As I have started dwelling on brunches, Bosphorus and unique scenes, I shall continue in line with it and talk about the “Jazz at Breakfast” series organized at the Sabanci Museum throughout the summer.
Day 8: July 11, 2009 – Saturday
Like every other good vacation, so did this had to come to an end…
Friday evening, we packed our bags, and finished the rest of our packing on Saturday morning and took off.
We did not leave soon in the morning. Bought fresh, homemade bagels from the bagel house in the morning and had breakfast by the sea. After which we walked a bit around the streets of Bodrum and the Marina.
Saturday is also the day of the Turgutreis Bazaar. In fact there is a bazaar everyday in a different place when you are in Bodrum.
Tuesdays, there is the clothes bazaar in Bodrum town center set near the bus and minibus main station. Thursdays and Fridays, the fruit and vegetable bazaar is set out in the same place. Thursdays, there is also another bazaar in Akyarlar –much smaller and crowded.
As we had missed the Bodrum bazaars, we decided to go to the Turgutreis Bazaar before taking off. Newspaper authors note that there is no open market anywhere in the world that is as lively and as charismatic as the Turgutreis Bazaar. I may be able to say the same… But, in a different way. I have been to 
open bazaars mostly in different parts of Italy. While, so similar in their nature to the open bazaars in Turkey, I have never seen the liveliness of the Turkish bazaars anywhere else. The sellers shout, make jokes; the people bargain, try on clothes, eat food inside the bazaar. Going to the bazaar in Turkey is not a morning activity, it is a day long activity that requires full commitment.
The Turgutreis bazaar was interestingly filled with foreigners, but not tourists exactly. All from Holland, England or Poland who had moved to Bodrum to live there were there to shop. We did not spend the whole day unlike the trend. We had to move fast and get on the road at a decent hour. And, so we left the bazaar around noon time and finally took off for Istanbul.
Day 7: July 10, 2009 – Friday
The best of all days! We rented a very small fisherman boat for the day and traveled to rare and beautiful, clear bays.
We met with Captain Ibrahim, the owner of the boat, the day, on which we had been to the Kargicikbuku bay for fish and potatoes. He had taken us initially from the port of Seagarden to Kargicikbuku.
Renting a boat for a day was always on our minds, since the beginning of our vacation. However, we were unsure if we would be able to find a fair price. The trouble was that the ships you find in the Marina of Bodrum town center are usually big boats –with a capacity to hold 30 to 50 or maybe even more people. These boats usually take you and various other people –whom you may or may not know- out for the day at 25 TRY per person. They take you out to at least 5 commercial, yet beautiful beaches and offer you lunch on schnitzels and pasta. There are advantages and disadvantages to go on board in this fashion. The advantages are straightforward: The deal is more than fair –it’s cheap. Yet, the disadvantage is that you get to spend to the day with a bunch of other people that you do not know. That may not be comfy. We wanted something cozier and we did not care to see the commercial beaches especially. All we wanted was to enjoy the atmosphere of a boat, see clear waters, swim and eat fish on the boat. And, that was the deal we got from Captain Ibrahim.
The Captain and his wife took us from the port of Seagarden at 10 A.M. in the morning. We traveled for about an hour in the direction of Gokova until we reached the four cousin bays –or so they are called: Sineklibuk –translated as the mosquito bay, because of the number of mosquitoes there-, Adali Yali –the bay with the island, because of the small island like protrusion there-, Narlibuk –the bay with pomegranate- and the other, whose name I cannot recall. We went to Adali Yali. We were there by 11 A.M. We delved into the sea right away. The water was so clear, the underwater was so rich. Swimming for almost half hour, we got back on the boat. I immediately fell asleep while I was trying to dry and warm up under the sun. The gentle rocking of the boat made me feel as if I was in a hammock. By around 1 P.M. Captain Ibrahim and his wife started cooking fish for us: Fried gilt-head bream or sparus aurata with salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, lettuce and olives). Although I am not much of lunching person, I ate like a pig since the meal was so delicious.
Around 2 P.M. we left Adaliyali and headed for one of the commercial bays: Aquarium. The way to the Aquarium was on the reverse direction we had come. Therefore, the way back was harder as we were now facing the wind, instead of having it at our back. To me it was so much fun rocking all the way to Aquarium, but I must admit, there were a couple of times when I got pretty wet from the waves hitting on our boat.
Aquarium was yet another very beautiful beach, but it was very crowded with bigger boats doing a daily trip. We spent around 2 and a half hours here, swimming, sleeping and swimming again. Later our Captain and his wife offered as traditional Turkish black tea and cookies. I got pretty nostalgic, because it has been awhile since I actually did a tea-time. Living in a big city makes proper tea times almost impossible nowadays.
We returned back to the port of Seagarden around 5.30 P.M. We were due to have pizza again at Sunger Pizza –the same place we had dined on Saturday. We were going this time, so that I could eat pizza as well. The last time I was already pretty full from the meals we had during our journey. Yet, I was full again this time! Thanks to the courtesy of our Captain and his wife J So, I left Sunger Pizza for the next time I will be in Bodrum…
Day 5: July 08, 2009 –Wednesday
Back now to the part, where I had skipped because I was sick. On Wednesday, we went back to the same beach, we’d been to on Monday –except that I had no energy to dwell on that on that day. The part of Bodrum peninsula we’d been to is called Yaliciftlik and it has by far the best beaches ever. There are bare beaches without any kind of establishment, where you stroll down with your car and lay down on the bare beach, bring your own food and etc. Other beaches are either owned entirely by a resort or are portioned out into little sections by different motels.
We went to the beaches of Seagarden Happimag Resort. Once again, as luck was on our side, we had a relative, who was a member to Happimag and so we could enter the establishment. The beach is so very nice! Cold and fresh water, of which you can see the bottom looking from the top. Before delving into the water right away –which was we had done on Monday even with my stomach ache- we went to the water sports area and did two consecutive rounds of wakeboard and water ski each. (Ironically, at Seagarden water sports are pretty low cost compared to other resorts and beach clubs). On flat water, such that of Seagarden, the experience was overwhelming.
Later we headed for lunch, which to be truthful is not that spectacular. Self service, grilled meat, pizza, lasagna, salad bar, and fruit sections and maybe a bit more –I am not a big eater at noon times, so don’t regard so much on this part.
At around 6.30 P.M. we got romantic and ordered a bottle of Kavaklidere Lal Rose wine. By sunset I was already dizzy and smiley.
For dinner, we went to the next beach, Kargicikbuku upon the advise of a family friend we had stumbled upon during our vacation. Apparently, there were 3 or 4 fishermen cooking fresh fish and serving that with grilled potatoes and salad only. One of the fishermen takes you with his boat from the port of Seagarden and takes you their beach, which is only 10 minutes away. Waiting to be heading for a restaurant or something of that kind, we were dazzled to see 3 wooden and old long tables set side by side along the coast and an open grill behind the tables where these guys actually cook the fish. I was kind of embarrassed when we were on the boat that I was still in my beachwear, but I relaxed to see that people who were already seated at the long tables were not even in their beachwear: they were in their bathing suits! Hence, the place was such a relaxed and jovial place. The food was very simple, yet very delicious for 25 TRY per person including a bottle of very bad wine.
You will find on Donuz, everything that is unique to where we have been and where you would want to be. Be it food, be it lodging, be it a special feet massage, a bottle of wine, a person… Be it for 7 days, a day, a week, 36 hours or a single moment. On Donuz, is everything, you will need to make your holidays special. We hope you share with us your experiences.
