We were too big for the far side of the marina so were waved over to the fishing boat docks which were still fairly empty when we arrived just past 5 PM.  We secured the boat and then went off to visit the fortress and find some dinner.

The fortress  and town  just steps away from Doramac taken after dinner when I walked to the lighthouse at the harbor entrance.

Below the fortress walls were head stones, one reading 1316 to 1970.  I think the first date is based on the Islamic Calendar

Looking down from the fortress I spied this woman.  She was dressed all in blue with lovely blue shoes to match.  I’m sure someone’s grandma.  Büyükanne = elder mother

We bought some vegetables here and some strawberry jam from some ladies near the fortress.

His grandfather made knives and his son is learning now.

Animal horns for the handles

After dinner of grilled fish for Randal and me, calamari for Mary and a meatball dish for Rick we watched the fleet of fishing boats come into the harbor and hoped we’d not taken someones spot.

Looking down at the restaurant terrace next to ours and watching the sun begin to set.

After dinner I walked along the breakwater to the light house. 

The fishing boat that came into the harbor all fit in next to each other.

Walking towards the harbor entrance and light

More fishing boats coming into Babakale and they all managed to fit around us.

Some came to unload their catch, some to take on ice and provisions.  Some took on fuel.  We just weren’t sure exactly what they were all doing.

The sun was setting  over the sea at the foot of the fortress walls

The moon was rising over the fishing fleet and DoraMac

Our bow was right up to the stern of the fishing boat in front of us.

Our night in Istanbul had us tied up across from the hardstand where boats were having repair work done.  We were on the visitor dock I suppose which did provide power and water.  We weren’t made to check in with the outrageously priced agent so that was kind of the marina.  We did go to the mall for a Turkish sim card for internet access essential for checking weather so an acceptable reason to go ashore without officially checking in.  We left in the morning.

Silivri is the birthplace of the physician Herodicus, the Father of Sports Medicine

     “Herodicus (fifth century BC: ) is the first person in the history of medicine who actually combined sports with medicine. He used to be a sports teacher, who later studied medicine and managed to succeed Euryphon in the medical school of Cnidos, one of the most prominent in ancient Greece together with its neighbor medical school of Cos (Hippocrates’ home). In Cnidos Herodicus formed his own theoretical perspective of medicine. He considered, namely, bad health to be the result of imbalance between diet and physical activity and for this reason he recommended strict diet, constant physical activity and regular training. He believed that this combination was the ideal way to maintain good standards of health and he applied this type of treatment method to his patients. Unfortunately, Herodicus’ works are lost today. However, excerpts of his medical system, which can be traced in ancient texts, support the fact that Herodicus can be considered as the father of sports medicine.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16951976

     “Silivri is a city and a district in Istanbul Province along the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, outside metropolitan Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. The largest city in the district is also named Silivri.

      During the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Silivri, along with Epibatos, stood up against the Ottoman armies, and surrendered only after the city had fallen. Selymbria extended out of the walls only during the Ottoman era, because the non-Muslim residents like Greeks, Armenians and Jews lived within the city walls, and the Turks built their houses outside the walls at the coast. While the non-Muslims were engaged mostly in growing grapes, vinification and silk production, the Turks earned their life by fishing and making yogurt. The town remained a summer resort during the Ottoman time, as it was during the Byzantine era.

     On the order of Suleiman the Magnificent, architect Mimar Sinan built 1562 a stone bridge with 33 arches just west of Silivri. The historical bridge, called "Uzunköprü" (The "Long Bridge"), is still in use today, however one arch is not visible due to sedimentation.

     Prior to World War I, some Silivrian Jews immigrated to the town of Camagüey, Cuba [1]. Russians occupied Silivri on February 5, 1878 for 1 month until 3 March 1878. Bulgarians occupied it on November 16, 1912 for 9 months until May 30, 1913.

     During the war, many more Sephardim in the city left as conditions worsened due to the war. Many of these Turkish Jews emigrated to the United States settling primarily in New York and Seattle. Others went to Palestine, France and South America.

     According to the Treaty of Sèvres, Silivri became a part of Greece on July 20, 1920. However, Italians took it over from the withdrawing Greek troops on October 22, 1922, according to the Armistice of Mudanya. Finally, Turkish forces entered Silivri on November 1, 1922. It was part of Çatalca province between 1923–1926 and was bounded to Istanbul Province in 1926. It was enlarged with joining of Gümüşyaka (formerly Eski Ereğli) village from Çorlu district. “  Wikipedia

Silivri fishing fleet and cormorants fishing also with DoraMac plunk in the middle of the harbor.  The fishing boats just maneuvered around us. 

