This 106-foot schooner-rigged mahogany-planked and teak-decked
gulet
Turn to a Sister Yacht Cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean Turn to a Second Sister Yacht Cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean Turn to a Third Sister Yacht Cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean Turn to Another Five-Cabin Yacht Cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean This page last updated on 02/08/2010 Dear Homo Sapiens, There is no need to continue reading this page. What follows is intended for search engine robots and spiders and not necessarily for human beings. Further information about cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean may be obtained by clicking on the blue links immediately above. Thank You. You must be searching for a holiday cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean. One or the other. Perhaps both. Well, you have found that for which you search, a fast and comfortable schooner-rigged yacht cruising the Greek and Turkish Aegean and offering a holiday not to be forgotten, a holiday cruising from one pine-clad cove on the Turkish Aegean to the next pine-clad cove on the Turkish Aegean. But a mahogany planked and teak decked yacht also cruising among Greek Aegean islands, cruising from pastel-hued waterside town in the eastern Aegean to Greek blue and white waterside town in the central Aegean, from Dodecanese island to Cyclades island. You have found a crewed schooner cruising the coast of Turkey's ancient Caria, birthplace of Turgut Reis, one of Turkey's more capable corsair captains and Ottoman admirals, perhaps putting into the town called Turgut Reis in his honor. Known in the west as Dragut, Turgut was born around 1485 and inducted into the Ottoman standing army soon after his 10th year, some reports have it at his widowed or abandoned mother's request. This may sound unconscionable, but life on the Turkish coast in the late-15th century was difficult, doubly so for single mothers, and all Ottoman conscripts were of a similar age. As with other conscripts, Turgut received a first-class education likely including a stint in the artillery school at Tophane in Galata, likely because by his late-teens he had developed a proficiency in gunnery which served him well at sea when in 1504 or 1505 he became a protege of Sinan of Smyrna and of Acsac Reis. Both were master mariners, and both were then in the employ of Ottoman Prince Korkut, governor of Antalya Province, as well as in service to Mamluk Sultan Qansuh ruling both Syria and Egypt. It was during these years that Turgut cruised the Greek and Turkish Aegean to the detriment of Latins settled on Aegean islands. At sea he proved to also have an aptitude for navigation. An able gunner and an able navigator, his share of Sinan prize money enabled him over the years to acquire an interest in a merchant brig, and brig profit eventually led to his own 18-banked galliot. First one, then several. On many of his excursions Turgut visited his mother on the Bodrum peninsula and on one of them enlisted his younger brother. By about 1512 all four, Sinan, Acsac, Turgut, and brother were lured to the western Mediterranean by the Barbarossa brothers. But that's another story, too long to be recounted here. Turgut/Dragut was still sailing in his 80th year when felled at Malta in 1565 by a cannon ball splinter. While too long to be recounted here, the saga of Turgut Reis may be recited by many a good Turk, including the crew of Xenos IV. Come join us aboard Xenos IV for a sail through ancient and medieval history as well as for a sail through the Greek and Turkish Aegean, for a sail in Dragut's wake along the coast of his birthplace and among Greek Aegean islands. While you holiday. While you holiday aboard a crewed yacht exploring the Turkish Aegean's many pine-encircled coves. While you sail leisurely from one intriguing Greek Aegean island to another. Charter a schooner-rigged sailing yacht to cruise in Dragut's wake. Have fun at the crossroads of history. Starting in Bodrum, near Dragut's birthplace. Are you searching for Bodrum in Turkey? Well, it's about twelve nautical miles northeast of Kos Town on the Greek island of Kos. Both Bodrum and Kos have international airports. In Bodrum or Kos we can put you aboard a crewed gulet for the holiday of a lifetime. We can put you aboard a charter yacht with an experienced crew able to show you the sea Dragut fished as a boy, and able to show you the sea he hunted as a corsair and Ottoman admiral. Xenos IV, a fine crewed yacht available to cruise the Greek and Turkish Aegean. Contact Blue Cruise Yacht Charters today at bcycharter@aol.com. |
