EMYR at Beirut

Jack Tar has reached Beirut in Lebanon, having sailed from Mersin via Iskenderun in Turkey and Lattakia in Syria. And the crew is “ruined”; we have seen so many Roman, Greek, Byzantine and Phoenician columns and stones and castles. We have lost count of the Crusader castles. The journey so far has been a truly fascinating one and we have seen places and people we hadn`t ever imagined having the opportunity to visit. This rally does afford the experience of a lifetime. Whilst in Iskenderun, we visited Antakya, old Antioch, with an amazing bazaar and a wonderful archeological museum displaying exquisite ancient mosaics before an overnight sail to lattakia. While there we toured via a crusader castle, Crac de Chevaliers, to Damascus where we visited the old city and stayed overnight. Then on to ancient Palmyra in the eastern desert, a ruined city in an oasis. Next was Aleppo in the north, another fascinating place with an exciting souk [bazaar].
Another overnight sail saw us here in Beirut two days after their parliamentary elections. The country is covered with huge photos of candidates and party flags. We are told the presence of armed military and police guards everywhere is normal. The gate to our marina is guarded by an armoured vehicle mounting a heavy machine gun and a contingent of armed soldiers. Here we have seen the downtown city now largely rebuilt after their civil war and looking very attractive. Then south into Hezbollah territory, to Sidon and Tyre, both fascinating places with ancient souks, caravanserai and old ports. We passed Palestinian refugee camps surrounded by Lebanese soldiers where the people seemed to live in unfortunately squalid conditions. Next we saw Biblos in the north, another old port with ruins and a souk. But, by far, the highlight of our visit has been the visit to the Jeitta grotto, a cave system where we walked one km through the most amazing cavern and then went further by boat. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos; cameras had to be deposited in lockers before entry. The beauty of the cave defies description. It is sufficient to say that Walt Disney could not even approach the the wonderful effects that nature has achieved.

EMYR First Report

Since last posting, the crew have been “flat-out”. After a night at our favorite restaurant at Kalecoy, we joined our fellow rally participants at nearby Ucagiz, where we were all at anchor, and took the dinghy ashore for cocktails. The rally then sailed on to Finike, Kemer and to Alanya on the Turkish coast before an overnight sail to the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus at Girne or as it is also known, Kyrenia. There we saw ancient castles high on mountains and visited Farmagusta, an old walled town by a sea port. Then another overnight sail, in heavy weather, saw us here in Mersin, a large city and commercial port again on the Turkish south coast. The rally is proving to be great fun though somewhat exhausting as the social programme is very full with cocktail parties and formal dinners in each port; and preparations for the transit between ports take up what little time remains. There are 65 yachts from about 14 different nations, including Japan, Israel, most European nations, USA, Canada, two Australians, and a South African. It is a fascinating mix of people; the accents and languages all make for a wonderful experience when combined with the exotic places we are visiting. Yachts are “dressed” with signal and other flags when in port making the marinas very colourful. And you will imagine that the task of organizing the entry and exit of 65 yachts can be something of a challenge. Still, we manage it all without too much difficulty. While here in Mersin we took the opportunity for a tour to Cappodocia, a fascinating area inland. There we saw an ancient underground city, and extraordinary geological formations in a landscape unlike any other we have seen. The highlight of that trip was a balloon flight over the fascinating landscape