GIRNE or KYRENIA
As mentioned, the political situation in
the Middle East is starting to impact on the rally. We were due to sail to Mersin in Turkey and
then head down to Northern Cyprus and across to Lebanon. In Tasucu we were advised that the Lebanese
authorities would not permit us to enter from Northern Cyprus (we believe they
have had pressure put on them by Syria), so our itinerary now is to go firstly
to Northern Cyprus and then back to the last port in Turkey at Mersin, and sail
into Lebanon from there.
So on Sunday 27 MAY we left Tasucu at
0520hours just as the sun was rising, and motored out into a flat calm
sea. It was very still for the rest of
the morning until around 1130hours when we hoisted the sails, and headed hard
on into the wind, but managed to maintain a speed around 5.5 to 6.0 knots.
We arrived into Girne around 1600hours, completed landing formalities – our first ‘foreign’ port on the rally, freshened up and were picked up by coaches to be taken to the old crusader castle by the old port for a Presidential reception. The Kyrenia castle was magnificent and stands at the entrance to the harbour at Kyrenia, guarding this important and strategic North Cyprus port since the 1500s.
The Byzantine structure of four towers linked by walls was later strengthened and enlarged by the Lusignan family. The current appearance of Kyrenia Castle dates from when the Venetians were "given" the island of Cyprus in 1489. We were entertained in the main part of the castle, originally the old parade grounds, with fabulous food and beverages, and a local group performing traditional dancing. It was a memorable night, but unfortunately the President was unable to attend, so we were hosted by his deputy. After the reception some of the group headed down to the old town/harbour area which was stunning. We never cease to be amazed at the places we visit.
We arrived into Girne around 1600hours, completed landing formalities – our first ‘foreign’ port on the rally, freshened up and were picked up by coaches to be taken to the old crusader castle by the old port for a Presidential reception. The Kyrenia castle was magnificent and stands at the entrance to the harbour at Kyrenia, guarding this important and strategic North Cyprus port since the 1500s.
There has been
a settlement at Kyrenia since the 10th century BC, but the first major castle
at Kyrenia was constructed by the Romans, and subsequently fortified by the
Byzantines.
The Byzantine structure of four towers linked by walls was later strengthened and enlarged by the Lusignan family. The current appearance of Kyrenia Castle dates from when the Venetians were "given" the island of Cyprus in 1489. We were entertained in the main part of the castle, originally the old parade grounds, with fabulous food and beverages, and a local group performing traditional dancing. It was a memorable night, but unfortunately the President was unable to attend, so we were hosted by his deputy. After the reception some of the group headed down to the old town/harbour area which was stunning. We never cease to be amazed at the places we visit.
The next day was fine and sunny, and we had a well deserved lie in before heading to the little cafe in the marina for breakfast and to get emails. Girne is ‘duty free’ so Robert and Derek headed into town to check out the prices on alcohol, wine & beer.......and food of course!!! In the evening we caught up with Pug & John from ‘Maxi Cosi’ for drinks at the cafe before heading into town for a meal which was really nice. After dinner we ended up back at the old harbour (still blown away by how beautiful it is) for cocktails – including the local brandy which is not too bad, especially for the price, coffee and ice cream. All in all a truly enjoyable day.
It was breakfast on Awatea the following
morning with Lee & Zehra from ‘Leezee’, before heading out on a tour by
taxi that John had arranged the previous evening. Shaun from ‘Happy Hour’ joined us and we
started the tour with a visit to the Bellapais Abbey or "The Abbey of
Peace (from French: Abbaye de la Belle Paix). Built by monks
of the Premonstratensian order in the 13th century, it is
a most imposing ruin in a wonderful position commanding a long view down to Kyrenia and the Mediterranean
Sea. The road to the abbey passed through some really nice suburbs with
some magnificent homes. We then set out
to the Hilarion Castle, one of three Crusader castles
along the Northern Cyprus coastline,
and together with the castles at Buffavento and Kantara,
defended the island. Amet our taxi driver proved
to be Stirling Moss with one speed – flat out, however we survived the drive
and it was well worth it.
The castle was amazing, built around this huge mountain with the most magnificent views of the surrounding countryside and the sea. We made the trek to the highest point of the castle (just as well Robert had his new hip) before heading down to a nice cold beer at the cafe in the car park.
We stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe en route to Mavi Kosk, or Blue House. This was built in 1973 by Byron Pavlides, a Greek Cypriot entrepreneur and friend of Archbishop Makarios.
