Winter 2022-23....the Türkiye Way
After our fabulous 2022 spring, summer and autumn sailing season which took us through Montenegro, Albania and Greece, we farewelled the old and welcomed in the new in Finike, Türkiye. Finike, the ancient word for Phoenix or Phoinix, and at one time known as Phineka, and is a coastal town and a district on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Province. Situated southwest of the city of Antalya, along what is known as the Turkish Riviera. It is located on the southern shore of the Teke peninsula, with a long stretch of beach which makes it a popular tourist destination during the summer months. However, Finike itself is best known for its amazing oranges, which are the symbol of the town. It is huge agricultural area and home to what we think is one of the best fresh produce markets we have seen.
For centuries Finike was one of many port towns making up ancient Lycia, which was a state/nation that flourished in Anatolia from 15-14 centuries BCE to 546BCE. It was a trading port and the main port of Limyra, the capital city of Lycia. It is said that Finike was founded by the Phoenicians in the 5th century BCE and therefore the ancient name, Phoenix. Of course, the area has been inhabited for much longer than that with archaeologists identifying evidence showing that this peninsula has been settled since around 3000BCE. Trade along the coast was established first by the Persians, who relinquished Lycia to the armies of Alexander the Great. After that, the coast was vulnerable to invaders from Syria, Egypt and Rhodes until the Romans took control. Later the Byzantines had a go at running the show and they did battle with Arab armies in the ‘Battle of the Masts’ just near Finike in 654. Eventually however the whole area was lost to the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century who were then succeeded by the Ottoman Empire from 1426. Interestingly, the town of Finike was primarily inhabited by Greeks right up until 1923 when there was a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. That is an crazy story and if you are interested in reading about that, here is a good link to read.
Today, the local economy is really agriculture, particularly oranges and other citrus fruits. However, this is supplemented by income from tourism in the summertime, but not like the large-scale tourism boom that has influenced other coastal districts of Antalya. Finike remains a quiet area where people just go about their daily lives harvesting food crops, fishing and generally enjoying this relaxed part of the country. The port of Finike where our yacht marina lies, also has a small fishing fleet. The coast is rich in marine life here, including sea turtles and seals both of which are protected and cherished here. In fact, the beaches of Finike are an important nesting ground for the Caretta sea turtles and the rocky coastline is home to the very rare Mediterranean monk seal. The people of Türkiye are incredibly welcoming and generous people. It is impossible to go for a walk into the town or along the beach promenade without people smiling and saying “Merhaba”. Craig goes to a barber in town who is always on for a long chat about his family and our plans. The lady in the market who sells great herbs, greets us each Saturday with a huge smile and an eagerness to tell me what is best this week. And the gentleman and his family who make our weekend breakfast Gozleme are always concerned we aren’t eating enough. We have felt very much at home here and have no regrets about choosing to call Türkiye home for this coming 12 months. The weather here on the coast itself is really mild and not unlike a winter on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. We do wake up to see snow on the mountains surrounding the coast though so there can be some very fresh northerly winds!
During the coldest months, December-February, we have been kept busy with various boat jobs (which I have posted about previously), exploring inland to places such as Cappadocia, Konya, and further northeast to Mersin. Check out our YouTube channel for some short videos! Of course, there has also been an endless and fun filled social life too!
Sadly, eastern Türkiye was hit early on 6th February by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. That was followed approximately nine hours later by a 7.5 quake and then on 20 February another 6.4 magnitude quake. Since then, there have been somewhere in the vicinity of 5,700 aftershocks. Tragically, more than 50,000 people have been killed and that number continues to rise. Over 100,000 people injured. Over 6,500 building were destroyed and we are hearing that 2.4 million people from Türkiye and Syria have been displaced. It has been an incredibly sad time and very few local folk remain unaffected in some way, so we have tried in our small way to help and ensure we buy local and remain sensitive to this enormous tragedy.
So what is ahead for us now. Well, 2023 has us planning a slow sail northwest along the Turquoise Coast towards Istanbul and the Bosphorus Strait. We actually have no plans really for a change, so our first true year of living randomly and chaotically. We are very excited and are looking forward to being able to welcome aboard my sister, Michelle and the BIL, Quentin, mid year. We’ll test out their sailing skills! Beyond that, we are looking forward to just simply...... coddiwompling!!
