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Trip Report #4-2002: Dardenelles to IstanbulFiled from Istanbul40 58.30N 28 53.00EJune 14, 2002Finally, the wind that was pinning us to the wall at Bozcaada diminished and we left at 6:30 am to head into the Dardenelles. The Dardenelles and the Sea of Marmara lie in an area where grinding tectonic plates long ago opened up a passageway between the Aegean and Black Seas, with Europe on one bank and Asia Minor on the other. From ancient times to the present, people have been aware of the importance of this body of water to strategic advantage in war and commerce. Its' history is full of romance, legend and real life tragedy. Leander and Hero met their demise here. Byron swam across the channel. It is the resting place of more than a hundred thousand men who died at Gallipoli in World War I. The sense of historic importance was with us as we made our passage through this famous body of water.
Photo: Entrance to the Dardenelles As we approached the entrance to the Dardenelles, the sea was dotted with freighters and ships at anchor waiting for clearance to proceed. We motor-sailed along the southern bank, keeping within the 15-20 meter depth line and the shore in order to stay out of the way of the large ships and to minimize the effect of the adverse current. As it was, we were losing 3 knots in forward speed. As we proceeded through the Dardenelles, the current slowed to one knot against us, with no adverse current in some areas. At the entrance on the south bank was a guard post with a lot of electronic and communication equipment on site and an armed guard high in an observation tower looking at us with binoculars. We were also looking at him with binoculars. There were several more observation towers along the way. On the north bank, we could see the impressive monument to the British and Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers who died here in World War I. A little further along was the equally impressive monument to Turkish soldiers, reminding us of the thousands of men on both sides who died in the Gallipoli campaign.
Photo: Freighter and Pilot in the Dardenelles During the course of the day, the wind picked up and we had a nice sail with the wind on our starboard quarter. We passed the ports of Canakkule and Kilitbahir, across from each other in the strait. Photo: Kilitbahir with fortification built in 1452
Photo: Sailing in the Dardenelles We stopped for the night in a little harbor, well-protected, but with no facilities, at Lapseki. There we anchored, with 4 other boats also headed for the Black Sea, in the middle of the harbor, careful to set a swinging circle that would keep us away from the shallow water along the edges of the harbor. Shortly before sunset, a racing boat, an X-yacht, came in and dropped anchor. They apparently did not like where they were and re-anchored. When we woke early next morning, the wind had switched and all boats had swung toward the wind, except for the X boat. It was facing in the direction in which it started the night before. If they had stayed where they had first anchored, they would have been fine. Ah, the joys of anchoring. We left the Dardenelles, sailing under gray skies and little sprinkles of rain and stopped for the night in a small cove on the island of Pasalimani, our first stop in the Sea of Marmara. Cows on the shore stared at us as we maneuvered to check out depths and then anchored. When we had completed the anchoring job, they left and went on with their grazing on the hillside. We then had a fine dinner of tortellini with pesto sauce, steamed flat green beans, salad and good Turkish bread. The next day we left early and headed for Erdek. As we motored around the harbor in Erdek, looking for a spot among the fishing boats to tie up, a man on a large, wood-faced pier motioned for us to come there and tie up. We tied along-side and he welcomed us to Erdek, assuring us that we were not taking anyone's personal mooring and that we were welcome to stay as long as we liked. He also invited us to have tea with him; he was very anxious to practice speaking English with us. His name was Mahmud and he was a teacher of English in a middle school, but he was also a sailor who kept his boat in Istanbul and had much information for us about sailing in the Sea of Marmara.
Photo: Coming into the harbor at Erdek
Photo: Tom chats with children on the dock in Erdek, Sea of Marmara
Photo: Street scenes in Erdek Photo: Tom and Friends in Erdek Erdek was an incredibly friendly town. The local people came to the boat to welcome us and seemed genuinely interested in making our stay pleasant. While we were there, the town had a festival with children performing folk and modern dances. It attracted what seemed to be the entire town. There were booths set up with baked goods and other food for sale, the proceeds to go to the local school.
Photo: Girls in traditional costumes, Erdek We bought some of the local delicacies and also bought 6 simits, the round, sesame-covered breads, vaguely reminiscent of bagels, from a local boy who carried them on a tray on his head (see photo above). These breads are sold everywhere in Turkey for 250,000 TL or about $.19, make an excellent and substantial snack and, properly stored, last several days on the boat. We have noticed a very distinct attitude toward dress in Turkey. Shorts are tolerated on the docks and boats, on children and in resort areas where there are many tourists. However, they are not considered appropriate in the smaller towns and fishing villages. It is considered rude to have bare legs and anyone venturing into town in shorts will surely be met with disapproving stares. Not wanting to offend, we are very careful about our dress in town, even in the hottest weather. We somewhat reluctantly left Erdek and headed for Saraylar on the island of Marmara Adasi, noted for the pure white marble that is quarried there. On the way, a pod of dolphin accompanied us, playing around the boat and putting on a show to rival any aquarium-produced dolphin show. They stayed with us for about an hour and we took about 40 photos, mostly capturing large circles and splashes on the water where the dolphin HAD been.
Photo: Dolphin in the Sea of Marmara, off Marmara Adasi Saraylar's harbor is lined by slabs of marble protecting its' banks, and its' quays and jetties are made from marble blocks. Marble statues overlook the water around the harbor. The cliffs above the town are white and dotted with marble quarrying equipment. Large ships line the marble dock, loading on huge blocks for transport to destinations all over the world. Marble quarrying has been carried out here continuously from ancient times to the present. Saraylar is host each year to a marble symposium, attracting tourists and artists from many other countries, including America. The sculpture that lines the harbor includes works done by artists from those countries as well as ancient archeological finds. Still, Saraylar remains very much a Turkish town seemingly unaffected by tourism.
Photo: The harbor and town of Saraylar
Photo: The American Sculpture on the Harbor in Saraylar A local restaurateur, Sarcon, took us on a tour of the quarrying operation and the museum. When we were finished, he also took us to the local school, where we talked with the principal and the English teacher. Sarcon was unsure of whether he had been able to answer all of our questions adequately, so he asked the teacher to interpret and make certain that he had given us correct and complete answers to everything we wanted to know. It was a wonderful example of the helpfulness and kindly thoughtfulness of the Turkish people we have met.
Photo: Marble quarrying in Saraylar
Photo: Peg and Tom meet School Principal, Adnan Kiziltoprak, and his colleagues
Photo: Schoolchildren in Saraylar In Saraylar, we also met Coby and Ben, from Holland, on their boat, Born, and Elaine and Chris, from England, on Just Ginny. That night we all had dinner together at Sarcon's restaurant, with a delicious array of typically Turkish food: roasted eggplant, cheese rolls, olives and pickles, grilled sardines, poached eggs in yogurt, potato salad, mixed salad, cucumbers and garlic in yogurt, a thick, spicy tomato salsa, pickled beets, bread and wine for about $15 - a great way to end our stay on the Marble Island. Next stop: Istanbul Allahasmarladik! 73s, 88s, love & hugs Peg & Tom
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Grand Daughters' web pages: Anna's Home Page, Anastasia's Home Page Isabelle's Home Page
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