What is rumoured (but without any proof), is that he was an EOKA gun runner who built his house where he did in order to keep an eye out to sea for the arrival of his gun-running ships. There are also rumoured to be secret underground passages and chambers built to hide contraband and smuggled arms. Whatever the truth, Pavlides was no doubt an eccentric, flamboyant man who tended to build his houses in remote areas to ensure his privacy. We arrived back at Awatea early evening and it was time for a shower and change before heading to ‘Happy Hour’ for a very pleasant evening of cocktails and a big Jambalaya that Jane had cooked up during the day. What a treat.
The castle was amazing, built around this huge mountain with the most magnificent views of the surrounding countryside and the sea. We made the trek to the highest point of the castle (just as well Robert had his new hip) before heading down to a nice cold beer at the cafe in the car park.
We stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe en route to Mavi Kosk, or Blue House. This was built in 1973 by Byron Pavlides, a Greek Cypriot entrepreneur and friend of Archbishop Makarios.
What is rumoured (but without any proof), is that he was an EOKA gun runner who built his house where he did in order to keep an eye out to sea for the arrival of his gun-running ships. There are also rumoured to be secret underground passages and chambers built to hide contraband and smuggled arms. Whatever the truth, Pavlides was no doubt an eccentric, flamboyant man who tended to build his houses in remote areas to ensure his privacy. We arrived back at Awatea early evening and it was time for a shower and change before heading to ‘Happy Hour’ for a very pleasant evening of cocktails and a big Jambalaya that Jane had cooked up during the day. What a treat.
Woke to a fine day but the wind had come
up. John stayed on the yacht on ‘wind
watch’, while Robert and Derek headed to a supermarket that Kath from ‘Mashona’
knew and had a great time shopping.
Ended up with a total 6 cases of Carlsberg, 1 case of Sol beer, 2
cartons of Gin (bargain at TL7.50 per bottle), and four cases of Chilean wine –
and some food necessities like pork sausages etc. In the afternoon Robert and John headed into
Nicosia and crossed over the ‘No Man’s Land’ border into Southern Cyprus, and
found it to be really nice. In the
evening it was time for another EMYR tradition – “Pirates Night”.
Everyone entered into the spirit and we all dressed up as pirates and were taken by bus to the top of the old town and then paraded through it much to the amusement of the locals, down to the Dome hotel for a fun night. The food was great, the wine & beer flowed and the dance floor was packed. The EMYR yachts people sure know how to party!!
Everyone entered into the spirit and we all dressed up as pirates and were taken by bus to the top of the old town and then paraded through it much to the amusement of the locals, down to the Dome hotel for a fun night. The food was great, the wine & beer flowed and the dance floor was packed. The EMYR yachts people sure know how to party!!
KARPAS GATE
We were preparing to set sail for Karpas
Gate and discovered our anchor was wedged in between two boulders. Fortunately Steve from ‘Sweet Baby Jane’ who
was berthed next to us, had dropped his spectacles into the water and was
diving in to retrieve them, so he offered to dive down and free the
anchor. So all was well and we headed
out into a reasonable wind so managed to use the gennaker for several hours
before the wind died away as did our speed, so it was time to start the donkey
once again.
We arrived at the Karpas Gate Marina around
1815hours and were berthed at the end of a pontoon on the hammer head.
It is a beautiful marina – very modern, nice
facilities and well kept, but in the middle of nowhere! The nearest ATM was
25kms away and there was no bus service or taxis, and trying to get a rental
car was impossible. They did however put
on an excellent cocktail party after which a group of us dined in the marina
restaurant, which was a pleasant surprise.
A great menu, including Peking Duck, and the food was excellent and
beautifully presented.
Next day was really nice and apart from cleaning the hull as we had picked up an oil slick, it was a nice relaxing day. We were chatting with an English couple that were living on their yacht in the marina, and they told us about this little restaurant called ‘Deks’, which was a short ride from the marina and if we called they would pick us up and bring us back. AT 1920hours the car arrived and we drove about 2 kms and ended up in the equivalent of an “English Pub”. Obviously popular with the local expat community they held bingo nights, karaoke, quiz nights and provided meals that would make an English landlord proud. We all had fish & chips and mushy peas and it was delicious. The fish was North Atlantic Cod and was sensational. YUM YUM!!!!! We ended up back at the marina on ‘Leezee’ for a night cap before staggering the short distance home to Awatea.
The largest cathedral has been converted into a Mosque which seems a bit of a shame, however it is still being used which is probably good. We explored the old town for several hours and had lunch at a small cafe sitting under an umbrella of large trees in what was the garden of the old cathedral.
