Cokertme Bay

Çökertme is one of those anchorages that has stayed close to what it always was: a broad, shallow crescent on the northern shore of the Gulf of Gökova, backed by hills of pine and olive, with a line of jetties and fish restaurants along the water and a small village a short walk inland. It appears on almost every blue cruise itinerary running out of Bodrum and Marmaris, and for most crews it is an overnight stop rather than a destination in itself: a swim, dinner ashore, and away again the next morning.

Where the Bay Sits

Çökertme Bay lies in the Milas district of Muğla province, on the northern side of the Gulf of Gökova, roughly 50 kilometres from Bodrum by road along the route that carries on towards Ören. The shoreline is a mix of coarse sand and pebble, and depths inside the bay generally run between five and fifteen metres, which is part of why it suits wooden gulets so well: enough water to lie comfortably, enough shelter to sleep. The steep ground behind the beach is the other reason it stays calm. When the meltemi is blowing hard down the open channel in high summer, the ridge to the north throws a wind shadow across the bay, and boats tucked inside often sit in flat water while the gulf beyond is white.

A winding coastal road connects the bay to Milas and to the nearby resort town of Ören, but it is a long drive from anywhere in particular, and the great majority of visitors still arrive by sea. From here it is a short hop to Orak Island, to the quiet inlet of Akbük, and to Değirmenbükü, the anchorage that most charts and skippers still call English Harbour, as well as to Sedir Island further east.

The Village and Its Song

The settlement behind the bay is small. Çökertme had a recorded population of about 227 in 2022, and for most of the last century its economy rested on olives, tobacco and fishing rather than on tourism. The wider Milas district is one of Turkey's best-known carpet-weaving regions, and hand-knotted rugs coloured with natural dyes are still produced in the hill villages above the bay, Gökbel among them. Along the shore the restaurants trade largely on fish landed locally, and several will grill whatever came in that morning.

The bay also shares its name with one of the best-known folk songs of the Aegean. The Çökertme türküsü tells the story of Halil and his companion İbram Çavuş, smugglers pursued by the authorities in the early 1900s, and of Gülsüm, and it ends in Halil's death; it is still sung at weddings across the Bodrum peninsula and has been recorded countless times. Whether the Çökertme of the lyrics is this bay or another place of the same name on the peninsula is disputed locally, and the question has never been settled.

Coming In by Boat

Most of the waterfront restaurants maintain their own jetties with laid moorings, and the arrangement is the familiar one on this coast: berth at no charge, take water and electricity from the pontoon, and eat ashore in the evening. Boats that prefer to lie on their own ground tackle usually drop anchor in the western part of the bay and run a long line to the shore. There is no marina, no fuel dock and very little in the way of shopping, which is a large part of the appeal.

Because of where it sits on the northern shore, Çökertme is normally reached on the second or third day of a longer route through the gulf rather than as a day sail, and it is one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet charter from Marmaris, most often on the leg working east along the coast towards Sedir Island and back.