ÇİFTLİK BAY (Marmaris): Heaven in Summer, Hell in Winter
A Sailor's Guide to Turkey's Most Dramatic Anchorage Near Marmaris
Dear friends, I wanted to take you to Çiftlik Cove, which is very close to my logistics center in Marmaris Turunç, at a distance of 8 NM.
Years ago, I chose Turunç because it's in the middle of our coastline where yacht tourism is effectively practiced. I set off from there, complete my voyages, and always turn back
to set my course towards other directions.
Of course, since this is my base, the nearby coves and beauties always get the stepchild treatment from me.
Unfortunately, lounging around lazily suits me better. This time, I decided to go to the magnificent Çiftlik Cove right nearby and properly photograph and introduce it
without doing it injustice.
This cove usually falls at either the end or the beginning of my voyages, so believe me, it's a place I don't enter very frequently or stay at.
We're heading to Çiftlik Cove, squeezed between high hills, whose cleanliness no one would doubt since it faces the open sea.
There's Çiftlik Island in front of the cove.
When we arrive from Kadırga Point direction, the island remains on our port side at the entrance.
There were small settlements on the island. After a famous businessman of ours purchased this place, a helicopter pad was also constructed.
The businessman and his family frequently use this island.
To tell the truth, I didn't witness any distortion made even if it was to make life easier.
Nothing seemed out of place to me except for the appearance of the power cables coming from the mainland.
The island also protects the bay from sea movements offshore. It filters the waves and swells.
On the starboard side of the entrance, a summer residence site of approximately 40 units, built with great difficulty years ago, is virtually hidden among the trees. With its magnificent beach in front.
Next to it, a vacant closed hotel and mountains, hills. All gently stretching down to the beautiful beach and sea.
Right across from me there are 5 piers. Flags from four of them were already waving at me; "Berth with Us".
No flag is waving anymore from the pier at the foot of the high hills, said to be owned by Ukrainians.
We heard that this previously open facility's operating license was cancelled due to unauthorized structures within the premises.
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We also moor to one of the others.
There's no jealousy among them, they're all relatives, kin, acquaintances, friends. All their efforts are focused on providing proper service to those who come to this beautiful bay.
After mooring and securing the boat, I looked around for daily tour boats coming alongside.
But there aren't that many. The boats that used to come to Çiftlik Koyu in great numbers years ago don't come much anymore.
Their destination is the nearby Gebekse Koyu.
We decided to come in here and talk to one of the boats mooring. The daily tour boat named "MERT 6" departs from Turunç every day and tours its guests around the nearby bays.
The bay that guests like most and go ashore is Çiftlik Koyu.
That's what her captain says...
ALİ İHSAN KURNAZ
"I've been operating tour boats in the Marmaris region for years. In my opinion, the most beautiful of Marmaris bays is Çiftlik Koyu. Everyone in this business knows and accepts this.
The service provided at the jetties is also good.
At the same time, our customers definitely want to see this place during the tour.
And they are satisfied after coming.
Its sea and sand are very beautiful.
The water is clean and crystal clear. It faces the open sea.
Our guests go ashore at Çiftlik Koyu and they are happy. Also, while coming and going here, there's an opportunity to enjoy a beautiful cruise.
It is our indispensable port of call."
As Captain Ali İhsan finishes his visit, weighs anchor and heads off, I'm touring the coastline.
There's even a water sports center.
Guests arriving by land in caravans are also enjoying themselves.
One of the long wooden piers that vertically divides the pristine white beach leads to a young entrepreneur's facility.
Gözde inherited the businesses from her grandfathers and fathers.
She hasn't left here for bustling lands, for cities. She chose tranquility and peace.
Her aim is to live calmly away from ambitions and to maintain a business that provides good service to her guests.
GÖZDE ÖZER
"I was born and raised here. We continue our lives in Çiftlik Cove.
During summer months, our focus is on tourism.
In winter months, we deal with agriculture and animal husbandry.
What we grow and produce in winter, we use in our business during summer.
Çiftlik is everything in itself.
Quiet, clean, with magnificent air.
Our road has improved; for years guests came by sea, but in recent years they've started coming by land as well.
Marmaris is 1 hour away by road.
p>The restaurants here are all family-related. Their operators are from Bayır and Söğüt Villages.
They all strive to satisfy Çiftlik guests.
Here, the summer season starts in May and ends in November.
Our best months are September and October.