On the way back to the marina we stopped at an old Roman City site called Salamis Harabeleri, which was a good site with the earliest archaeological finds going back to the eleventh century BC (Late Bronze Age III). Today amongst other sites there are the ruins of a great theatre, roman baths, gymnasium, villas and a long colonnaded road which would of had shops along the way. Another social evening back at the marina, with cocktails on Awatea for ‘Jackson Smith’, ‘Leezee’, ‘Happy Hour’, ‘Excellence’, ‘Tyna Two’, to name a few, and then onto ‘Kintukani’ for a dinner with Guy and Anna Marie. As always they were the perfect hosts and a fun night was had by all.
MERSIN
As per the changed itinerary we were now
heading back to Mersin, our last port of call in Turkey. We did the customs and border control
clearance around midnight and set off around 0520hours.
We motor sailed most of the way until around the last 3 hours when we were able to put up the gennaker and had a good run into Mersin. Being so far east we had no idea what to expect, but when we arrived around 1645hours Mersin proved to be a huge city and the marina was fabulous in itself. The marina complex had a gigantic shopping mall with all kinds of stores, and much to the relief of everyone a large supermarket. Unfortunately ‘Maxi Cosi’ had experienced engine problems en route and had to be towed most of the way into Mersin.
We motor sailed most of the way until around the last 3 hours when we were able to put up the gennaker and had a good run into Mersin. Being so far east we had no idea what to expect, but when we arrived around 1645hours Mersin proved to be a huge city and the marina was fabulous in itself. The marina complex had a gigantic shopping mall with all kinds of stores, and much to the relief of everyone a large supermarket. Unfortunately ‘Maxi Cosi’ had experienced engine problems en route and had to be towed most of the way into Mersin.
Monday 04 June, and it was another sunny
day. Time to catch up on a few domestic
chores in the morning and then took the Dolmus into the city. Had a shave at a little barber shop in one of
the back street and the word got out that there were some Kiwi’s in town, as a
local with New Zealand connections arrived at the shop for a chat. Then it was lunch across the road before
exploring the local markets which were very interesting. It is a lovely modern city with a great
waterfront and very clean and tidy.
In the evening we were hosted by the Mayor at the local council chambers for cocktails and dinner.
The setting was stunning built out over the water and the food great. The cocktails consisted of Raki or wine much to the disappointment of the beer soaks amongst us. The entertainment made up for it as the council had a troupe of young folk performing local dances, a brass band and a jazz band.
Another enjoyable night (how
do we cope???), and at the end we were all bussed back to the marina.
In the evening we were hosted by the Mayor at the local council chambers for cocktails and dinner.
The setting was stunning built out over the water and the food great. The cocktails consisted of Raki or wine much to the disappointment of the beer soaks amongst us. The entertainment made up for it as the council had a troupe of young folk performing local dances, a brass band and a jazz band.
Next day it was breakfast with ‘Maxi Cosi’
at one of the many cafes in the complex, and then preparation of Awatea for the
trip down to Lebanon. Took on a small
amount of diesel fuel, as it is very cheap in Lebanon so wanted to fill up
there. Lunch was back at the cafe in the
marina and a lazy afternoon.
During the
afternoon we learned that a huge spanner had been thrown in the works. Lebanon was not going to allow entry, even
directly from Turkey!!!! So after all
the change of itinerary, and our anticipation of visiting Lebanon, it was not
to be. BUMMER!!! Not much any of us could do about it, so it
was just a matter of waiting until the committee sorted something out. It was a formal dinner that night and we
started off with drinks on ‘Watershed’, then ‘Excellence’ before heading up to
the restaurant. What a fabulous setting
with a great band, wonderful food, lots of dancing and the usual flag ceremony
held on these occasions.
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John was the Australian flag bearer and gave a ‘traditional’ (if there is such a thing) Aussie speech, greeting all the ‘Blokes and Sheilas’. Another wonderful night finished off with a night cap on Awatea with Andrea from ‘Tyna Two’.
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John was the Australian flag bearer and gave a ‘traditional’ (if there is such a thing) Aussie speech, greeting all the ‘Blokes and Sheilas’. Another wonderful night finished off with a night cap on Awatea with Andrea from ‘Tyna Two’.
This morning meetings were held to discuss
the options for the rally as the Lebanese authorities were definitely not going
to permit us to enter. The committee
have proposed we head back to Karpas Gate Marina in Northern Cyprus on this
coming Friday 08 June for a few days, and then on to Famagusta on the other side of
the island, and sail direct to Israel from there. It was either that or we left the rally here
in Mersin, which to us boys on Awatea was not an option. We still had Israel and Egypt to get to, and
after starting the rally at the start in Istanbul we were keen to see it
through to the finish. Robert hired a
car and we decided to go east to a town called Tarsus where St Paul was
born.
