bodrum

last week ben and i were invited by some dear friends to join them for a few days aboard their yacht, the turkiz... and right there, on that yacht, we are pretty sure we found heaven on earth!  it was an amazing get-away, made even more special by gorgeous weather, great food, and splendid company.  

after meeting can & bige at a beach bar where we waited for the boat to arrive, we arrived at the turkiz late at night by dinghy, and woke up later that morning to an incredible view from our room

the captain was cruising and our vacation had begun!  

we arrived in golturkbuku bay about 30 minutes later, and i thought we may have landed in greece (close enough, the greek islands are intermixed with turkish ones in these parts)

the color of the water in the aegean is indescribable, absolutely amazing

ours was not the only yacht, this is a popular spot for yachting by day and clubbing at the beach bars by night

that night we enjoyed a fish dinner on board before heading out to experience the local night life

with our hosts, can & bige

we were lucky to be escorted by can's brother emir and his friend who know the night-life best.  they took us to 'ship ahoy' where we had a great time people-watching and listening to a great dj

can & emir

the newlyweds

bige & i

after a long night of dancing, it was only right that we stopped for some kofte to sustain us during our dinghy ride back to the boat

each morning we awoke to a breakfast feast on top deck

on the second day we parted ways with emir before cruising down the aegean 

the cruising was a lot of fun-- made more so by lots of heated tavla matches and plenty of efes beer!

and of course, naps were crucial

that afternoon we woke up to find we had arrived in okluk bay, nicknamed 'british bay,' because of the british naval ships that were hidden here during battle in world war I

it was truly magical, absolutely serene, surrounded by pine trees and just about the greenest water i've ever seen

this mermaid statue greeted us as we entered the bay.  it was apparently a gift from a famous turkish explorer who docked here after every one of his voyages. on it an inscription reads 'the mermaid, in order to realize her dream, has traveled over so huge a sea, crossed the horizons.  she went through continents, islands and coves until she got to gokova.'

the bay was so quiet, with only a few other boats anchored for the night, the perfect spot for a relaxing evening.  we ventured out for dinner to a tiny little fish restaurant across the bay in gokova (the only public establishment there), adjacent to the president's summer camp.  there we and several other turks and europeans watched the final match of the world cup.  afterward we laid on the top deck and start gazed-- t'was incredible!

a gulet, our neighbor for the night

the first thing we did each morning was jump into the water

after morning swims and breakfast, it was time to cruise!

in the afternoon we arrived in central bodrum where we spent our last night

bodrum castle

ataturk's cruise ship

can and ben had a heated tavla tournament while bige and i played spit, or 'schpitzel' as we renamed it

that evening we docked in the marina where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of many other boating parties

and that was our time aboard the turkiz!