Sailing the Wine Dark Seas of Turkey



Columned Street in Patara
 

Azamara Club Cruises prides itself on being a destination-oriented cruise line and is constantly looking for new and interesting ports.  They hit the jackpot with Kaş, a southern Turkish village on the Turquoise Coast of the Mediterranean.  Our lecturer confirmed that Greeks had lived there for millennia until a forced resettlement of the Greek peoples under Ataturk.  Forced resettlement of peoples could be a theme of this voyage.  Kaş very much still looks like a Greek village made up of white houses strung up and down the mountainous coast beside gorgeous blue waters.  It has become a principle tourist destination and has attracted many émigrés from Great Britain and Russia.  The area has been settled since Neolithic times; in antiquity, it was known as Lycia.

Our guide was a very nice, very serious Turkish lady who seemed to fear us not having ALL the information possible about the area and Turkey which some of our group didn’t appreciate, but I did.  Did you know that Turkish women were given the vote in 1930, long before many European nations? Did you know that the Lycian constitution was studied by James Madison as a model for the American republic? Did you know that an American congressman (Salarz) had a summer home in Patara and had hoped to convene a congress of world leaders in the ruins of the Lycian meeting hall in a celebration of democracy? 

Lunch in Kalkan

After Patara, we visited the World Heritage site of Xanthos – yet another ancient site with amphitheatre and columned street.  I’m not sure why Xanthos merits the World Heritage Site designation and Patara doesn’t, but my preference was for Patara.  According to the ancient Greeks, Patara was Apollo’s summer home and his Pythia could be consulted there, but archaeologists have yet to find his shrine.  Since the mountains surrounding the area resemble the mountain around Delphi, I can see why Apollo would feel at home.

Sea Bass (this is for you, Kim)

Our lunch by the sea in the Greek-like village of Kalkan was a culinary highlight of the voyage.  We had ultra-fresh mezzes followed by sea bass which must’ve been swimming in the ocean only moments before.  I’m bringing a few extra pounds home with me. 

I've written the last two posts during a marvelous day at sea.  What a delightful voyage this has been, a mixture of emptying out and filling up.  And tomorrow we have a day to spend in the great city of Istanbul.  We're now drinking a nice bottle of Champagne as part of American Express' Cruise Privilege Program.  Thank you AmEx, thank you Azamara, thank you friends of my blog for sailing along with us!