Turkey, Unplucked.

Turkey is an ideal venue for chickens, because there's a huge expanse of water so shallow, you can stand up even two hundred yards out to sea. Unless you're less than five foot tall, in which case Turkey, or more precisely, Alacati, is as worryingly deep as anywhere else.

This unique shallow water phoenomenom is the main reason we run some of our beginner and intermediate courses there, combined with the steady sea breezes and warmth which you can find in most other Turkish and Greek destinations.

The shallow water makes windsurfing more like snowboarding, because when you fall off, you just stand back up and try again, instead of getting totally knackered trying to waterstart or uphaul. This takes such chunks off your learning curve, that if all the windsurfing venues around the world had this feature, it would be a way more popular sport.

This shallow water paradise has quickly made Alacati one of the most attractive windsurfing venues worldwide, so don't expect to be blasting alone across an empty sea. It's crowding in light winds is almost exceptional as beginners all huddle in the shallows, but when the wind blows through, most windsurfers are blown apart....

Another interesting feature of Alacati, or probably more accurately of Turkey, is the diversity of everything. Dark hair with blue eyes, shisha pipes or alcohol, honey or sheep brain soup and quite excitingly for some younger travelers, the fact Alacati bridges the very oldest Turkey with the most modern one; raves and pumping tunes on the beaches.

Mind Blowing.
 
The dance music and party space ship of Europe has now landed in the Turkey massif! And Alacati has become an exclusive weekend rave resort for the wealthy young and chic.

Whilst we were there, Faithless, the UK band famed for their song 'I can't get no sleep' kept ten thousand screaming Turks, and ten of us from our coaching week, awake all night with a concert on the beach right next door to where we go windsurfing. Pete (from our course) summed it up recently 'I can see us all dancing around the bar and looking out to see a mass of Turkish kids young enough to be my own, looking back at us incredulously, as if we were dangerous animals that shouldn't be provoked. What a great night.' Ibiza move over, you didn't have any wind anyway, Alacati will blow your mind in many ways.
   
Wind Blowing.

Like all of the Aegean Sea, Alacati's windy season is approximately mid May to early September. We've been there twice in August and had good conditions for beginner to intermediate, and ok conditions for 'experts'. That said, one of the weeks we ran this year was the same week that so much of Europe flooded with a bizzare twist to the weather patterns we'd been taking for granted. With a soggy Europe to the north, the whole Aegean was jinxed with almost no wind that week. The following week though was back to normal, with wind everyday, never too much (over force 5-6) and never too little. The typical Alacati wind, always blowing from the left and increasing during the day.

Alacati.

Alacati itself is a cobbled town reaching far enough back in time to satisfy explorers, historians and non-windsurfers alike. It is also the perfect back drop for many a meal out, where restaurants happily blocked roads with long out door tables for our guests. Crooked walls of weary buildings are strung up by vines and borgonvillias, indoor chairs used outdoors by elderly men, women drinking sugary teas and the famed turbo charged Turkish coffee. Grandchildren help waiter the restaurants so there's that wonderful timeless feel of a society still bonded by family love and stories, and not yet distracted by the electric revolution on the beaches at night nearby. At least for now.

Historical Turkey surrounds us in Alacati, yet, for our sins we've not yet experienced a trip to any of it's many ancient sites or monuments. This is unusual for us, but our trips to Turkey have been so enjoyable combining windsurfing and eating well, not visiting anywhere of historical interest is a sign of the good winds and good vibes on the beach. Which I guess hardly justifies my position bringing you this feature.

But for many this lack of cultural exploration might not matter. Quite simply Alacati's a wonderful escape at the end of a five hour flight and one hour bus ride, which ironically could be anywhere in southern Europe or North Africa, which is exactly the blend of climate and energy Turkey evokes.

Chesme

Nearby is the Ilica metropolis, ancient town and harbour on Chesme peninsula. An exiting place to hang out and eat at one of the many cafes, fortunately frequented mostly by Turkish tourism and not by European package holiday makers.

On The Beach

All the big windsurfing brands are represented by good rental facilities along the beach. In between most centres is a café / restaurant serving truly inspiring food. Enough to tear people off the water for another kebab, salad or Turkish pizza, usually spiced or herbed to full ticklish flavour.

