Exploring the Fethiye & Gocek Areas

by Chantal & David · Published August 3, 2018 · Updated January 27, 2020

On the 24th July we left Kalkan intending on heading to Fethiye, but after motoring in a dead calm for 3 hours, the wind finally decided to wake up enough for us to have a fabulous downwind sail over to Gocek and the islands off it, so with there being no hurry to get to Fethiye, that is what we decided to do!

These islands which protect Gocek and the much indented coastline offer an almost medieval landscape, bare and devoid of much habitation except goats and the few entrepreneurs who have set up restaurants with basic ramshackle pontoons to cater for the ever increasing number of yachts and gullets that sail these very deep flat waters, adorning the coastline every 50 yards or so by anchoring off and tying their stern onto the rocks, something we are clearly going to have to master! I have pinched an aerial shot from the web to give you an idea…

We spent a good couple of hours exploring the nooks and crannies, (anchorages) around these islands until we settled on Seagull Bay, one of the few places we could actually free anchor, with a couple of other boats for company. It was an exceptionally peaceful evening and night, and we awoke to a complete millpond, perfect for a bit of paddleboarding and swimming in crystal clear waters.

So having worked up a bit of a sweat on the paddleboard I returned to Seaclusion to tie it off and jump in the water, but much to my dismay it appeared that somewhere amidst these beautiful islands, a gullet had decided to empty its black water tanks (poo tank for the non-sailors) and it had drifted into our pristine bay. We were absolutely shocked by this, particularly as Turkey are so strict about dumping waste, at least for us private sailors, you can only sail their waters if you have a holding tank and have registered for the “Blue Card” scheme, requiring you to have your tanks formally pumped out at special stations, and imposing heavy fines if these rules are not adhered here. Obviously it doesn’t seem to apply to local Gullets carrying 40 odd passengers, that’s a lot of Sh1t!

It was so bad we decided to leave, towing the paddleboard for a bit to clean its underside before hoisting it back on board. We then did some more exploring under engine of the other islands and anchorages, all the way down to Gocek, in readiness for when Mary & Kim are on board, and then hoisted our sails for a fabulous 2 hours over to Fethiye, where we dropped our pick for another blissfully calm night.

Fethiye

We then spent the next few nights in Fethiye, having our “creak” sorted, hopefully once and for all, and a few other problems, exploring Fethiye itself, getting spruced up by a Turkish barber (I will let David tell you about that experience!) and hiring a car for the day to check the surrounding areas out. I will let the pics do the talking.

Fethiye Bazaar (Farmer’s market) which went on for ever with amazing fruit and vegetables

Fethiye Old Town, full of bars, restaurants, life, plus lots of shops selling cushions, rugs, silk scarves and very good quality but knock off designed clothes and handbags! Needless to say we have acquired 2 huge cushions for the boat and some covers for home.

David’s First Turkish Barbers Experience

So firstly I turn up looking for nothing other than a quick haircut, fortunately the guy speaks very good English, so at least I will get the haircut that I ask for, but what I wasn’t expecting, after having a Croatian football shirt placed over me, was for him to start stirring a pot with a spatula with some slimy green liquid on it. At that point I knew I was in for trouble, particularly when he informed me it was wax.. So I watched, apprehensively as he applied it to my ears, outside and in, and then moved on to my nose, where he liberally applied it up both nostrils. I knew the worst was yet to come, and I was not disappointed as he ripped said wax off from both of my ears, which was tolerable, but having it then ripped off from my nose and nostrils brought tears to my eyes, mind you it certainly did the job.. Oh and the haircut was fine, followed by a 5 minute head massage. Chantal, not to be left out was also invited for a wax, sorry, I mean a head massage!

Exploring the surrounding areas.

First Stop by car, Kayakoy, which was once a thriving Greek town until it was abandoned in the 1923 Exchange of Populations Treaty. Now there are about 400 roofless stone houses standing on the hillside.

Next Stop, Olu Deniz, which means Dead Sea, is a beautiful lagoon and beach, the face of many a Turkish postcard. Once upon a time it was possible to take your yacht into the lagoon, but with the hundreds and hundreds of sun worshipping bodies that cover the beaches it is now prohibited. Below are arial shots, following by mine showing a very different picture nowadays!

With the afternoon still to explore, we decided to go and check out Gocek, even though we will be returning there with Seaclusion. Gocek is a major yachting centre, with a remarkable concentration of up-market facilities, and in reality could be anywhere other than Turkey, it was so different to Fethiye, not a carpet shop in sight!