A Turkish Life at Sea

Turkey is blessed with abundance of beaches and amazing coastlines and seas to be enjoyed. There are many ways to enjoy the flora and fauna, as well as travelling from coastal town to coastal town, and one of them is by cruise.

Why ocean cruises are popular in turkey

The reason why ocean cruises are so popular in turkey is because everyone wants to enjoy the life of a sailor, even in a little way. For many tourists the world is over, the life of a sailor has been romanticized through folklore such as Treasure Island and long john silver, and the pirates of yesteryears who used to raid the lavishly designed and loaded navies of European countries.  In turkey, nowhere is a Turkish life at sea enjoyed as on a gulet boat.

History of the gulet boat

Gulet boat, , Turkey

A gulet boat is simply a boat which is mostly constructed of wood, originally designed to be a fishing vessel, but which is now used to take tourists around the Turkish coast as they enjoy sumptuous cuisine and weather on the boat.

The gulet boat, as legend has it, in the early 1930s enjoyed a transformation when the fisherman of Halikamus decided to take a gulet boat and transform it into a vessel in which he could live in and enjoys the open seas, expensive blue waters and melancholy that traveling in the ocean can bring.

He would hire these fishing vessels in order to indulge in his love for the sea, and within time, more and more people who were amazed and excited to see the ocean and Turkish beaches as he did joined him on his voyages from coast to coast on the Mediterranean.

These tourists would often visualize themselves to be alexander the great. Cleopatra of Egypt or even marc Anthony, exploring unfound lands and meeting with interesting new people.

It was this way that the gulet boats, the coolest way to experience a Turkish life at sea was born. This is now a fully-fledged economy where one can hire a gulet boat, which is now a far cry of the hardy and cramped quarters of its brothers of years past.

The gulet boats are fitted with comfortable lodgings, there is ample seafood and drink to partake as one enjoys the wide open seas and the cabin crew are on hand to regulate tourists with stories and anecdotes about Turkish life and gulet history.

Marmaris peninsula

The Marmaris peninsula is widely recognized as the capital of the gulet boat trade. Once you are here, make sure to visit the offbeat and well hidden Bozburun resort, where the local artisans and boat builders have mastered the trade of building gulets passed from generation to generation.

It is here that you can hire a magnificent gulet and enjoy life for a few days as a Turkish sailor or explorer. There are also festivals held on these resort yearly in order to celebrate the hallowed craft of gulet building. It is a great experience.

In conclusion, in order to experience a Turkish life at sea, then it is imperative that you head to the Marmaris peninsula, do a bit of research and be ready to enjoy an experience that is out of the normal tourist adventure. Turkey evisa is easy enough to find online, so go ahead and get one and go to turkey to enjoy the gulet boats. The memories will stick with you for a lifetime.

Image Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey.Bodrum023.jpg

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