Where is the Turkish democracy heading? Are the Turks dreaming of a new Ottoman Empire? Can Turkey become an ideal Islamic model for the Muslim world? Contra-productive is surely its relation with Syria which will certainly undermine any such strategy? A gulet is a traditional design of a two-masted wooden sailing vessel from the southwestern coast of Turkey, particularly built in the coastal towns of Bodrum and Marmaris. They are built from wood, pine or eucalyptus and really equipped to live on throughout the year. Today, this type of vessel, varying in size from 14 to 35 metres, is popular for tourist charters. For considerations of crew economy, diesel power is now almost universally used. The besan is more decoration and often not properly rigged for sailing. Today I visited the first time a "shipyard" at the Turkish Aegis. Well, this yard has actually a huge roof over a large piece of land. Below were a lot of sawing machines and some other machine tools. All very much traditional craft. All just to craft a wooden yacht. Gulets can be as large as 35 m. Because the really good gulets are being built from eucalyptus wood, the air is full of the typical aroma of eucalyptus. Very healthy work conditions! It takes on average 8 to 10 craftsmen 15 months for the completion of hull and superstructure. Only then all the technical toys are installed. In this sense, the gullets are actually still very authentic boats. It is very comfortable to live all year around on such boat. Because of all these technical specifications demanded by insurances, the boats, however, are then only for limited use for sailing. The craftsmen seem to enjoy their work, - very humble people who know how to work accurately. |
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