Sailing the Blue Aegean
Original photo property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia 
Original photo property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia 
Original photo property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia
Ancient Greece
The Blue Aegean Sea…
I’ve never seen a bluer sea, and I’ve seen many, because if there is one thing that I love is the water…I was born near the water and I’ve always lived in a coastal city or town…but the Aegean Sea is incredibly beautiful.
Here are some shots I took while sailing in Turkish waters…
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved) 
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved) 
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved)
And areas along the coast heading south from Bodrum, and Bodrum is more or less in the middle of the Turkish Aegean coast, about a one hour flight from Istanbul.
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved) 
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved) 
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved)
It’s a very relaxing time, the time you spend on the water, and since most of the coastline is composed of coves and small bays, you can anchor and jump in any time of the day or the night that you like…
When you hire a boat, it comes with a captain, a chef and a first mate. You then purchase everything and anything you wish to eat along the voyage as well as everything and anything you would like to drink. We had a great chef and ate gourmet quality food throughout the seven days of sailing the Turkish Aegean.
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved) 
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved) 
(Photo property of FBC, All Rights Reserved)
It is a very relaxing and refreshing time, a most enjoyable experience. You eat, you drink, you take in the sunshine and the gorgeous waters of that blue, blue Aegean Sea…
I leave you with a little video clip that I made of my trips and journeys in Turkey, a country I know very well, although I should say that I know the western, Aegean coast, because Turkey is a huge country and I know very little of all points east, north or further south…
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God…the Only Reason We Exist…Holy Wisdom…
Built to the glory of God in the year A. D. 360 in Constantinople…it still stands proudly in honour of our Creator…
Haghia Sophia became Ayasofya, a mosque, when the Ottoman Turks invaded and conquered the city in 1453…
But when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk created the modern Republic of Turkey, he closed the mosque, in 1931. In 1935, he reopened Ayasofya as a museum…
Everything was preserved under plaster and a restoration is taking place to bring back the murals and the artwork, especially the sacred icons to Sancta Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom. The church was originally known as Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας: or the Church of The Holy Wisdom of God…
Holy wisdom taught the Byzantines to build churches to honour the Holy Spirit, which is God,
And God is the only reason we exist…
Haghia Sophia, property of FBC, C.2019 All Rights Reserved 
Haghia Sophia, photo property of FBC, C.2019 All Rights Reserved 
Haghia Sophia, photo property of FBC, C.2019 All Rights Reserved 
Haghia Sophia, photo property of FBC, C.2019 All Rights Reserved 
Haghia Sophia, photo property of FBC, C.2019 All Rights Reserved 
Haghia Sophia, photo property of FBC, C.2019 All Rights Reserved
Sacred Icons of Haghia Sophia, photo by FBC, All Rights Reserved 
Sacred Icons of Haghia Sophia, photo by FBC, All Rights Reserved 
Sacred Icons of Haghia Sophia, photo by FBC, All Rights Reserved
Haghia Sophia is located in Istanbul, Turkey. Across from the great church is the “Blue Mosque” the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed, which was constructed from 1609-1617…
C.2019, Valencia, Spain, 30 NOV 2019, Francisco Bravo Cabrera
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Κολοφών…pero Digamos Colofón…en Turquía…
Cerca de Esmirna, en Turquía, están las ruinas de la antigua ciudad griega de Colofón, que pertenecia a Jonia, situada en Asia Menor.
