All the B's...

Bozcaada - We take the early option and head out of Cannakale at 6am to avoid the headwind predicted… we make it to the entrance by 9am with no hassles and drift off quietly towards Bozcaada. It is a funky little harbour with a stern castle leering over it that is attractively lit at night to lure the young ones into a bit of romantic hand holding. At 40YTL a night it’s not cheap but as the Turkish guy next to us points out Turkey didn’t get many islands in the last change over between Greece and Turkey so it is very popular. The town is very sweet with plenty of Greek houses and randomly laid out cobbled streets and none of the order of a modern Turkish village built on a strict grid pattern! The island is known for its wine making and a tasting weekend has attracted loads of people so it becomes a hive of activity with big hats and relatively short skirts. We have a very pleasant night, if a little sloppy, on the quay but decide at the price we might just sail further south away from the tourist prices.
Babakale – Another gentle sail brings us to Babakale, a rundown fishing harbour with yet another square castle dominating the skyline. We ease in to the harbour and are waved on to a broken down quay and interrogated by the locals… not many yachts stop here. Eventually the novelty wears off and we risk a stroll into what looks like a dirty, dusty place but turns out to be a convivial one and the view from the castle is great. The locals are having some sort of performance come rock concert within the castle walls and Turkish pop resonates off the stonework shaking the old mortar and little old ladies tap their feet in time on the battlements… all very strange! It’s on to Assos tomorrow.

Behram Kale – Behram Kale or Assos is not as expected. What a cool little place! We are not sure about the harbour as it is listed as being extremely shallow but we risk it anyway and sure enough even though it says 2 to 2 ½ metres deep it isn’t in parts! We weave our way through the shallow patches and go bows to one of the ancient stone restaurants. The water at the bow is frighteningly shallow and you can see each grain of sand but the keel has a good 10cm clearance, we hope! The tiny harbour is over 2000 years old and lined with beautiful stone buildings; all carefully restored and renovated. It is a popular place with campers and boutique (butik!) hotel goers and there is a regular throng of people coming and going. We eat at the restaurant whose wall we are tied to and plan a big walk up the hill to Assos in the morning.

Assos was founded in the 1st millennium BC and perches above the harbour on a volcanic cone. It’s a long sticky walk up to the site from the harbour but well worth it. With fabulous views out over Lesbos the site trickles down the hill in a series of levels starting with a temple to Athena. From the top we peer down the slope past bouncing squirrels (didn’t know they had them here!) and can see the outer breakwater of the harbour, a fabulous sight. The modern town clings to the other side of the site and the winding streets are lined with trinket stalls and baggy panted ladies selling their wares. We are up well before the average tourist and avoid most of the stalls but eventually get caught out by one cunning old lady and end up with a bag full of delicious apricots. After a meander down through the necropolis and amphitheatre we eventually make it back to the boat and all the heat that can be generated by rock in a small windless space… time to head back out to sea!
We have had one question answered though… we have seen loads of Turkish boats with American flags. Turns out that if you pay $900US you can register a company in American and avoid paying 26% tax on your boat… that explains a lot… now if they just knew that Delaware wasn’t spelt Dullerware they wouldn’t attract so much attention to themselves! (Actually on second thoughts, maybe they have got it right!!)
A pilgrimage to Pergamon.
We are looking to spend some time in a nice quiet bay and find the very thing in Poroselene. A bay to ourselves and plenty of shelter but just enough breeze to keep one cool! It is so nice we stay another day! As we finally leave our peaceful bay to head into Alibey and Ayvalik we keep hearing loud Turkish music thumping out from around the nearby islands… where on earth is it coming from?? As we round the first big island the big mystery is solved… trip boats for Africa! It is like a different planet… large wooden boats milling about, racing each other for the good mooring spots and generally attempting to whip their punters into a frenzy are everywhere! Some even have waterslides on the back and all have the ubiquitous 1000 decibel stereo system playing the same tape, just slightly out of sync with each other! Great stuff! We spend the afternoon being entertained by them and them try and moor up in Alibey… way too windy so opt for another bay further south and have it all to ourselves… most satisfactory!
Across the shallow bay from Alibey is the bustling town and marina of Ayvalik. We intend on spending a couple of nights here. A) We need a shower and water and B) it is a great base to visit Pergamon from!
It’s a great marina if a little tight for manoeuvring! We get in our slot with a helpful(?) shove from the staff boat and avoid the ignominy the next bloke who gets it wrong and ends up sideways trapped on two mooring lines… knife in hand he manfully cut himself free and at high speed born of making a perceived tit of yourself rams his boat into the space next to us.
Ayvalik seems very popular with local tourist and the backstreets are chocker full of markets and people pushing and shoving in pursuit of a bargain. It’s all a bit of a shock after the bays but we are determined to take a minibus to Pergamon so we brave the crowds and find out the relevant information.
Having determined the minibus route we make an early start and have a great 1 ½ hrs drive through the countryside to Bergama – the new town of Pergamon. The roads are lined with ordered fields of vegetables, sunflowers, dairy farms and alike. It is all incredibly fertile and plenty of water flows down the hills in irrigation ditches and small rivers. The place is alive with tractors and hunched over men and women weeding and planting… it all looks very labour intensive. In the small towns we pass through the streets are lined with trees and horse and carts are prominent although it is the tractor that stands out. Not only is it used for its obvious purpose but it also appears to be the second car for driving to the cay house or supermarket!
Begama seems like a sleepy place as we are dropped off its outskirts. Pergamon is immediately obvious – precariously built on the top of the high hill overlooking the modern town and we make our way by taxi to the top… money well spent; it is a lot further than we first thought! The site is magnificent with its commanding view of the surrounding countryside. From here we realise Bergama is a lot busy and bigger than we gave it credit for! It is an incredibly old site and the layers of building and thought that went into it is obvious from the first temple to the last stoa. Amazingly the whole area first had to be made flat with a series of arches and infilling and water was brought in from mountains 45 kilometres away by a complex route of aqueducts and pipes. We wander around for most of the day taking in the temples, steep amphitheatre, agora and palaces and eventually take the Lonely Planet option of following the blue dots down the hill towards the Red Basilica. No other tourists seem to come this way and it is a shame really as there are several restored roman ruins and some stunning mosaics. Our trip down ends at a hole in the fence making us feel somewhat naughty for being off the beaten track but we sneak through it anyway and head into town via the ancient road through rundown old Greek houses with their metal shutters and crumbling brickwork.
Bergama is just as it appears from the top. Concrete and hectic… we have to find the museum and bus stop for home so we push on through the crowds. The museum is quiet and cool and contains some interesting stuff but it turns out most of Pergamon resides in a museum in Germany! It’s back to Ayvalik now, if we can find the bus… luckily despite the dodgy instructions from the tourist office, (why don’t people know where stuff is in Turkey?) we manage to flag down a dolmus and get to the main bus station to enjoy a relaxing ride back to the marina. What a great day out!