The area known as Kekova Roads was, in a certain sense, the destination we'd gradually been working our way toward since 2007. We'd heard other cruisers speak of Kekova with a sense of awe, and during the winter we had dreamed of swimming over the sunken city. Sometimes, when we look forward to a destination with great anticipation, the reality of being there can be anticlimactic, but Kekova did not disappoint. Where else can you anchor beneath a castle, wander through the tombs and sarcophagi of a cemetery that existed long before the time of Christ, and snorkel in warm turquoise water over ancient ruins?

"Kekova" is Turkish for "plain of thyme". Here is a map of the Kekova Roads area, pasted from the Cruising Wiki site. Cruisers Wiki



As we threaded our way through the islets, reefs and rocks to approach the anchorage at KaleKoy (which means castle town in Turkish), the incredible sights ashore made it difficult to stay focused on navigation. The large crusader castle with the ubiquitous Turkish flag loomed over us and the remains of a partially-immersed sarcophagus emerged from the tiny harbour at the foot of the castle. It almost looked like it was floating. The small islands scattered through the harbour looked like pieces of three-dimensional puzzles, clearly showing the outlines of building blocks removed in previous millennia, with stone steps carved in the sides.

The small anchorage under the castle was crammed with gulets, and the holding was reportedly poor, so we opted to go into the large and well-protected bay of Ucagiz Limani. We tucked into the anchorage at the east end, just behind the Kalekoy point, and dropped the anchor just off the remains of the necropolis of an ancient Lycian town. The large field was strewn with huge boulders and an embarrassment of sarcophagi...so many that I winced to think that I had dragged Rick around Fethiye in the noonday heat searching for a single one. In the evening, we were content to stay aboard and eat dinner in the cockpit, enjoying the view of the castle off the starboard side, the necropolis off the port side and the village at the stern.

Early next morning, as we packed our knapsacks for a day of exploring, we watched two skiffs leave Ucagiz, one being rowed by an elderly woman and one being rowed by a younger woman accompanied by a small boy. Both were dressed in the typical country attire of head scarf and loose layered tops (usually over long skirts), but the younger woman sported a ballcap under her scarf and was wearing pants. Their destination, like ours, was Tersane cove, over a mile from Ucagiz, where the remains of an ancient boatyard can be explored onshore and under the water.

As we entered the cove at Tersane, hundreds of tiny silver fish leaped from the water, creating a shimmering ribbon in the air as we glided over the sunken ruins. We pulled the dinghy ashore just opposite the remains of an arch, which was once part of a Byzantine building.The women and boy fished from their tiny boats at the mouth of the cove, but it would soon become clear that fishing would not to be the main focus of their day. True entrepreneurs, they had their boats loaded with trinkets galore, and the fishing was just a way to pass the time while they waited for their customers to arrive. It was not long before a group of kayakers, escorted by a back-up tour boat and guide, pulled into the cove. Like us, the kayakers probably had little need of yet-another-evil-eye bracelet, but who could resist the charms of this young man?



Fortunately, the kayakers were English-speakers and their friendly guide from Xanthos travel (based in Kas) allowed us to eavesdrop on his commentary. From him, we learned much about Tersane ("boatyard" in Turkish), the sunken villages and the Lycian and Roman periods. He explained that the larger stone building blocks, 2' x 3' and bigger, are mainly from the Roman period while the smaller blocks (8" x 15") are Lycian. The small harbour of Tersane was favoured as a place to live and work, as only a small isthmus separated it from the rough Mediterranean outside. By posting a watch outside the isthmus, the inhabitants had time to prepare a defense against marauders.We braved the prickly undergrowth to cross over the isthmus to the outer side of the island, where the remains of a building that seemed to be an old church looked out to sea. Returning to the cove, we walked along the ledge at the waters edge, marvelling at the sight of the old foundations beneath the water. Another tour boat pulled into the cove and its sole passenger, a beautiful young woman, dove overboard to swim in the warm water. "Anything worth seeing on shore?" she asked us. The water was so clear that we could see her entire body floating above the ancient foundations- it was a strange sight, like watching a fish in an aquarium.

As more and more day- tripper boats entered the cove, we decided to move on. We slowly motored the dinghy over the extensive "sunken city" ruins along the coast of the island, then crossed to Kale Koy to visit the castle.There is no road access to Kale Koy and as a result, the town is much as it was back in crusader times, except for the occasional Coca Cola and Efes beer sign.We climbed through the narrow streets that are typical of any medieval village in Europe, past vendors selling jewellry and art, and elderly men and women with baskets of tea and herbs. At the orange juice stand, a young man had a small collection of coins from different countries. "Where you from?" he asked us in broken English. "Can you give me one piece of your money? " We could not find a single Canadian coin in our pockets, but said we would try to return later and bring one to him. He smiled, bowed and placed his hands together in the prayer position in front of his face. "Very very thank you" he said. At the top of the hill, I discovered a Canadian penny in the bottom of my coin purse and returned with it. He was less happy than I had hoped. "Can you come back and bring me a big one?" he asked. Of course, he had been hoping for a loonie. If any of you plan to visit Kalekoy soon, please put one in your pocket for him.

The castle was much like any other castle, with the most interesting feature being an ancient theatre built into the side of the hill. The view alone made the climb worthwhile, and we took photo after photo from the ramparts.

