Candarli, west coast of Turkey

N38°56.17 E026°56.26
(May 2009)
We liked it here and would definitely go back. The holding is fabulous, gloopy, black mud. It was blowing a NE force 7 when we were there and we didn’t budge. No chop built up with the wind from the north so we were comfy and didn’t have any sleepless nights. We anchored in the east of the bay for the best shelter when the wind was strongest and in the west for easy access to the town. There is a fuel station on the road that runs along the front (more or less in the middle of the bay). The town is great. I suppose they must have their fair share of tourists in the high season but it had the atmosphere of a real town for real people going about their business. There were four supermarkets (I only went in three!) – Bim, Şok, Tansaş and Dia – and a little covered square in the middle of town for fresh fruit and veg. We landed our dinghy at a tiny wooden jetty just to the left of the Vestel paint shop. Çandarlı
seems to have an obsession with bins (rather that way than the other) and there were wheelie skips everywhere. We walked to the castle and around to look at the harbour on the west side. Very pleasant.

(July 2009)
Some extra stuff we discovered on returning to Çandarlı –

Market day is Friday (turn right at Şok and you can’t miss the market area up there on the right).
There is also a decent supermarket behind the market ground.
The bus station is on the road behind the fuel station.
There is a purpose built area in the park (on the right past the Mini Tansaş) to fill your containers with fresh water.

Bergama (Pergamon)

The dolmuş from Çandarlı to Bergama (Pergamon) takes about 45 minutes (regular service, cost TL4). From the bus station we got a taxi that took us to all three sites for TL50 inclusive of waiting time. We had plenty of time to see what we wanted and weren’t hurried at all. Entrance changes per person were TL20 at the acropolis, TL5 at the Red Basilica and TL15 at Asclepion.