There are many archeological sites around Antalya, some of them
only accessible by sea.
Although most were partially excavated long time ago, they are completely open, without any guardians. On the
left is Olympus and on the right Phaselis.
We then proceeded to the end of the Antalya Gulf and decided that we would spend the winter at the very popular Antalya Marina.
The Marina is a little far from the city itself but they ran a shuttle from it to downtown several times a day so it was nevertheless quiet convenient and the proximity of so many archeological sites made it a very good place to spend the winter months. We could visit by bus the various sites. Since it was the end of August we planned to follow the south coast of Turkey, exploring various sites then we would sail south to North Cyprus from where we would sail to Lebanon and then to Israel. For the return trip we would stop in South Cyprus.
Our first stop was in Side. There is no yacht harbor in Side and the old Roman harbor was too shallow for us. It was possible for us to anchor on the West side of the peninsula, just West of the Roman theater. We were very lucky because the very night we arrived there was an International Guitar Festival that was being held in the theater.
We next proceeded to Alanya. Here again there are no yacht harbor but we could anchor to the East of the peninsula where the old roman city was built.
After Alanya we sailed on to Mamure where we visited the old fortress, which is still in very good condition. We spent the night in a protected harbor in Aydincik prior to our departure for North Cyprus.
We arrived in Kyrenia/Girne on September 11. Very few cruising boats visit North Cyprus, it is too bad because there are many interesting sites to visit. On the right is a picture of the entrance to Girne harbor, taken as we left it. We rented a car to visit various sites.
In particular we drove to visit the Roman ruins of Salamis, close to Famagusta. On the left is what is left of the baths.
Having read "Bitter lemons" of Lawrence Durrel we of course visited Bellapais. The house he had bought has a sign on it. On the left is a view of the village as one comes up from Girne. On the right is a view of the cloister of the Abbey. We were again very fortunate because the evening of our visit to Bellapais a concert of classical guitar music was being given in the church of the Abbey, which is now used as a concert hall.
On September 19th we left Girne to sail around the North East point of Cyprus. We spent a night anchored at Famagusta before sailing on to Lebanon, where we wanted to be sure we would arrive before nightfall.
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