Blue Cruise

We went to Turkey to go on a cruise in the Aegean Sea.

The boat had a two-man crew; Captain Selahatin and a cook named Hassan. In the dishes are pomegranate and Turkish delight.

Captain Selahatin was a wonderful man, the father of two daughters. He spent hours playing cards with True. We all played a lot of cards.

We played for pennies - or centimes, rather...

... and sometimes played into the night.

We were at the very end of the season, so there were not many other boats around.

The water was extremely clear but bracing and not really comfortable enough to swim in.

I went in for a dip with Sky...

... but I only stayed in for a few minutes.

The food was interesting.

Though there was far too much of it.

Breakfast was the nicest meal.

Bread...

... and jam.

Captain Selahatin would consult with us about where to sail each day.

We motored quite a bit, though Captain Selahatin did make an effort to sail.

True at the helm.

We sailed to Sedir Island in the Gulf of Gökova to see "Cleopatra's Beach."

The beach's sand is made up of smooth, round "ooids."

Tradition holds that the sand was brought to Sedir Island for Cleopatra by Mark Anthony from a beach with similar sand west of Alexandria on the Egyptian Coast.

Ooids are formed when calcium carbonate collects in layers around a nucleus, which could be a grain of sand. There are differing opinions in the scientific community about whether Sedir Island's ooids were formed locally or were brought there from Egypt as legend says.

It feels soft when you walk on it.

Not much of the ancient city is left on Sedir Island beyond the remains of a Roman temple and this amphitheater.

If Cleopatra did visit Sedir, she was likely entertained at this theater.

Sedir means cedar.

Our boat anchored off Sedir Island.

A storm blew up and we had to put in to Bodrum for a night.

We went to see the ancient city of Ephesus.

Nearby was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The foundations are still there.

The apostle John is said to have lived in Ephesus and may have written the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelations there. Catholic tradition claims that John brought Mary to live there and we visited "Mary's house," which is now a shrine. The apostle Paul lived in Ephesus for several years and we sat in the amphitheater where he preached.

Anna at Ephesus.


When the weather had cleared, we got back on the boat and spent a couple more days relaxing.

True found a quiet corner.

He liked life aboard.

Anna and Sky relaxing.

A rainbow.

Sky and I at night. The stars were spectacular.