The trip South from Bodrum to Knidos is just 22 nautical miles. With 18-24 kts of wind on our beam, we had a great opportunity to put Interlude through her paces for the first time this season. With a single-reef in the main and our jib out, we covered the distance in 2 3/4 hours, averaging 8 miles/hr.

The anchorage didn't offer great protection from the NW wind so we opted to remain onboard for the afternoon and evening, knowing that the wind was expected to subside during the early morning hours. We woke up on Monday morning to clear blue skies and just 5 kts of wind .... time to go ashore.

The ancient city of Knidos sits on the SW corner of the Datça Penninsula and was built in 360 BC. Maritime commerce was on the rise in the 4th century BC and the Knidians relocated to this site because it gave them an opportunity to sell wine and other goods to passing ships who used the two harbors there for protection from the strong summertime meltimi wind. The site is massive and visitors today can walk among the ruins of two open air theaters, several temples, an accropololis and the ancient agora (market).

Along with it's strategic location, Knidos is also known for once being home to a nude statue of the goddess Aphrodite, said to be the most beautiful statue of the era. Sculpted by Praxiteles, it was the first completely nude statue of a woman, a revolutionary thing in an age when only male figures were sculpted nude. Men literally fell in love with this statue and admirers travelled far and wide to see her, providing Knidos with somewhat of a tourist trade. Unfortunately, the statue was lost over the centuries and all that remains is the base of the temple platform where she stood and countless stories about her beauty.