This is a place me and a buddy went to check out the ruins. This was quite a hike and fun to see the view of the city from an elevated approach.
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Yılankale, Yilan, Ilan-kale, Shah-Meran Kale(Kurdish) or Castle of the Snakes is a large medieval crusader castle located east of Adana in modern Turkey, built on a rocky hill overlooking the east bank of the Ceyhan river. Its medieval name is unknown – the current name “Castle of the Snakes” is either due to a Turkish legend in which it belongs to the king of the snakes (Youngs 1965), or according to its Kurdish name it rather refers to the carving of a figure holding a sceptre, mistaken for a snake, above the main gateway (T. S. R. Boase et al., 1978) and its construction and use are associated with Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. (Wikipedia)
I found this dive center while doing some research on the internet. I feel lucky because this was a very exclusive and all-inclusive scuba trip that was handled by the most professional staff I have worked with to date. We dove for two days and enjoyed the sites as new friendships were formed. I would recommend this to anyone looking for all levels of diving. The team that runs the center is very educated and fun to dive with. I met people from all over that came to Bodrum to experience the great weather, warm waters and outstanding visibility.
We dove for two days and went to a ship wreck and small reef the first day. On the second day we went to a Plane wreck (Dakota C-47 from WWII) and another reef that had clay pots and some pretty interesting rock formations. This was just the tip of the iceberg as what this center had to offer.
This adventure started the day I rented a doblo mini-van for the weekend while being accompanied by dive buddies and friends. I mention the doblo mini-van because it was the first time I drove a manual shift van on the autobahn where other cars challenged my authority. This vehicle has a max speed at sixty MPH and shakes while trying to get it there, anyway enough about the doblo.
The van was packed and we headed away to check out the ship wreck and cave from the previous week. The caption promised us better visibility this time and more fun. The site was about a thirty minute boat ride from a town called Tasucu. The scenery was something out of a magazine and the weather was awesome. I love meeting new people and the people I met shared their stories from other dives they had accomplished in other parts of the world. As soon as we arrived at our dive spot he was dead on and the waters were fairly calm.
The ship dive was very nice and the waters were about 80 degrees at 75 feet. My instructor had us perform some of our last skills so we could get certified as an open water advanced diver. After the skills were complete we took a swim around and through the ship. The video will show more details on what we saw.
After we surfaced, the ship’s crew prepared us a meal fit for a king and we relaxed and played in the water until everyone was ready for the next dive.The next dive took place not too far from the ship. This was something I was excited about because I was going to get to see more of the cave……so I thought. The swim to the cave was clear and the visibility was 25 to 30 feet. When we arrived at the cave we were paired up and given the opportunity to go in with the dive guide. I was excited because I was able to go in first. The first time we went into the cave it wasn’t too bad, but other divers checked it out and stirred the water up.
As we entered the cave the water was clear and I was able to take some video of the red fish that were along the walls of the cave. As we explored further the water began to cloud up and the dive guide suggested that we head out. I was a tad disappointed that we didn’t go deeper, but there were other divers that wanted to go as well. After everyone that wanted to go into the cave had a chance to check out the cave we made our way back to the boat. Along the way I was able to film some pretty interesting things and practice my buoyancy control.
Once we arrived on the boat, I overheard one the divers tell another why he didn’t want to go into the cave. Apparently when we went in we scared a six-foot shark that was hanging out in there. I was to busy checking out the little fish to see the big fish…. all I saw was the silt it kicked up creating terrible visibility for everyone. He told us that it took off and went behind the other diver while me and the guide were looking at the fish. Even though no one else saw it, I believe him because the video I shot shows something big kicking up silt. I was mad that I didn’t see it….
The weekend was great and the company was just as good. I look forward to my next dive and weekend adventure. I have a tentative plan to check out another part of Turkey that is promised to deliver better visibility and more aquatic life. Thanks for keeping up with my blog. Check out the pictures and the videos.
Weekend Getaway Warrior 