Turkey and Greek Islands

Cruising the Aegean

Bodrum

Looking forward above the pool deck

I particularly enjoyed the morning of June 19, because I had a completely free schedule until 11:00. Judy and I sat on poolside lounges after breakfast, lucky to get two in the shade. Score one for us! It was what we should have done more often on this cruise, I guess. When the time came, Judy stayed on board while I started out on an excursion to a winery.

Our departure was late in the morning, but mezes (snacks) were to be included at some point, so I didn’t think it was necessary to eat lunch. Though a larger group had left on this same tour earlier in the morning, there were only 16 or so people in our group. We knew we were going to a vineyard and winery, but we didn’t know much. We were in the final days of an Islamic holiday, we were on the coast in another city known as a local vacation spot, so there were a lot of people in Bodrum. That made the drive slower getting started than it might have otherwise, but the drive itself was scenic and enjoyable. Beautiful beaches and seacoast resorts were on the left, and arid mostly bare mountains with scrubby pines were on the right as we headed north, moving straight across the peninsula to the similar coast on the other side. Once we reached the other coast we kept going. And going. Eventually, after we were effectively beyond the peninsula and on the mainland of Turkey, we turned right and reached a flat plain that was mostly farmland.

Looking toward the Mediterranean from the winery

After some more driving around–and upward–we reached a spot on higher elevation in a section of rolling hills where the Mor Salkim winery was located. This was a beautiful place, with olive groves, vines for the wines, a couple of houses, and the other buildings needed to make the business run. This wasn’t like the large vineyards we’d visited in Burgundy or Bordeaux; this was a small operation that counted its annual production in bottles not cases. At the same time, it’s pretty successful for a new operation. After only twelve years since planting the vines, they were producing 50,000 bottles a year.

WIne Barrels

The owner met us and led our tour. He started with four grapes (Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Shiraz, and Cabernet franc), and now grows more, including muscat and some indigenous grapes of the region. The tour itself was typical for a visit to a winery. We saw the fermentation vats, the aging and storage rooms, and even a building where they use the flat roof for drying grains. The most interesting part of the tour was learning about the economic side of running a business like this in Turkey. As I stated on an earlier page, the population is primarily Muslim, but Turkey is a secular state, so wine-making is legal. However, regulation is strict and taxing is a little steep. Officially wine-making is legal, but it is economically discouraged.

As do most visits to such places, the tour ended with a tasting, though this one was conducted a little differently. We sat at shaded table outdoors where we were served prepared mezes, bottled water, and four wines. Somehow I didn’t have high expectations, but I was quickly set straight on that with the first sip. Even the first wine, a white made from an indigenous grape whose name I totally missed was good. The others, from grape varieties I was familiar with, were also worth remembering. I’m sure everything would have been wonderful on a slightly cooler day. There we were enjoying wine in 102° heat. At least there was a breeze.

(The heat and wine combined to make the return trip less memorable, though some might have avoided the temptation to nap a bit. I wouldn’t know.)

Judy

Jim

On return to the ship, Judy and I went to our final day of trivia games, collected a couple of items with our week’s winnings, then went to dinner at Chartreuse. Surprise. We shared a table with a couple from England who sat next to me at the tasting. The small world struck again! The dinner was excellent, and the conversation even better. After dinner it was grab a drink in the Meridian lounge, head up to Deck 8, and turn in for the night.