple’s stones were disassembled and put in lakes in Germany to protect them from bombing raids. |
| 4th May 2011 The remains of the Roman Theater in Pergamum |
| We saw the ruins of many Roman Theaters during our tours throughout the Eastern Med. This 10, 000 seat theater deserves a spot in the blog because it is the origin of our custom of clapping after a performance. The story goes that the Emperor of the time liked to attend this theater every night, but he always fell asleep during the performance. At the end of the performance, no one dared to move until the Emperor awoke, since according to tradition he must be the first to leave the theater. Eventually clever theater goers decided to clap their hands when the performance ended, thereby awakening the Emperor. Maybe true? |
| 5th May 2011 Ruins of a pillar from Pergamum’s Asclepion |
| The famous Roman hospital of Asclepion bears the inscription “Death and Birth are not allowed to enter.” In fact, pregnancy was not considered a sickness worthy of a hospital stay here. And if you were close to death, you also were not admitted to the hospital. Only patients able to walk into the hospital were allowed. This seems an interesting concept we might consider in our quest to reduce health care costs!
This hospital was named after the Greek god of healing - Asclepius, and our symbol of medicine was derived from Asclepion. The base of the column in the photo is among the ruins there. It tells the story of two snakes drinking from a bowl of milk in the hospital. The legend is that a man was turned away from the hospital and told he was dying. He decided to end his life by drinking the milk poisoned by the snakes. Instead, he was miraculously healed. As a result the ancient Greeks gave Asclepius the symbol of the snake entwined around a staff. No, I didn’t make this stuff up. (But it is possible that our tour guide did.) |
| 6th May 2011 The Apollo Temple in Didyma |
| This Temple of Apollo in Didyma was impressive with its 122 columns and their richly carved bases. There once was a road lined with statues leading from the temple to the harbor, but after standing for 23 centuries the statues were taken by British archeologists to a museum in Britain in 1858. Most of the ruins we saw throughout the Middle East are far from fully restored and reconstructed. Estimates are in the hundreds of years before this could be accomplished due to the huge cost of excavation and reassembly of literally thousands of tons of stone, but for the most part the ruins are now being preserved, often appearing as piles of rubble alongside the beginnings of restoration.
As we proceeded down the Aegean coast of Turkey, the tours planned by the host ports were mostly of Roman ruins. Who knew that the ancient Greeks and Romans had built so many theaters, coliseums, and temples to their many gods? It didn’t take long before the standard response to the question, “How was the tour?” became “More rocks.” Of course, those among us who love archeology were fascinated by every ancient site. However, many of us tired of the tour routine. We were, after all, self-sufficient cruisers accustomed to being very independent and determining our own itineraries. At times the bus felt a bit like a cattle car and we were the cattle. The favorite tours were those that visited new and different sites. |
| 7th May 2011 The Dalyon River Cruise |
| The ancient Kings’ Tombs carved in rock cliffs on the left side of this photo were seen from wooden boats in the Dalyon River, a welcome departure from the average Roman ruins. |
| 8th May 2011 A closer look at the Kings’ Tombs |
| It appeared that each successive king wanted a larger or higher tomb for his burial site. The largest tomb above was never finished, likely for lack of funds. We had seen these tombs from the wooden boats in the Dalyon River in our two prior visits to Turkey, but we couldn’t resist seeing them again. We had also seen Ephesus, Turkey’s most famous ancient site, in our two prior visits. We decided not to revisit it, preferring to remember instead how awe-struck we had been the first time we saw it. We enjoyed a relaxing day in the marina at Kuşadasi instead. |
| 9th May 2011 American flags are a common sight on Turkish boats |
| We stopped wondering if the owners of these boats were Americans when their sterns all said “Wilmington Delaware.” One especially was a dead giveaway as a technique to avoid Turkey’s VAT since its stern said “Delaware Wilmington.” |
| 10th May 2011 Another tomb style in Limyra |
| This neglected sarcophagus on the hillside dates to the 4th century BC. The entire tomb is made of stone. The top is shaped like an inverted boat for a reason. The people of the time, the Lycians, believed that once the flesh left a body, the body was “re-fleshed” and lived again, a form of re-incarnation. Should the waters rise, they had a boat handy which could be inverted and utilized to float to safety. No one seems to mention that a boat made of stone would likely not be a good floater. Another related custom was to bury a person with all of their belongings so they could take their possessions with them to their new life. (Who says you can’t take it with you?) Unfortunately, this practice caused local looters to desecrate these tombs soon after the deceased was entombed. |
| 11th May 2011 Judy and Capadocia |
| In the last Turkish port of Alanya, two wonderful things happened. Judy joined the crew of Bright Ayes to help us with the rally’s overnight passages. We met Judy in Trinidad in 2009, and she eagerly agreed to join us in Turkey for the remainder of the EMYR. While some skippers were eager to shed their added crew at rally’s end, we thoroughly enjoyed having Judy with us.
