Archive » May 29, 2008

Turkish Delights

Vol. 14 Issue 22

Mediterranean Blue

The water was an iridescent blue; the best description I can muster is “sapphire” for this northern stretch of the Mediterranean Sea. We were sailing in an 85 foot 14-person“gulet,” a double-masted sailing boat (ketch class) chiefly powered by a diesel engine. Our two gulets cruised the Mediterranean Sea off the southwestern coast of Turkey [the country was the subject of Carole Lieff’s column (“The Art Advisor” MJ # 13/38), in which she lambasted both the architecture there and its residents]. The water turns this special blue color due to calcium carbonate salts that drain from the craggy surrounding cliffs, dissolve, and reflect light that eyes see as a beautiful blue. The water is also crystal clear and a cool but swimmable 67 degrees. Our gulets could enter smaller coves along miles of coastline, which would have been unapproachable by a larger vessel.

Letters to the Editor

Dear Montecito Planning Commission

Many residents marvel at the lack of ease with which people in cars move through Montecito on the Interstate 101. We also know the severe public outcry against the widening and modernizing of the freeway that has taken place over the last few decades. The “Freeway Revolt” has left us...

The Way it Was

San Marcos Pass Motor Road and Cold Spring Tavern

In 1901, the railroad gap between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo was bridged, and rail travel could go through to San Francisco. On the day of the opening celebration, Selin Carrillo, a member of the original Carrillo family, drove the last Wells Fargo stage over San Marcos Pass. Stage...

Book Talk

The Power of Short Stories

In addition to being intended for reading at a single sitting, short stories offer the potential for transportation to other cultures, locales, and times. They offer the added opportunity of climbing into the skin and sensitivity of a remarkable array of persons one might not otherwise meet in such personal,...