On the way we stopped at a local restaurant and had a very enjoyable lunch and all for the reasonable price of TL19.00 for the three of us.
In the town we found the site of St Paul’s house in a beautiful old part of town where the ruins were under a protective glass, and nearby was the well used for water. There were narrow streets and quaint buildings, and all the people were saying hello and being very friendly.
We found a lovely bar in the
courtyard of one of the old buildings and had a drink, and once again were
befriended by some young Turks and ended up having a great conversation. It was then back to the marina as we had been
invited to Leezee for dinner. Dinner
proved to be good old American hamburgers, which Zehra had handmade and Lee
being the American of the group cooked on the BBQ. They turned out to be scrumptious and had
everyone licking their fingers. A great
night was had by everyone, and ended with night caps of the local brandy (which
we have got the taste for!)
On the way we stopped at a local restaurant and had a very enjoyable lunch and all for the reasonable price of TL19.00 for the three of us.
In the town we found the site of St Paul’s house in a beautiful old part of town where the ruins were under a protective glass, and nearby was the well used for water. There were narrow streets and quaint buildings, and all the people were saying hello and being very friendly.
At 0930 the next morning we were joined by
John form ‘Maxi Cosi’ and we set off in the rental car and visited the site of the
ancient city of Kanytelis known
today as Kanlıdivane, which
literally means blood stained place of madness.
At the centre of the site is an enormous 60 m deep canyon with red-coloured walls that gave rise to the local legend that says that criminals were once thrown to their deaths into the huge chasm. The 90 m long by 70 m wide and 60 m deep chasm formed the core of the ancient city of Kanytellis. Kanytellis originally was part of the ancient kingdom of Olbia and the sinkhole was regarded as a sacred place reserved to the cult of Zeus Olbios. The first settlement began in the holy chasm for many hundred years before Christ and then gradually extended in all directions during the following centuries. Kanytellis thrived through Byzantine times as is indicated by the presence of several Byzantine churches and inscriptions. The extensive necropolis has many Roman tombs built in the form of miniature temples. We then made our way back to the coast and went to see The Maiden’s Castle, which sits on an island about 100 metres from shore and appears to float on water.
The castle has many legends associated with it, including the popular one involving a cursed princess doomed to be killed by a snake, whose father sequesters her in an isolated tower. She buys a basket of fruit from a passing ship, where a snake has hidden, and the prophecy comes true anyway. After that it was a stop at the caves of Heaven and Hell, but as it involved a long walk down into the deep canyon decided we didn’t have the time to explore them properly.
It was then in the direction of the valleys of the Toros Mountains to Uzuncaburç which is situated next to ruins of the ancient city Olba and the name of the town Uzuncaburç (after 1973) means Tall bastion referring to the ruins. On the way we stopped at a restaurant set in the forest for lunch which proved to be a real treat. There was no menu or choice of what to eat, however they were cooking some chicken on the BBQ which looked and smelled great. The four of us ordered cold beers which were duly brought, and then much to our surprise the guy running the restaurant took off on his little scooter and disappeared down the road.
Fortunately it was only to get more supplies of beer and he returned with a case under his arm. Then the feast started – plates of mezes, fresh salads (so fresh we had seen him picking herbs from the garden to put in), bread and heaps of beautifully BBQ’d chicken. A few more beers to finish off and all for the cost of TL25.00 each.
We visited the old city which was a religious site built for Zeus, and it was very impressive with many ruins, and the old city gates and columns at the entrances.
We were surprised to find locals were living
amongst the ruins, growing fruit and other crops. After a magnificent day exploring it was back
to Mersin for cocktails with Jean Paul and his wife on ‘Vanille’, and then a
chicken curry on Awatea.
At the centre of the site is an enormous 60 m deep canyon with red-coloured walls that gave rise to the local legend that says that criminals were once thrown to their deaths into the huge chasm. The 90 m long by 70 m wide and 60 m deep chasm formed the core of the ancient city of Kanytellis. Kanytellis originally was part of the ancient kingdom of Olbia and the sinkhole was regarded as a sacred place reserved to the cult of Zeus Olbios. The first settlement began in the holy chasm for many hundred years before Christ and then gradually extended in all directions during the following centuries. Kanytellis thrived through Byzantine times as is indicated by the presence of several Byzantine churches and inscriptions. The extensive necropolis has many Roman tombs built in the form of miniature temples. We then made our way back to the coast and went to see The Maiden’s Castle, which sits on an island about 100 metres from shore and appears to float on water.
