Turkey

The Turkish coast north of Çeşme to the Dardanelles has over 200nm of coastline. The northern 60nm is only used by yachts in transit, with regular summer winds blowing quite strongly from the north and limited interest. Baba Burun (the headland north of Lesbos) marks the start of a pleasant linear cruise along the coast, sometimes spectacular, with several attractive anchorages and harbours a short day sail apart and one or two less pleasant industrially developed bays.

You wish to sail to Istanbul, and stay in a nearby marina? This is the page for you!

Most cruisers enter the narrow Dardanelles, pushing against wind and current, and avoiding large ships, in order to visit the superb city of Istanbul. Once in the Sea of Marmara (marble) it's best to keep south, sheltered from the usual headwinds. This offers a quiet and attractive cruising route with plenty of harbours and anchorages, soft, rolling landscapes, and marble quarries.

Until near Istanbul, there are no concessions to tourism, and few yachts.  The built up area around Istanbul has very good yacht support, with several marinas, shore hards and shipyards. Allow a  week for a slow potter upwind along the south coast. Stay as many days as you can afford near the fascinating city of Istanbul. Then run back in the stronger winds along the rather bare north coast over a couple of days.

A short general description of sailing in Turkey and exploring by boat, briefly listing the main differences between the cruising regions as you journey south and east from Istanbul to Syria. Turkey, outside the EU, is surprisingly green and fertile after Greece. Magnificent mountains back most of the coastline. Byzantine, Roman, Greek and even pre-Hellenic ruins are everywhere. Sophisticated marinas and world class hotels (with world class prices!) sit close to dirt roads, hamlets, and herds of goats. Everywhere, slender minarets call the faithful to prayer - a sharp wake-up at 0500.  In quieter spots, food is good value, beautifully presented by courteous owners. With these attractions, major tourist destinations have been developed. Night long noise in a few bays are some of the symptoms. Pestering salesmanship (and some very subtle carpet salesmanship!) are others. Sections of the south west coast have been badly scarred with large quadrilaterals of dense, low rise house developments. The good news is that Turkey has adapted to make its visitors comfortable - and uses Latin script.

Apart from the N Sporades, frequented by charter yachts and flotillas, this area, including the passage inside Evia, is a quiet cruising ground. Some restaurants and cafés only open for the peak season, July and August, when the population of Thessalonika comes out to play on the beaches. N Greece otherwise sees mainly local boats cruising around the three peninsulae of  Khalkidiki, plus a few foreign flag yachts in transit to and from Turkey or the Dodecanese. These seem bent on avoiding the stronger winds of the S Aegean, although the meltemi blows strongly through the spaced out islands of the East Sporades.