Turkey - Bozcaada – August 2004

Early in August we left Ayvalik temporarily to go north to Bozcaada.  Pronounced Bose-jah-ah-dah, it is one of the two offshore islands in the Aegean owned by the Turks.  It sits just south of the entrance to the Dardanelles, which is the narrow strait that leads into the Sea of Marmara and on to Istanbul and the Black Sea.  These waters are very highly travelled by commercial ships, but the island is visited by only a few yachts every year.

It is in fact one of the prime summer vacation areas for wealthy Istanbul families.  Its attractions are many, the principal ones being the white sand beaches (very rare in Turkey), the excellent fishing (leading to great, cheap fish in restaurants), and most importantly for us, a thriving wine industry.  It was here that we finally found decent Turkish wine.  We’ve been here over two years now, and it was a treat to be drinking better wines for the first time since leaving Greece.  Needless to say, we stocked up before we left, as these wines are not available elsewhere in Turkey.  (Talk about a missed opportunity!)

The yacht harbour is very small, and good only in north winds, and not very strong ones at that.  We chose our time to go there when we foresaw no meltemi winds.  The weather gods were with us, and we had calms or light favourable winds the whole time.

It was one of the few times that we had to use a full Med moor with Toucan Tango - that is to say we had to drop an anchor and back into the quay.  Mostly we anchored “free” (bow anchor only) in an anchorage, or found harbours where we could tie side-to, or where there were lazy lines for our bow for stem-to situations.  But here in Bozcaada, there was no choice.  Considering our level of anxiety as we approached the harbour, it all turned out very well - there was little drama involved.

We intended to stay only a day or so, giving ourselves time to visit the Gallipoli peninsula nearby.   In the end, as often happens with us, we stayed a whole week.  It was one of our favourite places in Turkey.

Towering over the main town, there is a huge medieval fortress that is open to the public.  It gives visitors a beautiful perspective on the surrounding waters, and even across to Gallipoli.  The town is centred around and above the old harbour where the fishing boats tie up.  Beyond the town’s hills the island is covered with vineyards, some leading down to the sandy beaches that ring the southern and eastern shores.  Differently from many tourist areas, the island is not covered with holiday villages and hotels.  Mostly private homes, some quite magnificent, are dotted amongst the vineyards though curiously not many are right close to the beaches. 

The vineyards were originated by the Greeks when they owned the island, and unusually, the Turkish landowners have kept them going.  There are three principal wineries (Ataol, Talay and Yunatçilar); we liked Talay the best.  There are no tasting rooms, or even winery tours, but the wine is very inexpensive, so buying a bottle is not onerous if one feels obliged to taste before buying cases.  Even the restaurant prices for the local wines are moderate. 

There is, too, an active grape industry, and crates of grapes can be seen on the car ferry that travels several times a day from the island to the mainland.  (Why not the wines too?!?!)

Bozcaada grapes	Bozcaada harbour	Bozcaada town	Bozcaada vineyards
Bozcaada Ayazama Beach	The only ATM on Bozcaada island	The Evre family – cruising Bozcaada from their home in Istanbul