The second wonderful thing that happened in Alanya was the trip to Capadocia, seen is in the background of this photo. It is an eerie, beautiful and geologically unique area. More rocks, yes, but amazing natural formations resulting from the volcanic eruption of a nearby mountain many millennia ago. No one could have believed that the result of the eruption would be so fantastic. Where lava once ran, the landscape is a fantastic display of lava rock in amazing shapes and fanciful formations. |
| 12th May 2011 The highlight of the rally for me was ballooning in Capadocia |
| A hot air balloon ride had long been on my “bucket list, ” and I couldn’t imagine a better location from which to enjoy the experience. We were one of dozens of balloons launched at daybreak in perfect weather in the Capadocia valley. I took over a hundred photos of the half hour flight and was giddy with the magnificence of the experience. |
| 13th May 2011 Capadocia - Another balloon photo |
| 14th May 2011 Whirling dervishes in the Mevlevi worship ceremony |
| On the trip home from Capadocia we stopped at the Mevlâna Museum in Konya, which pays homage to Rumi, one of the world’s great mystic philosophers. Rumi, later known as Mevlâna, meaning “our guide, ” lived in the thirteenth century. His poetry and religious writings are among the most beloved and respected in the Islamic world. After his death in 1273, his son organized his followers into the brotherhood called the Mevlevi, or the whirling dervishes. The ritual dance of the dervishes is a mesmerizing, religious, and unforgettable experience whereby the participants believe that by whirling they attain a higher union with God. The Mevlâna Museum contains Mevlâna’s tomb as well as the tombs of his son and other prominent dervishes. As a result the town of Konya is referred to as the religious heart of Turkey, or as the Lonely Planet guide says, its Bible Belt. Tolerance is the basic tenet of Mevlâna’s teachings, as evidenced by his famous verse:
Come, whoever you may be,
Even if you may be
An infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come.
Ours is not a brotherhood of despair.
Even if you have broken
Your vows of repentance a hundred times, come. |
| 15th May 2011 Flags from 15 countries wave in Alanya |
| By the time of our final dinner in Turkey, all 51 boats had joined the EMYR. From that time forward, the rally dinner held in each port began with a flag ceremony where all of the countries participating in the rally were represented. While English was the language of the rally (thankfully), each flag bearer thanked the host port in their native tongue: French, German, Dutch, Swiss German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech, Turkish, and Australian, British, Irish, and American/Canadian English. Getting to know these sailors from so many cultural backgrounds was truly a fascinating experience. |
| 19th May 2011 North Cyprus: EMYR Dressed Boats in Famagusta |
| In order for the rally to bring a festive atmosphere to each port as well as to identify its boats as part of the EMYR, we were asked to “dress our boats” in each port. This was a new term to us, but we quickly learned that it was a familiar term to our European friends. After Wayne discovered that the cost of the long string of signal flags or country flags that could be purchased and strung from the top of the mast to either the bow or stern of the boat (or both) was 150 Euros, he decided to string together all the country flags which I had made in Trinidad for our boat’s dressing. It worked, especially when there was sufficient breeze to make them fly brilliantly along with those of neighboring boats. The rally committee had to inform us that my Republic of Cyprus flag could not be in the string of flags when we visited North Cyprus; that the Israeli flag could not be in the string when we visited Lebanon or Egypt; and the Syrian, Egyptian, and Lebanese flag had to be removed when we visited Israel. Maybe this provides some idea of the extent of Middle East tensions!
Before visiting Cyprus, my knowledge of this island was painfully non-existent. I admit to not knowing that it was divided into the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus in the north and the Republic of Cyprus, under Greek influence, in the south. In fact, I had originally made the courtesy flag for the Greek-speaking southern nation rather than for the Turkish-speaking northern Cyprus, which we visited. While I did recollect hearing about tension between “Turkish Cypriots” and “Greek Cypriots” in the news, I hadn’t even realized that Cypriots were residents of Cyprus!
I now know that Cyprus has long had an unsettled mixed population of Greeks and Turks. After World War II, it became a British protectorate as did much of the Middle East, but its residents were never happy with that status. In 1960, the entire island was given its independence as the Republic of Cyprus. For years thereafter, fighting between the Turks and the Greeks on the island continued until Turkey got involved and the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus was established, as it is today. Still, the tension between the two nations is evident. A UN peace-keeping force observes the border between north and south, which consists of two long barbed-wire fences and a no-man’s zone between. One of our German sailors boldly told our Cypriot tour guide that a divided city and country are no good – an opinion he had formed from personal experience in his home country. |
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