The tranquility, calmness, and naturalness of those months are incomparable to any other months. Çiftlik Cove is already a pristine cove and I think this state is very beautiful. If it becomes crowded,
if it becomes congested, the cove cannot handle it and will deteriorate.
We are happy to be here and to live here.
When everyone asks, "You're young, don't you want to live in more lively places?" I say "No" "The activity here is enough for me."
I love our cove, our life here."
Indeed, a peaceful life.
Apart from the summer site, there is no other settlement except a few small houses within narrow agricultural lands.
From a distance, a small sailboat is entering the cove.
The fenders are out, she will come alongside.
I'm waiting for her to berth.
She's berthed.
I'm going to her, to get to know her, to learn what brought her to this cove.
KORAL DERLEN
"I'm from Istanbul and I work as a financial advisor.
My father had boats at Kurbağalıdere.
I started boating back then.
This is my second boat.
A 9.60-meter laminated epoxy sailboat built in Göcek.
We cruise the seas with my family on our boat.
I kept my boat in Istanbul for 12 years.
Maintaining the boat there was expensive and was becoming increasingly costly.
So we made a spontaneous decision and moved down to Marmaris.
We have been sailing these waters for many years.
The bay we visit most in Marmaris is Çiftlik Bay.
It's our regular spot.
We always stop here during our passages through Gökova and Hisarönü.
We find clean waters here, excellent atmosphere, and facilities serving delicious meals.
There are solid anchorages and you can stay with confidence.
We can live comfortably in this sheltered bay that is protected from the west.
Also, the people are friendly.
Only the stream flowing into the middle of the bay needs to be regulated. Since the road from Marmaris has become comfortable, Saturdays and Sundays feel crowded to us sailors.
We prefer tranquility.
For this reason, we're here whenever we get the chance outside those days."
As the sun slowly begins to set in the west and the high hills start to block its way, I want to make use of the light.
I want to walk from the beach to the summer residences.
Years ago, this was my second alternative for acquiring property besides Turunç.
Its distance from Marmaris, and the healthcare and supply facilities were influential in making my choice in favor of Turunç.
While walking on the endless beach, I come across a familiar face.
Nuran Savaşkan Akdoğan, a friend I know from the maritime community. She has been coming here for years.
p>In fact, they have been renting accommodation here for 4 years and spending their holidays.
NURAN SAVAŞKAN AKDOĞAN
"I am an academician living in Ankara.
For the last 4 years, we have been renting a house at Ilgın Site in Çiftlik Bay. We love its tranquility; it's a bay connected to the open sea and very clean due to the bottom currents.
There are no facilities around, which is why it's quiet.
Ilgın Site was established in 1974.
Back then, there was no road access.
All materials were brought by sea. The site even provided its own water and electricity.
For this reason, it's a place where people who respect nature and protect the environment live.
They don't even allow outsiders to light fires on the beach; they warn them.
Supplies are obtained from the market within the restaurants, from the market set up in Bayır Village, and from mobile vendors who come here. Bozburun and Selimiye are also very close.
Life in the site, which has a high average age, generally starts in May and ends in November.
Property prices here increased considerably after the opposite island was purchased by Ali Ağaoğlu.
It's a perfect place."
After wishing them good holidays, I take my place at the facility where I'm moored at sunset.
Of course, after washing off the day's fatigue in those crystal-clear waters.
What's this? The moon, taking over the shift from the sun to wash away the day's fatigue, is also preparing.
It rises over Çiftlik Island and illuminates this magnificent bay until morning.
If you think I'm the only one benefiting from the beautiful atmosphere, you're mistaken. At the next table is Captain Mehmet
Ali, who took to the seas after years of business management. "My favorite bay, the most magnificent view," he says. "My regular spot, my place for long stays and living," he says.
We're curious about both him and his thoughts on this place he loves.
MEHMET ALİ PEKGÜZEL
"I've been involved with the sea since childhood. I started sailing in England in 1986.
When I went to England, one of my British friends who had done a world circumnavigation invited me aboard his boat for a 2-day cruise. We completed our voyage
and the sea thing, sailing warmed up to me.
Until 1992, I was deeply involved with the sea in England.
When I came to Turkey in 1992, I went out sailing on weekends in Sığacık Gulf with my friend's boat.
Later, I bought myself a Dehler brand boat.
This love that permeated our souls reached even higher levels.
I've cruised all of Turkey's coastlines many times over.
p>Years ago, with my current boat, I came to Çiftlik Cove from Marmaris with my family and loved it so much that we became regulars.
Even on the hottest days, the interior is cool.