Only one of these cafes plays 'dance' music, and if you're not into it, don't worry as it's the most downwind one, thus not smothering the area with it's unavoidable beat. If you are into it, then on Sundays there's an afternoon party, where shorts and bikinis shake off the dance floor, over the beach and even into the water. Yup, Alacati must be the only place in the world you can fall off a carve gybe and bob up in the middle of an underwater rave. Even a hundred yards out to sea, it's not uncommon to see a Turkish delight dancing in the Turkish bath.

Accommodation

There's the mysterious five star Hotel Suzer almost right on the beach, frequented mostly by the Turkish, but also by windsurfers. It's a mountain of marbled floors and glass lifts which doesn't exactly reflect the windsurfers salt encrusted eyebrows and shorts, but nevertheless is attractive enough with a natural spa and health centre on it's ground floor. Although the food is good there, the atmosphere of five star hotels aren't my cup of Turkish coffee.

That said, we run some of our courses from there and it works fantastically as it's only a few minutes stroll to the beach.

However, having used the small family run Hotel Illeri in a nearby town, which needs a ten minute private bus journey back and forth, this has become our favourite. I was apprehensive about using a hotel for my guests away from the beach, but it was definitely the better feeling. It's perfectly adequate, and is surrounded by the hustle of a town, which is both a bonus or a draw back, depending which way you look at it. At night the streets were sometimes noisy with people who hadn't been windsurfing all day (and therefore had the energy to be up all night). But this was a small sacrifice to make to be surrounded by lively restaurants and bars, where locals would spend their evenings playing cards or board games, whilst chain smoking cigarettes or shisha pipes. For me this was the place to be. Nothing flash, but culturally sparkling. And the easy bus journey is laid on by the hotel, who also own the best beach café right by the windsurf centre we use. So we were all incredibly well looked after.

There's a variety of other hostels and B&B's scattered around both near the beach and in the towns too.

Summary.

At some length I have talked of the rave scene developing here, however I want to clarify that it is penetrable only by desire, and casually avoidable. The parties at night don't start until well after midnight and the music doesn't effect your sleep wherever you're staying. It's only as close to you as a night club is in your home town.

The image I would like to leave you of Alacati is the one I keep. Old Turkey. Rickerty wooden carts, buildings which seem to have grown wrinkles, exceptional hospitality, much better food than Greece and windsurfing in perfect conditions. In fact, imagine somewhere as opposite of the modern electric culture as you can, and you have Alacati. A place full of contrasts.

Captions

Beginner and me shot
Alacati is suitable for all levels of windsurfing, although attracts mostly a beginner to intermediate windsurfer. On one occasion I was rescuing a Turkish lady washed downwind. As I was towing her to the shore I asked her where she would like to go, she told me assertively "Istanbul!" I headed straight for the beach, hoping she'd misunderstood me.

Umbrella Market Shot
Turkey is a bottle neck of sensory treasures where Asia, Europe and Africa flood into each other. Constantanople (now Istanbul) was historically, and still is one of the world's most significant intercontinental trading posts. Hence the market tradition is still very much alive all over the country. Even in the tiny Alacati, a market with the bulk of a mega mall, passes through, bringing all the natural riches of the land and all the spoils of other continents.

Flag/ buildings shot
The smell of fresh bread pours through the Alacati maze, awakening the village like an alarm clock to their nostrils. Ahhh, the unbeatable joy of buying fresh bread from a southern European village bakery. 

Viv carrying kit
The turquoise area in this pic is virtually all standing depth water with no rocks, urchins or other hazards to worry about under foot.

Caravan pic
Some windsurfers discovered Alacati surf paradise years ago in their caravans. Some of them never left.

Café silhouette people shot
Turkish food is one of those rare experiences you can compare with the pleasures of windsurfing. At least over lunch on the beach.

Sheep Brain Soup
Enriching yourself on experience is one thing, but this sheep brain soup got a big 'never again' from all of our guests.

Hands
Hands worn to the bone is testimony to the good winds on a Guy Cribb INtuition 'holiday'

Decks
Spinning the tunes on a lazy Saturday afternoon, warming up for a big night in the ever changing Turkey, always the blender of intercontinental cultures, including the rave fantastic.

Guy Cribb INtuition runs week long tuition courses in Alacati on June 30th, July 7th and August 25th. Please phone INtuition hotline 01273 842 144

For all the travel and accommodation alternatives in Alacati, contact Sportif 01273 844 919

For info on other Guy Cribb INtuition Holidays visit www.guycribb.com or call our hotline 01273 842 144

A special thanks to Manu and all the crew at Club Mistral, and to Murat and his family from the Hotel Illeri.