A Turkish Experience

By Ken Wright, Owner/Operator Surgiamo

“Since the dawn of recorded history” puts one in the mood to appreciate these large eternally carved marble blocks lying juxtaposed in the morning sun.  The air is 35◦C in the shade.  But there is none. For 2 hours I have been absorbing the Agora, the sun dial, the graffiti carved into the stone floor of a church by Arab pirates of the 9th century, and the 10 meter wide circular base that once supported the famous statue of Aphrodite by Praxiteles.

Looking down past the amphitheater, I see our boat anchored in the sparkling blue waters of the protected cove that sheltered Roman triremes in ancient Knidos.  I shall swim back to the boat in the clear warm (24◦C) Mediterranean, cooling down and viewing this grand city from a labourers perspective 2 millennia ago.

The above is typical of a morning experience along the south West coast of Turkey. All of the Mediterranean has history, but this Anatolian peninsula has always been a land where East and West met.  All major empires have passed through, controlled, and left their mark.  So many landmarks are still alive, and so touchable to remind us of the colossal efforts of nations who came before. 

It is real to unearth a broken shard of pottery and feel the work of a potter 2000 years ago, then to leave it behind thinking ‘dormant in the dirt for millennia yet still alive.’

Find antiquity in the middle of cities, villages, fields, sea bottoms, and lonely mountain tops.

What has permitted the creation of so many historical sites?  It could well be the fullness, diversity and strength of the cultures’ of the empires.

These cultures were rich.  After solving the problems of survival, they began to display themselves in art, commerce, and structure.  Did they look at the efforts of a previous empire and say “we can do better?”  I am curious.

The genuine hospitality of Anatolian people encouraged new ideas and foods and methods of preparation gathered from afar, to blend with and richen their culinary efforts.  And the fertile soil underfoot has grown all, in abundance and taste.  Turkey is, in fact, one of the few countries in the world that can feed itself, and with much in excess.

Now you must not simply accept this flourish of praise for the culture and the cuisine.  I may easily exaggerate, after 20 years of liberal taste testing.  You need to experience for yourself.

Ken and his wife Lima operate the sailing yacht Surgiamo out of Turkey. Please visit their listing here or visit their website here.