Except for southern and southeasterly weather, the sea here is calm. Çiftlik Island in front of us breaks the seas coming from outside. For nature lovers,
it's a magnificent place. The hiking trails, views from the hills, the oxygen, and the view of the open seas are magnificent.
At every opportunity, I stay here for long periods and live here."
Night has ended, morning has come, let's keep Captain Mehmet Ali's word and take the paths that go between the mountains.
I carry a bicycle on my boat. In suitable places, I get it out and both exercise and explore the surroundings.
I walk to places where the bicycle cannot go, and climb the hills in the mornings.
Of course, if I can't do either of these, mask and snorkel await me.
I both swim and scan the bottom structure into my brain.
This time, it's a walk.
Çiftlik Cove is connected to Bayır Village 11 kilometers away by a clean paved road.
If I go up 3 km, there's the return too, that's enough, buddy.
With a pleasant climb through the forests, I'm carrying out my plan.
The sea is waiting for me. But first, I see Koray Çoban taking care of his animals behind the restaurants.
He is the oldest operator of this bay. He has the balance sheet of years. You can't go without asking and learning from him.
KORAY ÇOBAN
"We were born and raised in Bayır Village and came here. When we arrived, my in-laws had a restaurant and their house behind it.
I went to military service, came back, and got married.
In 1991-92, I opened a separate restaurant.
There isn't much settlement in Çiftlik Bay. It's a small bay.
Before there was a road, the current holiday site was built under difficult conditions by Aykut Gürol, who brought all materials by sea.
In 1987, hotel construction began. After serving tourism for many years, it's now closed.
Over time, facilities were established in our bay.
Our main village is Bayır, we live there. This place is like a summer residence. There's a Monastery up above. There are 4 restaurants and 1 water sports center.
The bay is clean, people love it very much.
It gets a bit crowded on Sundays.
We do our own provisioning. We produce most things ourselves. Our meat comes from animals we raise.
Our bay, which is generally calm in summer, becomes very bad and dangerous on stormy days in winter months.
As it is, with its naturalness, it's a very beautiful place.
It shouldn't grow any bigger. It's sufficient as it is."
Having come this far, you can't miss the neighboring Gebekse Bay. I'm going by boat to the bay, which is 1.2 NM away.
The sea is calm.
p>I had decided to go by dinghy, thinking I wouldn't find a place to anchor due to the crowd in the bay, but the bay is empty.
Only 3 boats are anchored.
The negative developments in tourism have reflected all the way here.
Although it's early, after 11:00 AM, daily tour boats from Marmaris start to cruise around.
Playing "Ankara's Vineyards" at volumes loud enough to be heard from Rhodes.
I'm going ashore, Mehmet is pruning sage tea, occasionally talking on the phone, sending messages on WhatsApp.
I'm also capturing fresh footage in the early hours.
Since I've come all this way, I wanted to ask about his life, the bay, tourism, and where the bay's name comes from.
MEHMET VURAL
"I was born in Bayır Village. I've been living here since I was 23 years old.
We have land and a house on it. This land was left to me as inheritance. We have animals inherited from our ancestors, I take care of them.
A very large area of olive groves. I harvest olives in winter.
I sell the animals and olives to individuals.
In summer, daily tour boats come, and I also sell them sage tea, dried fruits and honey.
The story of the church located here, as we know it;
Years ago, a woman in Rhodes becomes pregnant through illegitimate means.
The Rhodians punish her and put her on a sailboat and leave her to the sea.
The woman, who doesn't know how to operate the boat, drifts here and comes ashore.
Then his relatives came and established a settlement here. They built residences, they built the church you see.
They have bathhouses, cisterns, olive oil factories.
Natural conditions couldn't erase the traces of life from that era.
They're still there and attract the interest of those who visit here.
During summer months, daily tour boats come to this magnificent and sheltered cove very intensively between 11:00-16:00.
When these boats left, yachts coming for overnight stays would drop anchor and moor to both shores.
But tourism is over now.
The number of boats coming has decreased.
Only a few boats come now.
I live here in the midst of nature, winter and summer. At the end of the season, these places are left only to me.
I walk to Bayır Village. I walk the 11-kilometer road, crossing the mountains.
This is my life, I'm a man of these parts and I'm very happy."
Yes, we said Çiftlik, but found ourselves in Gebekse.
We met Mehmet. Different lives, different stories.
From waterfront mansions, to islands where helicopters land, to lives squeezed between stone crevices—they're all in this geography.
And we are here to witness it.
Stay healthy.
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