Cuando las visité, encontré muy poco y muy solo aquello. Me parecía escuchar en la brisa el lamento de los antiguos moradores de ese lugar que se lamentaban por ser olvidados…
Aunque solo habian piedras regadas por doquier, me llevé una gran impresión del antiguo Colofón. Como que algo me quería decir, un canto a la soledad o agradecerme la visita…
Tiene que haber sido una ciudad importante. Tenía un puerto llamado Notio y al parecer tenía relaciones comerciales con la cercana ciudad de Esmirna y además es posible que el poeta Homero haya nacido en ella. La ciudad fue tomada por los ateninses y luego por Alejandro Magno y a la muerte del este Colofón fue destruida…
Parece que cuando destruyeron a Colofón y sus habiantes tuvieron que marcharse a Esmirna, quedó para siempre la ciudad en ruinas y en ruinas sigue. No dejaron mucho, solo estos restos que muestro en estas fotos…
Pero sin dudas me encanto la visita. Las ruinas están en un campo abierto sin arboles, sin nada. El polvo de los siglos sigue allí, sigue fiel a su lugar de origen, pues Colofón fue fundada hace casí tres mil años…
Realmente es una ruina y desde que abandonaron la ciudad, sigue siendo un lugar abandonado. Aquí se ha escrito una historia triste sobre estas olvidadas piedras de la antiguedad…
Pero bueno, muy cerca está el Mar Egeo, con aguas de azul intenso, y donde cabe también mucha historia…quien sabe lo que aguardan sus profundidades…
Adiós Colofón…por estos Deus lares se encuentran muchas ruinas y aventuras…
La antiguedad no deja de ser nuestra historia…
C.2019, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 29 de noviembre de 2019, Valencia, España, Derechos Reservados.
INSTAGRAM: @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera
Arte: (JaZzArt en Valencia) http://www.ArtPal.com/rfbravo1155
Jazz: (Abstract Jazz Arrangement) Grupo AJA: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/aja (piano jazz)
Gracias…
Comienza el camino
Doy el primer paso y la luz de cien mil soles brilla a mi alrededor,
y sonrío..
Pero al dar el segundo paso, siento el soplo gélido de la incertidumbre,
y dejo ya de sonreír...
Quedo, frente al camino de la vida, sin sonreír.
Pienso, frente al camino de la vida, he de morir.
Siento, frente al camino de la vida, el murmurar de muchas voces
y trato de buscar de donde vienen y
me dejo arrastrar por el sonido de las voces de la gente que no veo,
corro hacia delante,
me muevo con afán, con delirio, con ganas,
pues las voces me sofocan y me llenan los oídos y me alientan,
me sonsacan y
sin pensarlo he caminado ya tanto que
al mirar atrás no puedo ver donde era,
donde fue aquel lugar donde pensé que no me atrevería jamás a dar un paso, jamás a andar,
pero he andado y sigo andando,
tal vez más lento, tal vez sudando,
pero al andar voy cantando,
aprendiendo y preguntando,
buscando a Dios o algún santo, que de las alturas del cielo,
me enseñe un camino nuevo
por donde pueda ir nadando...
C.2019 (Derechos Reservados)
Instagram @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera
Si Fueras una Tumba…
Si fueras una tumba,
de las mismas piedras
te han hecho tu vestido,
como de los huesos del mundo
el hombre ha ido trazando su camino.
Desapareceras un dia, (hombre y tumba),
pero, esas huellas que quedaron en las rocas, en las piedras en los huesos de este mundo,
no las borraran los vientos…
Sino el mar, que al fin logró vencerte.
Ha sido la marea, que regula el tiempo
y que al marinero guía,
pero aunque te haya cubierto,
por encima de las aguas, tu huella sigue viva,
como una sombra que de la roca emerge,
y toma forma viva,
que ha dibujado lo que eras y tenías,
para mostrarle al futuro lo que en el ayer había…
Tus pasos por la tierra,
te elevan, no te hace falta volar,
si hay escalones
por los cuales subes, sin temor a la caída,
y así sales de la fosa, negra, oscura
de los bajos pensamientos,
para unirte con la luz,
y puedas pisar el cielo.
Y aqui abajo, en la tierra interminable,
que es mas o menos nuestro mundo,
las piedras recordarán lo que tu has sido,
y quedará tu aliento entre su grietas de tu tumba,
Tú, hombre, que jamás fuiste vencido…
C.2019 (Derechos Reservados)
(Fotos propiedad de FBC)
Instagram: @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera
Turkey, Ancient Myra and Modern Antalya
In the Antalya province of Turkey, which is in the Mediterranean, is the small Turkish city of Demre. However, its history goes very far back to the Fourth Century before Christ when it was the Greek city of Myra. From then it was transformed to a Roman city…St. Paul changed ships there en route to Rome…then Byzantine, later the Ottoman Greek city of Lycia and the small Turkish town of Kale. The name was changed to Demre in 2005.
