Bozçaada

We left Babakale at 08:15 on 18 May for the 32 mile passage north up the coast to the island of Bozçaada. This seemed to be a sensible plan as the wind tends to build during the day and we would be fighting our way against it. It started as one of the calmest mornings so far and we wondered if the wind would ever build. However, by 10:00 we were sailing and half an hour later we started to put reefs in the main and to roll away some of the genoa as the wind increased even further.

We tacked backwards and forwards up the coast arriving at Bozçaada at 13:25. The backdrop for our lunch in the cockpit was the impressive Genoese castle built to protect the trade routes because the island used to be an important staging post prior to goods being ferried up the Dardanelles to Constantinople. The island is the ancient Ténedos and, according to Homer, was where the Greek fleet moored whilst Odysseus and his men hid inside the wooden horse waiting to surprise the Trojans. It was also believed to be the home of the god Apollo.

Military restrictions preventing landing on the island have been relaxed in recent years and the town now has a thriving tourist trade. There is certainly a small and pretty part of the port hidden behind the ferry dock and the town is crammed with restaurants and cafés.

By day the castle proved to be an interesting place to visit and by night the streets buzzed with people enjoying the last of the holiday period celebrating the birthday of Kemal Attaturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

The narrow lanes and buildings are very Greek in style with lots of character. That’s probably partly because Bozçaada was one of the only 2 islands exempt from the exchange of population between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The mix of Greek and Turkish inhabitants remained until late in the 20^th century.

By night the floodlit castle still very much dominates the skyline    

In times gone by, the island was also famous for the quality of its vineyards. These have ben revived and there are several wine produces on the island with outlets in the town. We bought a bottle to try. Despite the hype our choice of bottle proved to be a disapointment. Maybe we just got a bad bottle, so it’s a good excuse to sample one of the others on offer when we next visit. The locally produced chilli paste is certainly adding a bit of a kick to our lunchtime wraps and brochettas.

We stayed at Bozçaada for 2 nights. The other yachts all departed the day before we did, leaving us wondering if they knew something we didn’t as we were left as the only visiting boat on the quay. Eventually, however, we too needed to press on and planned to leave promptly on 20 May to head up towards the Dardanelles.

Bozçaada, Turkey