We cannot evade the fact that people are reluctant to visit Turkey in 2016. Ignoring this would be akin to dancing around a large pink elephant in the living room.

Southern Cross Blue Cruising is thus offering you a completely contrarian view.  

• Do you want to visit the moonscapes of Cappadocia without hordes of tourists?
• Have entire anchorages without a boat anchored outside of your porthole? 
• Explore Ephesus without 3 cruise ships in port?  
• Do you want to explore a pristine Greek Island and eat stifado with a local family in their olive garden?

The year 2016 will be an opportunity to travel without mass tourism, to two of the most statistically safe countries in the world.
 
Remember that the odds of being in a terrorist attack or on an airplane crash are miniscule compared to driving on a freeway or being the victim of a gunshot wound.  It's why our headlines focus on what is improbable, instead of the mundane.

The annual, Bodrum Ladies Lunch took place at the swish Mandarin Oriental in Göl-Türkbükkü on 5 December. The venue, food and atmosphere were fabulous, with 32 local participants, including a lottery with many prizes.   The venue is beautiful and the staff were fluent in English, exuding confidence and discretion with a backdrop of granite, teak and wafts of vanilla and lemongrass. A great check-in for a pre or post Blue Cruise stay.

We also partook in a Thai food preparation course hosted by Erenler Sofrasi with guest chef Byron Ayanoğlu.  Owner of Erenler Sofrası Aslı Mutlu arranged the annual ''hands-on'' cooking class with a varied group from fascinating backgrounds, all with the common interest of learning to prepare wonderful Thai food from an expert.

It’s always nice to indulge in local literature and stories about the places you are visiting, and Roger Williams’ new book ”The Fisherman of Halicarnassus” provides an easy to read account of Cevat Sakir, how he ended up in Bodrum, his contributions to local folklore, fauna and art, and how his many voyages in local waters evolved into today’s Blue Cruise.

Published by Bilgi Publishing, this bunk size book is perfect for browsing through while horizontal on the aft deck of your gulet.  We’ll provide a complimentary copy for your charter upon request.

Guests on tirhandil Trippin would never guess that their gentle captain is also a world renowned jazz musician as well as a Cordon Bleu chef.  Ali Perret is now putting both of his talents together with the opening of his jazz lounge in Bodrum this month.

The upcoming program will start on December 12th and include performances from Şenay Lambaoğlu,Engin Recepoğulları, Neşet Ruacan, Ayşe Gencer, İmer Demirer and Serkan Özyılmaz along with Ali Perret through December.

 Pannonica Jazz Bistro Lounge has a capacity of 60 and is open between 15.00-01.00 from Wednesday through Saturday. On Sunday it is open between 15.00-22.00. Mondays and Tuesdays will be closed during winter months. Its cuisine is run by an executive chef who has worked at various restaurants around America, Germany and Italy.
Address: Caferpaşa Cad. 45 B, Bodrum Reservation: 0252 313 0562