In 325 A.D., Lycia became a Roman province and Myra became its capital. As the Metropolitan See of the province, it was the home of the bishop and the bishop at that time was none other than Saint Nicholas. He was one of the fathers of the First Council of Nicaea in that same year.
Saint Nicholas of Myra (15 March 270 – 6 December 342), who is known as Nicholas of Bari and, because of the many miracles attributed to him, as Nicholas the Wonderworker. He is the patron saint of sailors, repentant thieves, brewers, children, merchants, archers, and students in Europe. But his lovely habit of secretly giving gifts, has created the idea of the Santa Claus, or Saint Nick.
The ancient Greek sarcophagus of marble was used to bury St. Nicholas but his bones were stolen in 1087 by merchants and taken to Bari, to the Basiliaca of St. Nicholas. The Church gained permission in 2007 from the Turkish authorities to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. This was the first time in many centuries.
A famous site in Myra are the rock-cut tombs. Many of them are situated above the theatre and more on the east side in a place called the river necropolis. Some of them have carvings depicting the everyday life of the person buried.
In 1840, discoverer of the city, Charles Fellows said he found the tombs painted red, blue and yellow.
Antalya is the fastest growing city in Turkey. Because of its combination of great beaches and traditional Turkish customs.
Antalya was originally named Attaleia (Ἀττάλεια). The King of Pergamon, Attalos founded the city and gave it his name. In Greek today it still bears this name. In Turkish it was first Adalia and then Antalya.
To visit, Antalya is a great summer destination. With more than 300 days a year with sun, and shielded by the Taurus mountains from the northerly winds, the climate is hot, dry and wonderful for water sports, swimming and for exploring the interesting places, such as Myra, which are close by.
I visited there in 2005 and loved the experience. I flew from Istanbul to Bodrum and drove south. The motorways are very good and safe and there are many rest stops, restaurants and accommodations along the way. Another alternative is to arrive to Istanbul and then take a direct flight to Antalya.
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Waking up in the Aegean Coast of Turkey…
And I say “waking up” because we arrived here from North America, it was a long trip getting there and I mostly slept on the way but it was a cool place to wake up in…
We arrived to Istanbul and took a connecting flight to Izmir. Izmir is Turkey’s third largest city and it is located on the Aegean coast. From Izmir, our journey took us to the ancient places…and beautiful places…in the vicinity.
After spending about twenty four hours in Izmir, we decided to head for the Aegean coast a little bit north of the city…we arrived later that evening to Ayvalik and from there to a little island called Cunda.
A delicious Sea Bass baked in salt, just like in Spain! 
Then enjoying the coast from a sailing boat…the Aegean is so blue!
So we arrived to our first destination, which was Cunda Island in nearby Ayvalik. I guess that one of the benefits of arriving at night is that you do not have to wait long for a great dinner. In Cunda, being an island populated with so many fishermen, it was natural to find an overabundance of fish restaurants. All of them were right on the water. It was hard to choose one, but I think we made a fine choice. We had sea bass baked in salt, (“lubina a la sal”) which was incredibly delicious!
The following seven days we spent sailing around the coast, which was beautiful! We found some pretty interesting places to dive in and enjoy swimming in these clear, cool and blue, blue waters…
A perfect place for swimming in Southern Turkey’s Aegean 
Our sailing boat for seven days!
To get to know and enjoy this area of Turkey, I would recommend arriving in Istanbul…which is where most international flights arrive…and taking a short flight to Izmir and proceed from there. Izmir is close to many of these destinations and you can hire a car and drive south. There are good roads and highways. If you are coming from some European cities, like Munich or Dublin, there are flights direct to Izmir, so you can avoid a second flight from Istanbul. Unless of course you would also like to get to know that city as well.
After Izmir, one stop, very interesting and which you should not ignore, are the ancient ruins of Ephesus. There are tours or you can hire a car. The distance is not far and the roads are good. I think the ruins of Ancient Ephesus are the largest and best kept archaeological site outside of mainland Greece. Close to Ephesus you can visit the little house where it is said that the Virgin Mary lived. It is a beautiful place, very peaceful and serene on top of a mountain…
Library of Celsus…and many tourists… 
Columns and the beautiful sculpture of Ancient Greece 
Trajan’s Temple
The House of the Virgin Mary, like I said, is very close by to the ruins of Ephesus and about seven kilometres from the town of Seljuk. Catholic tradition says that Saint John brought Mother Mary to this house after the crucifixion and it is here where she stayed until her ascension into Heaven.
