After a windy night in the marina and several wakeful episodes to address loose lines on adjacent boats, we awoke to wind gusts of up to 30 knots. Trilogy felt comfortable but we took the precaution of doubling the mooring lines. With the skipper happy, we turned our attention to how to make the most of our next three days in Cesme. We hired a car from across the road and decided to spend the first day doing a 'roadie' to Pergamum. This turned out to be a very long day, but well worthwhile. Our 'Siri' was a disappointing navigator, confusing us no end with her impossible directions and adding to, rather than simplifying the chaos created by Turkish drivers. We took a lunch break at a beautiful little seaside harbour where the local fishermen were gathered around tables playing a game similar to Marjong, as the weather had kept them in port too.
Fortified, we were soon at Pergamum, one of the most important cities of ancient Mysia, which fortunately had a newly constructed gondola to transport us up the steep slopes of the majestic hill on which the city stood. The ancients must have been very fit to do this climb! At the top we settled for an audio tour and headed off along a board walk. The steepness of the site must have created enormous construction challenges, given the wonderful size and grandeur of the marble buildings. The theatre, which could seat 10000 spectators, was incredibly steep sided, tucked into the side of the slope. The library, of which little remains, unlike Ephesus, was only surpassed in size by the library in Alexandria. The famous Zeus Altar was built between the years 180-160BC in honour of Zeus to thank him for the victory of Pergamene over the Galatians. The elevation allowed for excellent views in all directions of the valley below. Once two watercourses flowed through this wide valley but heavy silting over time has left a fertile valley for cultivation for the 30 kms to the Aegean Sea.
On Friday morning we woke to even more wind and the bimini was folded back and secured to protect it from shredding. The meltemi is a strange weather pattern, in that the sky is cloudless and blue, the sun is hot but the wind is very intense and unrelenting. After doing some more errands, we set off to explore the peninsula to the south of Cesme, in search of a beach protected from the wind. We were most surprised by what we found. Four lane highways quickly give way to dirt tracks, with nothing more than a bend in the road. 'Siri' had been silenced and Google Maps became our very best friend. We decided to try the 'Fun Club' for a swim and lunch and were greeted at the dirty, dusty car park by a young hip attendant stating $35 (T.lire) for entry per person. We had no idea what to expect except that the owner of the UK Chelsea Football Club owned this beach outright. It was not fancy, but from the look of the BMW's, Mercedes, Porsches in the car park, it must be considered the place to be. We were the oldest by a long way....the beautiful people of Turkey seemed to be all there to be seen! Bikini clad girls, all very svelt, strutted their stuff in front of the equally 'look at me'guys. We settled for a delicious lunch of kofte and salad washed down with a beer or two before heading out among the beautiful people to take up our places on the beach lounges. To our deeply hurt feelings, we were ushered in a very hasty fashion by an attendant right down the end of the beach, stating all the empty lounges we passed were reserved....so much for OUR beautiful bodies!! We relaxed while this 'shock' had dissipated and then frolicked in the protected bay. The 'fun' part of this place was a range of water activities offered from the beach. The most eye catching was a guy being towed behind a skidoo which had a huge water pressure hose that shot him up in the air and kept him aloft with only footholders, maybe 7 metres above the sea, and moving quite fast.....definitely a balancing act!
We headed off again through ever more bumpy dirt roads, noting large numbers of new apartment block complexes dotted across the landscape, surrounded by rocky, untamed scrubland. Around the next corner, luxury hotels would appear with decent roads in front of them and the next corner lead to goat tracks once more through farmland, vineyards or tomato hothouses. Something is quite puzzling about what we have observed in Turkey. There is a huge amount of building construction everywhere along the coast, mostly high rise apartments. Only in certain wealthy pockets are single dwellings with nice landscaping evident. It seems the majority of the population lives in apartments. We are curious as to where the money is coming from for this huge amount of building and little evidence of who can afford it. Yes, the Beach Clubs revealed a side we hadn't seen before, but they are not the whole explanation, as most Turks work long hours for what must be a low income.
Talking tomatoes, they are simply delicious and abundant at present. We bought a bag of ten large perfect tomatoes for 5 T.lire ($2.50 AUS). Stone fruit is equally juicy and flavoursome at present: peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots. Like all Mediterranean cuisine we have encountered on this saga, only seasonal fruit and vegetables are available: if it is not in season, you don't eat it. Strawberries were abundant one day and disappeared the next. A loaf of bread costs 50 cents (AUS). Being a Muslim country, we have seen no pork, but lamb and beef, along with fish are good and affordable mainstays in the diet.
On our third day we explored further locally, with some very tricky clutch work thrown in when we ended up down a long steep narrow driveway that lead to nowhere, courtesy of Google maps! With burnt clutch smells in our nostrils, we kept searching for another suitable beach. Our preference was an isolated beach where we wouldn't feel rejection, but this seemed illusive. We found Marakeesh Beach Club, but this was for the even MORE beautiful people and we didn't even get offered a chance of entry, being told that without a reservation we were not coming in. Peter offered to make a reservation, but with a very firm 'no' we put our tails between our legs and wandered past the Maserati, Mercedes and Audis back to our Datia Trophy van.... we were certainly not beautiful enough for this company. If they didn't want us, we didn't want them!
After a light meze lunch at Sisus Marina, we took off in another direction and yes, down the dirt and rubble road, we found our awaited paradise, even if it was a bit rocky. It was a family beach, with many grandparents and young families enjoying the warm sunshine and crystal clear water in the cove. At least we fitted in and were accepted!
Home once more, we dined at a marina restaurant, on the rooftop. We wanted a front row table over looking the water, but that wasn't to be. We stood our ground and were offered the upstairs table.....on our own! Is there a message the Turks are sending us? Fresh black acrylic wraps were offered to keep us warm against the cool breeze and a pleasant evening followed with our elevated view across the marina to the castle, to the mixed sounds of happy diners, the minaret speakers dominating calls to prayer and the inevitable pop music.