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Helicarnassos, sunshine
and sailing in Bodrum
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After another calm night at sea,
we arrived in Bodrum. It was to be yet another beautiful day. |
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Our route overnight from Fethiye to
Bodrum, passing some by now familiar Greek islands. We were
only aware of this because our mobile phone signals kept
switching between Greek and Turkish operators. We wondered
if there was any reason why our itinerary seemed to visit
all the Greek destinations first, before going on to visit
all of the Turkish destinations. Looking at the map and
seeing, for example, how close Kos is to Bodrum, it might
have been more efficient to visit these two ports consecutively
rather than days apart. We speculated that it might have
more to do with customs and border controls between the
two countries than any other reason. |
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We docked next to a rather elegant
and very private looking small ship, complete with helicopter on
the top! |
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Having gone on longish shore excursions
over the past two days, we decided that today we would avoid
the guided walking tour of Bodrum and explore the town ourselves.
Susan decided to do the same. Because of last night's champagne
drinks party with Janita and Andy, we hadn't gone to the
"port briefing" before dinner and were therefore
slightly confused by the shore arrangements for today. We
gathered that it was a fair walk to get through the terminal
building, after which there would be a shuttle boat (a gulet)
to take us across the bay to the centre of town. |
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We didn't have long to wait for
the next shuttle boat. |
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Most of our fellow travellers had
already left, so we had a very leisurely, relaxed and scenic boat
ride across the bay. |
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Hmmm, that "little" private
yacht docked next to ours wasn't that little after all... |
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About twenty minutes later, we arrived
at the designated spot in the centre of the commercial area of the
town.
We were impressed that our boat could get into this small space. |
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We set off on foot, with our maps,
more or less following the route that the others were going to be
taking on their tour. |
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Our first stop was at the site of
the Mausoleum of Helicarnassos |
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Leaving the site, we meandered along some little alleyways, maintaining
our bearings by keeping close to the shore line.
We were looking for the Ottoman Tower shown on our map.
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We think we found it, but we weren't
completely convinced. After some subsequent research, I
read that it was built in about 1794 to protect an Ottoman
naval shipyard from pirate raids and has undergone recent
restoration, so I now feel a little happier that we did
actually go to the right place. |
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We were able to go through the tower
into some well maintained gardens beyond. A tomb is a prominent
feature of these gardens. |
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Still in the gardens, we caught sight
of the ancient theatre in the distance, which was another
"must-see" on our tourist map. Well, we had already
seen several of these on our tour so far and no doubt we
would be seeing a few more, so we decided to give it a big
tick... done! |
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Views from the gardens |
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Back outside the garden/tomb site,
we spotted this unusual structure. We still don't know what it is! |
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We were also a bit mystified by
this tree with its beautiful purple flowers. |
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We started strolling back along the
shore line, lined with smart looking shops and restaurants.
We thought we might go and have a browse in the local Marks
& Spencer, but found that it was closed. A somewhat
embarrassed employee was standing outside promising that
it would open very soon... (well as soon as the manager
arrived to open it, that is!) |
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By this time, we felt the need for
a sit and a some light refreshments (not to mention free wi-fi) |
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After our coffee, Susan decided
to go and do some shopping and we decided to do some more walking
and sightseeing. |
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We wandered past a few restaurants,
staring at a few menus, with thoughts about having a light
lunch at one of them, but then decided to attempt a walk
back to the ship instead. We weren't sure if it would be
possible to get there on foot, but as we could see the ship
in the distance, how difficult could it be? |
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The walk turned out to be a very good
idea. It took about an hour and we made it back in very
good time for lunch, feeling justifiably proud of ourselves
for getting some exercise, not to mention working up an
appetite. |
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It was such a gorgeous day that we
couldn't waste it, so we retraced our steps and walked back
into town to have a better look at the markets and to take
in anything else that we may have missed in the morning. |
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A pleasant stroll around the centre
of Bodrum. It was fairly quiet and nobody hassled us, which was
nice. |
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| A couple of hours later, we were ready to return to the
ship. This time we took the boat, where we met up with fellow
travellers Peter and Barbra. |
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We spent what was left of the afternoon
relaxing on our balcony. |
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As the sun began to set, a tug boat
arrived and were were slowly towed out of the port. |
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Next stop, Izmir |
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