From Izmir it was quite easy to reach another ancient site, Pergamon…This is one of the seven churches of the Apocalypse. It is a popular destination with Christians worldwide. There are many tours which feature travel to all the churches. I have not seen them all but I can say Pergamun was beautiful! (see my article on Pergamun on this blog)
Pergamon is atop a hill with beautiful vistas of the town below 
Columns of an ancient temple in Pergamon
I must say that it was a rather memorable journey with much of history, archaeology and spirituality. All of these places are a short distance…by car or coach…from Izmir. However, if you choose to stay in one of these places, there are towns nearby, like Seljuk, with nice hotels and good accommodations. And of course, from there, you can travel on to many other destinations in the area which I will be writing about and featuring in my blog.
Turkey, because of its location, is an open air museum where you can see the ruins left behind by the passing of so many cultures and peoples. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for your time, your attention and for your visit! If you have liked what you have seen or read, please hit that lovely like button, follow and share. Comments are always encouraged and welcome.
I am an artist from Valencia, Spain. If you would like to see more of my work, I invite you to follow my Instagram @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera and you can also see my online galleries with my 2019 “JaZzArt en Valencia” collection at http://www.ArtPal.com/rfbravo1155
THANKS!
Ayvalik en la costa del Egeo turco…en fotografias…
Ayvalik esta situada en la costa noroccidental de Turquía. Fue una ciudad llamada Kydonies (Κυδωνίες), cercana a la ciudad de Pérgamo. No muy lejos esta la ciudad de Esmirna. Tiene muchos restaurantes de mariscos a la orilla del mar y es famosa por la gran calidad de su producción de aceite de oliva. En Ayvalık se encuentran las playas Sarimsakli y Altinova, playas de arena, grandes que se extienden aproximadamente 30 km hacia el sur, casi hasta Esmirna.
En la isla de Cunda, archipiélago de Ayvalik 
Los pescadores de Cunda
La primera vez que estuve en Ayvalik fue en 2006, pero no ha cambiado…
especialmente una de sus islitas llamada Cunda (Yunda)…
El Egeo tan azul y tan bello 
La costa de Ayvalik
Realmente es un lugar encantador…
Mujeres haciendo postres tradicionales otomanos 
Puerto de Ayvalik
Del puerto de Ayvalik puedes embarcarte a la isla griega de Lesbos…
Las ruinas de un castillo medieval 
Una mezquita otomana
Fácil de llegar en coche de la ciudad de Esmirna…
Desde la isla de Cunda a Ayvalik en un esquife 
Ruinas…del S.XX…cercanas a Ayvalik
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Ancient Pergamos…
The ancient sites are fascinating to me…
The Ancient Greek cities in what is now Turkey are a sample of what man can accomplish with his intellect, his muscles, his perseverance, passion and with faith…
The ancient site, pictured above, is in present day Bergama, in the Izmir province of Turkey. It is a very well cared for site, nicely managed and very well and artistically…accurately as well…reconstructed in parts. Parts that are enough to let you imagine the majesty of the entirety…
The forms are alluding to a time when beauty was of utmost importance. Detail was not a detail but a prime item of consideration. Nothing was too small, nothing was too obscure. Everything vibrated at the same frequencies of splendour.
Ancient artists, architects and craftsmen were men…and I think women were involved too…thoroughly devoted to lifting the spirit of man. Their efforts were to be as big and as grandiose as the universe…
Nothing can compare with the work of God, which is evident in nature. But when men put their faith in God and create, wonders can occur that can challenge even the most impressive aspects of Mother Nature.
The Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans, Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Chinese, Sumerians, Mayan, Aztect, Incas et al, were people who built for the glory of man but with the knowledge that the creative spirit comes from a higher source…
These were not the structures of aetheists…
Thank you for following and liking this post and this blog. Please share if you are satisfied and would like others to see. If you would like to see more of my artwork…I am an artist from Spain…please visit my Instagram @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera and my online galleries for my 2019 collection of “JaZzArt en Valencia” at http://www.ArtPal.com/rfbravo1155
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