June 21-30, 2016 —
Turkey only offers a 90 day visa and this was our 90th day since we returned from Barcelona. It was time to leave. Turkey has patterned its visa system after the Schengen Agreement among the EU member countries. However, unlike the EU where one can let things slide or get extensions, Turkey plays it to the letter of the law.
After checking out of the country through Immigration and the port police at D-Marine, we topped off the water and fuel tanks, and set sail. The nice thing about checking out in Didim is the authorities are right there at the marina, and they do not require an agent for the process. We had a beautiful sail south about 30 miles into Kos, Greece.
Our months in Turkey were wonderful. Turkey is called “the world’s largest museum” for good reason. It has thousands of years of history, art, mosques, churches, and antiquities. Turks are friendly, helpful, and sharing. You can’t speak with someone for more than five minutes without being offered tea. They are the definition of hospitality.
Turkey is currently challenged by ISIS, the PKK (Kurdish rebels), migrants, and their own government. Tourism, a major sector of Turkey’s economy, has taken a tremendous hit wiping out many businesses and jobs. We hope they will be able to find resolutions and rebuild their economy.
We leave taking with us great memories, new friendships, and a much better understanding of Turkey’s culture and the Muslim religion. We will go back.
Kos, Greece will be our base for the next year. We will sail the Cyclades, Sporades, and Dodecanese island groups of central and eastern Greece, but also spend time in the Kos marina. Kos is located just four miles off the coast of Turkey, across from Bodrum, Turkey. A ferry connects the two countries, providing us easy access.
Kos sticks in most people’s minds these days as one of the three islands most impacted by the flow of Syrian refugees last year. Tourism is by far the largest industry of the island. Photos in the news from last summer show vacationers walking the beaches in bikinis while rubber dinghies filled with migrants are landing on the shore beside them. Beaches were scattered with campers and abandoned life jackets. Some tourists tried to assist; others chose to ignore them. The result is that the word was out that Kos was overwhelmed with migrants and tourism has been affected. One restaurant owner told us that his business is down 40% this year. He hopes to be able to stay in business and that it will come back next year. In reality, the migrant population has moved on from Kos further north into Europe. We have only seen a few migrants on Kos.
Kos has a landscape that includes high hills of barren rock, green valleys and stone covered beaches. Olive trees are growing everywhere. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), the Ancient Greek physician known as the founder of medicine, was born and lived on Kos. His preserved sanatorium remains, as does the Castle of the Knights fortress in the center of town.
Our marina is in Kos Town, the main town on the island. It is a busy tourist town with most people riding scooters and bicycles. A wide bike path on the main street makes getting around safer and easier. We will get bikes for the months we are living there full time. In the meantime we are getting our exercise walking.