This fishing boat was just off our stern was my favorite subject as the men constantly pulled up and did something with the huge fishing nets until there was a huge pile. 

It looked like a giant gauzy tent with tassels or and octopus tentacle

Working on the nets

See the huge pile of white balls that are the net’s edge

They noticed me taking photos and posed.

Looking back towards town at night.  One night was Turkish music from the Victory Day celebrations.  (The defeat of the Greeks at some point. But then lots of places we passed through celebrated the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in their history.)

Night time looking out towards sea was lovely too.  Several of the boats set out at dark.  Squid fishing is night time fishing.  Huge lights are shone done on the water which attract the squid. 

This statue was commemorating the city in 2012.

We weren’t anchored far off town so rather than mess with the dinghy motor, we  rowed to shore.  The second day one of the men from a boat tied to the fishermen’s dock told us to tie up to him and save ourselves the longer row to the public dinghy tie up down the way.   We then walked through his boat and through the boat he was rafted up to and then climbed ashore.  Here we’re returning to the dinghy through the two boats.  We were a funny sight with four of us filling our good size dinghy.  The oars are rather short and the waves were rather strong so we weren’t getting along so well.  Rick, at the oars was making a mighty effort, but by our second visit to shore I guess it was decided we needed a break so help was offered. 

Turkish lunch with complementary meze and bread while we waited for our order.

It was cool enough for long sleeves. 

Symbols of Silivri; a fishermen mending nets and a cat.  We have found where there are fishermen, there are cats and the cats seem to eat well.  They sit patiently waiting and are almost always rewarded.

Mamara Adasi  island of marble and quarries

A tanker shared our anchorage.  There was also a beach with lots of families. 

     “Although quite small by world standards, this island is second largest island of island-poor Turkey. Its name comes from marmara in Greek (mermer in Turkish), which means “marble”, referring to the fact that island’s quarries have been used for marble extraction since ancient times. The island also gave its name to the Sea of Marmara by which it is surrounded. Island’s ancient name, on the other hand, was Prokonessos.

     Marmara Island has peculiarities unique to it in the archipelago. Firstly, it is large enough to sustain more than a couple of villages (it has four villages and two towns, all situated on its oval-shaped shoreline). It is also mountainous, with highest point reaching 709 meters at Ilyas Tepe. This mountainous geography does not allow for long beaches along the coastline. Unlike other islands in the archipelago, its large portions are covered with forests.

     Island’s capital town is also called Marmara (pop. 3-4,000), situated in SW coast of the island. Islanders make their living by fishing and agriculture, especially olive cultivation.”  http://wikitravel.org/en/Marmara_(island)

This was the other side of the bay we were in.  At night there was only quiet.

You should have seen me swimming.  There were small jelly fish in the water which at first put me off.  But my need for some exercise won out so I donned a light weight turtleneck fleece and some leggings and went swimming.  Actually it kept me from getting cold so worked quite well though must have looked odd.  The coast of Turkey is quite liberal so you don’t see any women in burkinis.

The great British burkini boom … and thanks to Nigella, it’s not just Muslim women buying them

By Helen Nugent    Published: 00:23 GMT, 10 February 2013  | Updated: 07:57 GMT, 11 February 2013

http://www.dailymail.co.uk    Of course Nigella has had her problems of late so maybe not such a fashion icon any more.  As Heidi Klum would say, “One day you’re in and the next, You’re out.”

The Trojan Horse in the plaza near the marina  seen from DoraMac at night

  We stopped in Çanakkale long enough to do the checking in formalities, find some dinner, not find a grocery store, fill the boat with water and rest up for our next day’s long passage to Babakale

The province of Canakkale lies on both sides of the Dardanelles which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea. Its shores touch both Europe (with the Gelibolu Peninsula) and Asia (with the Biga Peninsula) and there are regular ferries between the two sides.

     The Canakkale Marina, besides those of Karabiga, Gelibolu, Bozcaada and Kucukkuyu, hosts the colorful yachts which pass through the strait and make a stopover at Canakkale, to see this historical and mythological rich area, homeland of many widely known legends.

http://www.allaboutturkey.com/canakkale.htm