Then it was back to Ucagiz, where all the restaurant owners keep constant watch with binoculars and wave any dinghies who come into the harbour onto their docks and into their abodes. It's not easy to decide which one to take, but we chose Ibrahim's place and the die was cast for the remainder of our stay. Having befriended Ibraham, it was inconceivable to consider landing at anyone else's dock- Ucagiz is so tiny that it is impossible to slip in unobserved. Ibraham's waterfront deck, with its view over the gulets and the harbour, provided a pretty setting to share a plate of calamari and linger with a cold "Efes Light" in hand. Unfortunately, the tiny size of the hamlet had some disadvantages- we apparently drank the only available bottle of Efes Light (a very drinkable low-alcohol beer) on our first visit, and for the remainder of our stay it was unavailable. Having said that, the hamlet is now much more developed than in the past. An older French couple at the table beside us clearly knew Ibraham very well. "For twenty-five years we did what you are doing" they tell us. "We cruised in the summers and went home during the winters. When we first came here, this was all just a beach and Ibraham was just a young boy of 18 years". Who knows what changes the next 25 years will bring?

On our way back to Aisling, we decided to drop in and re-connect with David and Lowie Bock on Salty Dawg, a Nordhaven 55. We first met them, and their Golden-doodle Danny (Danforth) in Horta, after completing our Atlantic crossing in 2007. We later saw them again in Almerimar, Spain and also (from a distance) in Fethiye. They live in the lap of luxury aboard Salty Dawg- David said it was like living in a Miami condo with a view that changes. That is a pretty good description, what with the leather easy chairs, beautiful galley and lots of space on three levels. In some respects, having a motor vessel in the Med makes a lot of sense- we are rarely able to make a passage without using the motor. "There are two types on motor boats in the Med" said David, "One type has a stick and one doesn't". They captured our imaginations with descriptions of their trip on the EMYR- the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally that sails from Istanbul, down the Aegean, and then along the Southern coast of Turkey to Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and finally Egypt. The portion from Kemer to Egypt lasted about six weeks, with brief organized stops and numerous night passages. They described it as a relentless and tiring trip through some of the most wondrous territories on earth. Although the pace was too quick for some, they are now thinking of doing it again, as there is so much more to see. Link to EMYR site

The next morning, Salty Dawg headed east early in the morning and we headed back to Tersane for a swim over the ruins, then to Ucagiz to explore the village and the field of sarcophagi behind the boat. A Scottish man with many many mosquito bites on his legs and arms, who was also roaming among the tombs, finally provided the definitive answer to a question that had been bugging me for over a year: How do you pronounce the word Lycian? Is it "lye-see-an"? "lye-see-an"? "liss-ee-an"? or lick-ee-an". He said it is correctly pronounced lick-ee-an, and since he claimed to have a friend who is an expert on the history of ancient Lycia, I believe him.

In Ucagiz, the curious juxtaposition of the ancient ruins against the trappings of 21st century life is incongruous, and it was easy to imagine generations of villagers living beside the ancient monuments that are simply part of their day-to-day surroundings. My reverie in front of a trailer with a tomb in the back yard was interrupted by Rick's urgent call to the dinghy- he had spotted some young boys boarding a charter gulet anchored beside us, and wanted to be sure that Aisling's cockpit was not next on their list. After ensuring that nothing was amiss, we returned to shore for a plate of mezzes at Ibraham's, then said our good byes. There are many other anchorages in Kekova Roads, but for us, it was time to depart. With the date for my mother's surgery still unknown, we decided to grab a favourable weather window and head back toward the Gulf of Fethiye the next morning. We'll tell you about our brief stop in the beautiful anchorage at Gimiler Adasi in our next posting.

Cruising Notes

As we entered the harbour at Kalekoy, it was a bit disconcerting to see the chart plotter show our track moving onto land and over the castle on the hill. Although electronic charts are a good resource, you must confirm your position using line of site, bearings and spacial orientation when using these charts, especially at high zoom. (The large-scale sections of the harbours seem to use a different Datum than the smaller-scale charts.)

There is a wide choice of anchorages in the Kekova Roads area, but many are small and the best places can often be crowded with charter boats and gulets. Having a sturdy dinghy with a good motor allows us to anchor a bit off the beaten track and still visit the prime destinations by water. Most sailboats carry a dinghy of some type, and in the Mediterranean they are typically about 6' long, fit snugly on the bow and carry only two to three people with a small outboard. Aisling's has a 10' AB rib with a 9.8hp Nissan 2-stroke, which maintain speeds of close to 20 knots with two people aboard when the seas are flat. Although it can be challenging at times to cope with the bigger boat and heavier motor, having a larger dinghy significantly broadens the range of our travel while at anchor. This allowed us to explore the Kekova Roads area in the dinghy, while Aisling remained safely at anchor in Ucagiz Limani.

If you're beginning to get the urge to visit Turkey by water, but don't want to make the long journey in your own boat and prefer more luxury than is available onboard Aisling, you might want to consider chartering one of Ibraham's gullets. Link to Babaveli Yachting

For 1500 euros a day (think of the money you'll be saving compared to chartering the Kogo!) you can charter one of his luxury gulets that can sleep 12 people in six cabins. The price includes everything other than alcoholic beverages. He keeps two of these gulets in Gocek for the summer, and moves them to Ucagiz for winter. He also keep a Bavaria 44 at the end of his dock- apparently business is Ucagiz is good! (although according to Ibraham, less so this year than in the past).

Limited supplies and bread are available at the small market behind Ibraham's restaurant in Ucagiz. We did not need water but according to the cruising wiki for Kekova, water is available on the docks at Ucagiz and Kale Koy.