Chaligram 9-4: Bosphorus and the Black Sea
07 July 2009 | near Istanbul, Turkey
Dearest Family & Friends,
We are back in Istanbul after spending a few weeks cruising along the north coast of Turkey in the Black Sea. For a number of reasons, we confined our Black Sea adventures to just Turkey, and did not go to Bulgaria, Romania nor The Ukraine as we had originally thought to do.
The Black Sea is very BLUE.... 'specially compared to the very GREEN Sea of Marmara (that body of water west of Istanbul between the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.) We also saw more happy, playful dolphins in our short time in the Black Sea than we've seen in the last 4 years in the Med. Isn't it amazing how you can't help yourself from smiling whenever you see a dolphin?
Getting into and out of the Black Sea required us to transit the infamous Bosphorus.... that narrow strait through which the Black Sea flows on its way to the Aegean/Mediterranean. We encountered opposing currents as high as 4.5 knots on our way north into the Black Sea. Good thing we have a good, reliable engine! And silly us, we went during ferry rush-hour traffic between the Asian side and the European side of Istanbul. There are 3 ferry stations on each side of the Bosphorus within a 2 mile distance.... hence we were constantly dodging and weaving to avoid hitting those ferries. "uh oh.... the current is pushing us into that big-ships buoy.. give us some more RPMs on that great, reliable motor!" "OOPS, here comes a super-tanker...sure want to stay out of THAT guy's way"....and another one, and another one. Did I say this was a TENSE passage? gulp. And, to make it worse, Chuck and I have a basic difference of opinion about collision avoidance tactics: He wants to (just) miss the other vessel, whereas I want to stay FAR AWAY from it. I just kept remembering our Coast Guard Captain's course and their instruction about collision avoidance: "Make your move EARLY & OBVIOUS." i think Chuck stepped out to the men's room when they taught that lesson. After the intense traffic around the Golden Horn area of Istanbul, things started to calm down, and we actually enjoyed the sights. What fantastic Byzantine & Ottoman buildings visible from the water!: the 17th c. Blue Mosque with its 5 minarets (can't have 6... only Mecca is allowed to have 6 minarets on their mosque); the sprawling Topkapi Palace (home to most of the Ottoman Sultans from the 15th century to the 19th c); the 19th c. Dolmabahce Palace, built in the European style, which served as the new home to the Sultans; the Rumeli Hisari ("Fortress of Europe") built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 to aid in the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul).... and of course the 6th century Byzantine Haghia Sophia (church), which the Ottomans converted into a mosque in the 15th century, and then later, a museum. Having a waterside palace was THE thing to have back in the day, so there was one gorgeous edifice after another as we cruised along the 12-mile Bosphorus. And in the background, there were tons of modern skyscrapers typical of any large city. And just as any western cityscape is punctuated with church steeples, so is Istanbul dotted with the minarets of the mosques. It's so beautiful. I think Istanbul is the largest city in Europe. So, all these lovely sights helped balance out the stress of the early part of our passage. After going around the last big turn, voila.... there was the Black Sea. After anchoring in Poyras, at the head of the Bos for the night, we set out the next morning. We geared up our stomachs for the infamous BIG SWELLS that are a common feature of this sea.... but we were lucky. The seas were calm. The first things we noticed about Turkey on the Black Sea was how green the rolling hills were, and how many sandy beaches there are. The Mediterranean is not known for lots of natural sandy beaches, but the violent storms chararacteristic of the Black Sea have certainly created some lovely natural sandy beaches on the lee shore of Turkey.
We stopped in the towns of Side, Kefken Adasi, Akcakoca, Eregli, Hisaronu and Amasra. In Amasra we met up with our friends Vanessa and John and rented a car to go to the architectural world heritage site of Safranbolu, a museum town known for its plethora of restored Ottoman buildings. There were no marinas in any of these towns since few sailors come this way, but all had secure harbours full of fishing boats behind big breakwaters. We normally tied alongside on the town quays and became the town attraction.... and that was BEFORE people saw Zoey. How to win the hearts and minds of kids is to have an adorable, small dog like Zoey! Eregli was my favorite town. It was pure Turkish.... NOTHING touristy. It had a large commercial port, a big steel production plant, a shipbuilding yard, and the city itself was so vibrant, with a beautifully landscaped waterfront park. We also had a superb sea bass dinner there! We met our friends Eva and Johan there (friends we'd made last year during the Eastern Med Yacht Rally). We also met Bahadir, an Eregli businessman, and his daughter. They are sailors and had come down to the quay to check out our boats. They both spoke excellent English, and we spent about an hour chitchatting. He left us his card, in case we needed anything..... and a good thing, too, because the next morning, Johan had broken his tooth. So, he called Bahadir for advice on the name of a dental clinic close by. 5 minutes later, Johan got a call back and Bahadir had made an appt at his dentist for 2pm that same day. Bahadir's daughter came to pick up Johan and waited while the dentist fixed him up...with all the most modern equipment, mind you. AND....the dentist wouldn't take any money for his services!! Johan doesn't know if Bahadir made that arrangement also, or if the dentist was exceedingly generous. All Johan could give the dentist was the equivalent of $12 so he could get his daughter an ice cream! A great story.... but it's not unique. Most Turkish people we've met have redefined the terms hospitable, helpful and generous. Amasra was the eastern most city we visited.... it was just under 200 miles east from the Bosphorus. It is a major holiday destination for the inhabitants of Ankara.... a neat town, but pretty touristy. We were med moored -- bows-to the quay -- between 2 large fishing boats. Fortunately, they didn't come in and out, because commercial fishing vessels have an enforced 'vacation' this time of year. We stayed in Amasra for 6 nights and socialized frequently with Vanessa and John. While there, we got the nauseating effects of a gale in the northwest Black Sea near Romania, hundreds of miles away. The sun was shining, and initially we had no wind, but the SWELL that crept around the breakwater was enough to make me seasick! Chuck spent most of 1 day adjusting and adding lines to help mitigate the jerking motion caused by the swell. BLAHHHHHH. But... it was fine the next day. Such is life on the water.
Now.... we start to reorganize ChaliVentures and convert our "garage" to its original purpose of being a quarter berth. Our kids, Sammy and Alex and friend are coming to Istanbul in about 10 days, and we're still sorting out where we're going to store everything so that everyone gets a place to sleep! Our lovely separate shower will probably be sacrificed and become a "closet." We can always use the cockpit shower for bathing, although we're holding our breath that the bathrooms & showers at this brand new marina where we're staying will be finished on time before July 16th.
We are tied up next to our friends Sandy & Martin, and we are getting ready to head out to do some reconaissance to some other sailing destinations that might be enjoyable for the kids.
Hope you all are having a lovely summer.
Here is a link to the Picassa web album which has the photos for our adventures on the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. Please let me know if you have any problems opening the link. Some friends reported problems with my last ChaliGram/photo link. http://picasaweb.google.com/chaliventures/Spring2009ChaliVenturesInTheBosphorusTheBlackSea?feat=directlink
XOXOXO,
Alison, Chuck and Zoey