This week we are going to share some stories about interesting characters and kind hearted people we have encountered this week.

Unexpected bread delivery to SCII
We were anchored with a line ashore in the bay outside Bozburun. This is a very busy bay with lots of large gulets and motor boats, most of which are Turkish. On the shore was a group of tents where a family was camping. From the boat in the morning, we had watched the women making flat bread, mixing, kneading and rolling the bread before cooking in a frying pan. Later in the day as we were relaxing and reading on the back of SCII we hear a voice saying hello. As we look over the back of the boat there is a woman who has swam out the 30-40m from the shore clutching a plastic bag with two pieces of flat bread as a gift. She spoke very little English but wanted to share her homemade bread with us, which was a lovely gesture. Nerida made a carrot, garlic, walnut and yoghurt dip to have with the bread, which was delicious.

Osman’s Place
Whenever we visit Bozburun, we always go to the restaurant Osman’s Place run by Osman and his Scottish wife Lynne. Osman and Lynne have a special affinity with the sailing folk that visit Bozburun, so much so that yachting associations have given them awards for supporting the sailing community. It is three years since we have been to Bozburun but we were warmly greeted by Lynne with a huge hug and catching up on the previous years. Lynne kindly offered to do our laundry for us. Osman’s Place always provides a good meal and friendship.

The thirsty goat herder
While at anchor one day we had a visit from a local goat herder. He swam out to SCII from the shore and invited himself on to the back of the yacht. He had just a little English but was asking about where we came from, are there goats there and our families. He also asked if we had any Coca-Cola for him which is what we suspect he really came for. We said we did not have coke but gave him an almond drink we purchased in Datca but were unsure whether we really liked it. We were to watch him chasing the goats around the next day although there didn’t seem to be much purpose in it. The next day he swam out to SCII again asking for a bira (beer), so he obviously was also not impressed by the almond drink! This time we saw him coming and pulled the ladder up so he couldn’t get aboard but he was very persistent in asking for beer.

Ali Barbers Restaurant
The bay called Bozuc Buku has several restaurants around it and is always one of our stopping off points. We went to the jetty at “Ali Barbers” restaurant, one that we had stopped at before. We were the first to arrive but by 4:00pm their jetty was full showing how popular these places are. The water in this area is crystal clear and refreshingly cool so it’s a great spot for a swim on a warm afternoon.

There is no road access to Ali Barbers, so all provisions come by boat. One or two families live here over the summer months catering for passing boat trade. This includes assisting yachts with mooring on their rickety jetty, preparing and serving a wonderful meal (we had fish and fried vegetables with a garlicy yoghurt sauce) and cooking Turkish village bread for both the restaurant and for yachties to purchase. The bread resembles what we would call Turkish bread and is cooked on the hot stones of a wood-fired oven. The loaves are typically about 40cm round, 5 cm high and would provide us with bread for at least 4 meals – for the princely sum of about $A3.00.

Serce Limani
Before leaving Ali Barbers we did the obligatory walk to the top to the old walled citadel at the top of the nearby hill. As can be seen in this week’s video, there is a great view of the area from there.

We are currently anchored in a very sheltered bay just up the coast a little further. Again, the water is crystal clear, lots of small fish and although there are constantly boats coming and going it is not as crowded as some of the places we have been. There are also quite a few small boats coming past selling figs, almonds, towels, cotton blankets and clothing. So far, no fresh bread…..