Blue Cruise

A yacht on "Blue Cruise" in Hayıtbükü Cove near Datça

The Isle of Kekova is among the popular destinations of the Blue Cruise.

A Blue Cruise, also known as a Blue Voyage ("Mavi Yolculuk" in Turkish), is a term used for recreational voyages along the Turkish Riviera, on Turkey's southwestern coast.^[1] The term, which is used in Turkey's tourism industry, has its origins in Turkish literature, deriving from the title of a book by Azra Erhat.^[2]

The term was first introduced into Turkish literature by a handful of writers, such as Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (alias The Fisherman of Halicarnassus).^[3] The author, who had been exiled to Bodrum in 1925, fell in love with the beauty of the local landscape, with its fishing villages and sponge divers. He began taking trips with his intellectual friends on the sponge divers' sailing boats, called gulets. These excursions became known as "Blue Cruises". Author Sabahattin Eyüboğlu (together with his circle of family and friends) participated in Blue Cruises, ^[4] as did Azra Erhat, who translated Homer's Iliad and Odyssey into Turkish. Those who united around the literary revue "Yeni Ufuklar" (New Horizons) in the 1950s and 1960s have also contributed to the popularity of the Blue Cruise, and guidebooks have been published in Turkish ^[5] and German.^[6]

Quite popular among tourists from various parts of the world, particularly tourists from Italy,^[7] a full Blue Cruise generally starts in Didim or Kuşadası, although tours may also depart from Bodrum. They usually terminate at the port of Antalya.

"Carian Cruise" is the term used as a synonym by a number of sources internationally, by the name of much of the same region of south-west Turkey in ancient times: Caria. This term generally defines the starting point and terminus of the tours with more precision, with Bodrum as departure point, and its coverage of the whole coastline to Antalya will actually also include the region known in ancient times as Lycia.

References

1. ^ Holliday, Taylor (July 2, 2006). "Where to Raise the Sails, or Just a Glass". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/travel/02sailingbx.html. Retrieved 18 May 2011. 
2. ^ Erhat, Azra; Gültekin Çizgen (2005) (in Turkish). Mavi yolculuk: gezi. Galatasaray, İstanbul: Can Yayınları. ISBN 9789750704468. 
3. ^ Whiting, Dominic (2001). Turkey Handbook. Footprint Handbooks. pp. 315. ISBN 9781900949859. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZKi5p20LQY4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Turkey+Handbook&hl=en&ei=78nWTfjdLofb0QGW0b23Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
4. ^ Eyuboğlu, Bedri Rahmi (2008) (in Turkish). Mavi yolculuk defterleri. Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür yayınları. 1630. İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları. ISBN 9789944885416. 
5. ^ Özükan, Bülent (2005) (in Turkish). Mavi yolculuk = Blue voyage. İstanbul: Boyut Yayın Grubu. ISBN 9789755217789. 
6. ^ Hengirmen, Mehmet (2000) (in German). Die blaue Reise: mit 201 Fotos des Verfassers und 122 Karten = Mavi yolculuk. Ankara: Eğitim ve Kalkınma Vakfı. ISBN 9789759680435. 
7. ^ Kaylan, Melik (May 15, 2011). "Land of Promise, Land of Loss". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/15/travel-turkey-in-a-time-of-change.html. Retrieved 19 May 2011. 

Further reading

• Erhat, Azra; Gültekin Çizgen (2005) (in Turkish). Mavi yolculuk: gezi. Galatasaray, İstanbul: Can Yayınları. ISBN 9789750704468. 
• Özükan, Bülent (2005) (in Turkish). Mavi yolculuk = Blue voyage. İstanbul: Boyut Yayın Grubu. ISBN 9789755217789. 

See also

• Marinas in Turkey
• Gulet
• Taka
• Azra Erhat
• Sabahattin Eyüboğlu
• Tirhandil
• Göcek
• Marmaris
• Fethiye