Anchorage with temple views.

Temple ruins, and spectacular rocky island idyll with no architectural: In the Aegean feel like sailors in an open-air museum. The wind can be tricky, however, some anchor maneuver is complicated - and on land, the authorities understand little fun.

 

Bodrum - In the evening winds abate the yacht glides on a rusty wreck over to the rock. "Ready to anchor" schallt the voice of the skipper on the deck. But hardly anyone on board can tear away the gaze of the rings in the terrace towering cliffs on which the ruins of the temple and theater of ancient Knidos verglühenden the sun vergoldet be.

In the heyday of the city lived more than 20,000 fishermen and traders on the slopes to the double-bay, the Greeks and Romans in ancient times to the galley base had expanded. Who the shards of amphorae visit, you need only a mask around the head and fasten jump on board. But only the anchoring maneuver must be used - the sun is now behind the sunken rocks, and the captain grumbled impatiently.

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In Knidos is especially nice to see how accurately the image is, with Wyn Hoop the uniqueness of the sail area of the Southwest Turkish coast and the islands of the Dodecanese Islands ostgriechischen describes: "It sailed through an open-air museum." The former pop singer from Hamburg 1983 wrote the first navigational guide to the region. He had sailed in areas in which strong winds blow and uniform - in the Caribbean, for instance, or on the Atlantic Ocean. As an overall package, the eastern Aegean Sea, but none.

The other sailors are similar. In the summer crowd in the narrow bay of Knidos dozens of yachts. Then in the eastern Aegean Sea season. In some secluded cove supposedly runs in the afternoon a sailor after another one and throws anchor.

Party Time on deck

They come mainly to the Turkish coast between Bodrum and Marmaris real Armadas of gulets: potbellied, motorized boats, at sea instead of their sails mostly the controller of the on-board music system for the duration Party to pull the deck. In comparison to the sailing strongholds of the western Mediterranean, such as Sardinia, Majorca or Croatia but it was still too quiet, says Hans Mühlbauer from Friedberg at Augsburg, which is a non-fiction about Yachtchartern has written.

With a little patience can actually always quiet bays of overwhelming beauty can be found. Deep fjords cut as they are often in the mountainous coast. While the Turkish mainland thorn bushes and pine trees, the green slopes, predominate in the Greek islands bare rock - but a nice contrast to the deep blue and turquoise of the sea form.

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Is completed, the Greece-stereotype the typical whitewashed cube houses, and small herds of goats Dorftavernen faced sailors evenings under the olive trees to eat squid or souvlaki. "The small islands of Samos and Kos are still very original," said Hoop. Mass Tourist architectural offend the eye spoiled sailors, in fact, hardly.

Who here in the summer still is too much hustle and bustle, which should be in spring or autumn to sea. It was in this area anyway, the best time Hoop says: It is not as scorching hot, and the yachts were favorable for charter. In April and May blooms in the fresh green countryside, while in autumn, many plants have withered, but the water is warmer. In addition, the winds in spring and autumn, more versatile than in the summer when the Meltemi almost every day from the north blows and restricting the routes.

As strong as in the central Aegean Sea bubble of the Meltemi here but mostly not, says Mühlbauer. More than five winds are rare. However, sailors berth about their nightly menu.

Often the wind ebbed from the evening, only to return at night all the more fierce and refresh the sailors from the berths to tear. Who nightly anchor maneuvers to avoid, should therefore be careful in bays only ascertained after the north by land are protected.

Navigation under visual often possible

Finally, the daytime anchors already difficult enough, says Mühlbauer. At the North and Baltic Sea habituated sailors often had problems with it, not only in the coves, but also in the local ports of the Greek islands, mostly Roman Catholics "must be identified, that is with bow and stern line. On concrete blocks anchored in the seabed Mooringleinen are rare outside the marinas. And throughout the Dodecanese Islands, there is only in Samos and Kos really functioning marinas, Hoop says. In public ports would be water and diesel tankers angekarrt often.

Apart from anchoring the eastern Aegean Sea was not a particularly demanding sailing area, Hoop said. Many islands soar so high from the sea, often after that vision can be navigated. The greatest danger is for sailors often ignorant of the authorities.

Because who between Greek and Turkish ports and forth herkreuzt without each time correctly and auszuklarieren, risking serious consequences. "I can only warn against," says Jürgen Feyerabend by Deutsche Segler-Verband in Hamburg. "The Customs has discretion, any dreams of Police."

In the worst case could be swift, without the correct papers will be caught, smuggling or trafficking suspects are detained and provisionally. Finally, separate the partially just a few kilometers wide straits between the mainland and islands, not only two former arch-enemies whose relationship is still anything but harmonious.

Here is also the eastern border of the EU: On the one hand, Muslim-Turkish Orient, on the other Greek-Orthodox West: "Two very different mentalities in a small space," said Hoop. Also in this respect is precisely the area unique.