Sunday 29th July 2012 Bencik to Keci Buku

 

It was hard to chose which early morning photo to include, however it was easier to upload them all. Mooring overnight in this exquisite long narrow bay was a delightful experience for both of us. The scenery here was very tranquil and there were not many boats moored here overnight. We would have loved to spend an extra night here however we were expecting our Turkish friends to arrive and we planned to pick them up at another port nearby. On our travels to Keci Buku which is a very ancient sheltered bay in the large gulf called Hisaronu Korfezi, we passed the most outstanding scenery. The terrain of the mainland and the closeby islands is very rugged and the rock has a red clolour which makes it look quite dramatic. Not far past the entrance to Keci Buku the Marti Marina is located. This marina is a very popular one in this area of Turkey because of its unique position at the base of tall hills, it’s close proximity to the lovely ancient town of Orhaniye and of course being in one of the most popular sailing areas of Greece. On our arrival in the bay we did a circuit  and finally dropped anchor by the small islet that has the remains of an ancient Byzantine fort. This is one of the most stunning bays we have visited in Turkey so far. The sheltered bay with it’s high surrounding hills and small islet, underwater sandbar, clear water and many attractive restaurants make it a great place to visit. The underwater sandbar attracts thousands of people everyday during the busy season in summer. The water on the sandbar is to knee height and it is approximately 400 metres long. Some people believe it is the remains of an old ancient harbour wall. This bay has an enormous amount of history and it is believed that it was inhabited many thousands of years ago. We were also very lucky to meet an Australian who is now living on his boat here with his wife. Terry has been a Keci Buku resident for the past 5 years. We enjoyed a lovely informative evening with him and also met another interesting and well read Englishman who has been living aboard his boat here for the past 12 years. We were given quite a few suggestions for rest of our trip through Turkey. We had some drinks and then dinner with them at their regular spot. The food was fresh and nicely prepared and we really enjoyed the spicy meat kebab.