The castle has many legends associated with it, including the popular one involving a cursed princess doomed to be killed by a snake, whose father sequesters her in an isolated tower. She buys a basket of fruit from a passing ship, where a snake has hidden, and the prophecy comes true anyway. After that it was a stop at the caves of Heaven and Hell, but as it involved a long walk down into the deep canyon decided we didn’t have the time to explore them properly.
It was then in the direction of the valleys of the Toros Mountains to Uzuncaburç which is situated next to ruins of the ancient city Olba and the name of the town Uzuncaburç (after 1973) means Tall bastion referring to the ruins. On the way we stopped at a restaurant set in the forest for lunch which proved to be a real treat. There was no menu or choice of what to eat, however they were cooking some chicken on the BBQ which looked and smelled great. The four of us ordered cold beers which were duly brought, and then much to our surprise the guy running the restaurant took off on his little scooter and disappeared down the road.
Fortunately it was only to get more supplies of beer and he returned with a case under his arm. Then the feast started – plates of mezes, fresh salads (so fresh we had seen him picking herbs from the garden to put in), bread and heaps of beautifully BBQ’d chicken. A few more beers to finish off and all for the cost of TL25.00 each.
We visited the old city which was a religious site built for Zeus, and it was very impressive with many ruins, and the old city gates and columns at the entrances.
KARPAS GATE (2ND TIME AROUND)
It was finally farewell to Turkey for a
while as we left Mersin around 0530 hours.
After about 4 hours it was still calm with a light breeze from the
south, so it was motoring all the way.
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We arrived back at Karpas Gate around 1645hours and went straight to the fuel dock to fill up in preparation for the trip down to Israel, as no fuel would be available at Famagusta. A nice quiet evening with a few cocktails on Awatea with ‘Kintukani’, ‘Happy Hour’ and ‘Excellence’ before heading up to the marina restaurant for a meal.
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We arrived back at Karpas Gate around 1645hours and went straight to the fuel dock to fill up in preparation for the trip down to Israel, as no fuel would be available at Famagusta. A nice quiet evening with a few cocktails on Awatea with ‘Kintukani’, ‘Happy Hour’ and ‘Excellence’ before heading up to the marina restaurant for a meal.
Next day it was time to do a few chores,
fill the tanks with water and wash the yacht.
Then it was off to the bar for a session of rugby – Northern Ireland V
New Zealand, Wales V Australia and finally South Africa V England, all with
several rounds of beer. None of us felt
like cooking so we arranged with Dek’s (the English Pub style restaurant) to
pick us up and have a meal there. Another yummie English meal, with Sausages and
mash for John, pork chops for Derek and beef for Robert. It was a lot quieter there this time with
only a few others eating, so had a good chat with the English couple that own
it with their Turkish Partner and his English wife.
FAMAGUSTA
Another early start at 0600 hours, and it
was yet again light winds but accompanied with an uncomfortable beam swell
which made for an uncomfortable journey.
We rounded the cape and headed down the coast towards Famagusta, and
just a bit south of Monastery Bay there was a beautiful long sandy beach, so we
called in to anchor, make brunch and have a swim. It was the first swim of the rally and was
soooo good!!
Finally arrived into Famagusta around 1800hours and we anchored with the others in the commercial harbour. We decided to eat onboard so it was some nice steaks (still from Robert’s supplies) with salad and boiled potatoes, and a reasonably early night.
Finally arrived into Famagusta around 1800hours and we anchored with the others in the commercial harbour. We decided to eat onboard so it was some nice steaks (still from Robert’s supplies) with salad and boiled potatoes, and a reasonably early night.
The following morning we went ashore in the
in the tender organised by the rally committee and went into the old town to have lunch and
catch up on emails. John & Robert went for a shave while Derek went off on
a trek trying to send a facsimile to his bank in Australia. In the afternoon Neville from ‘Taralee’ came
onboard to fix a problem with the alarm for the wind direction continually
sounding, which was successful much to John’s relief. Derek took up the offer of a swim at one of
the local hotels right on the beach, and was accompanied by Anna Marie from
‘Kintukane’. In the evening we were
planning to go into town to have a meal with a few others at one of the local
restaurants, but this was dashed when immigration required us to “exit”
Northern Cyprus at 1900 hours, which meant we all had to head back to the
yachts and were not permitted to go ashore.
So it was an impromptu meal of sausage, eggs and beans and a few beers
onboard. Next stop Israel which we are
all looking forward to!
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