This blog is a catch-up, of a few events that happened over the past month.
My friend Turgay, his wife Pinar and daughters Petek and Pelinsu visited us for a day. They drove down from Ankara and were on holiday “in the area”. So, we invited them over for a day sail and BBQ mixed grill. The sea state was very light, but unfortunately, there are no photos of our day sail.
But, we do have a few photos afterwards when we had our mixed grill. As always, it was a pleasure to have visitors and to host them for a few hours.
We have taken quite a few custom machine work jobs to our Turkish machinist Iliyas, who owns and operates Dere Turne (the Turkish word for lathe) in the Sanaya. Diane and I were very pleased to be invited to Iliyas’s home to have dinner with him and his family, together with our friends Ahmet and Muze (We really needed them for translation). Iliyas lives in a modest apartment together with his wife and two children. It really was our pleasure to be hosted in a Turkish family’s home.
This selfie includes Diane, but not me.
Here is another item that falls under “improvement”. There is a requirement for a light, at least an “all round” light visible on a dinghy. I rarely see one, probably because it is difficult to fit a light to an inflatable dinghy. Here, I bought a white, all-round light (solar and battery powered) and tasked Iliyas to craft an aluminum mount for me.
The pool is now finally open at Alanya Marina. When we arrived two years ago, one of the advertised features was a pool, but it was unfortunately closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. A few weeks ago, they reopened the pool and we are taking advantage of it, migrating there most afternoons for exercise and relaxation.
This is what it looks like when one of the tourist pirate boats docks right behind us, obscuring our view of the mountains and marina.
When we don’t go to the pool, of course we go to the beach. There are many beaches in the area of Alanya, and this one is only a few minutes (by bike or walking) from the marina.
This is what it looks like at lunch time, when tour boats seek refuge from the waves. Apparently the tourists don’t eat lunch when they’re sea sick. When it’s windy, the bay is packed!
Diane and I finally paid a touristic visit to the Red Tower, an example of a medieval Mediterranean defense structure from the 13th century.
The Red Tower was built by order of Alaeddin Keyqubad I, the Seljuk ruler, to Ebu Ali Reha el Kettani who was a master builder from Aleppo in order to protect the harbour, shipyard and Alanya Castle against attacks from the sea. The tower is reputed to be able to hold over two thousand (2000) men during a siege. There are total of fifty-six (56) crenel windows at facades of the Red Tower, twenty-two (22) spans for pouring hot pitch and water and six (6) gargoyles inline to repel attackers.
Inside, the structure was devoid of furnishing, but it did offer spectacular views, if you were able to ascend the extremely steep stair cases.
Adjacent to the Red Tower is yet another pristine beach and waterfront area.
Another minor issue, our Oster blender blade died (again). This is our smoothie machine! We were unable to find a replacement in the area, so we had our broken one repaired (by Iliyas of course), and it served the job for a few weeks while we waited for Amazon to deliver a new one (and another spare).
Finally, here’s another item that falls under boat improvement projects. We have seven (7) Goiit (French made, and still exists) hatches that I installed new during the building process. Over the years, I have had various failures with these hatches, particularly the closing handles. They are plastic and they break. I have bought new ones, and have had replacements made with a 3D printer, but what I really needed – was a way to stop them from breaking. I came up with this semi-circular aluminum disc (made by Iliyas) to fit over the handles to provide structural reinforcement. Now, I think I’ve got it. These photos are of my prototype. The finished product has cleaner lines.
