Volendam 2026, Scenic cruising the Dardanelles...

Even though it was a sea day, with a time change and gaining an hour, I was up early to be out on the front deck for scenic cruising through the Dardanelles…For the Mediterranean it was brutally cold and windy out there! The Dardanelles also known as the Strait of Gallipoli after the Gallipoli peninsula is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between and separates Asian from European continents. Together with the Bospherus the Dardanelles forms the Turkish Straits. This area has been a vital waterway for trade and military campaigns, most notably the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I.  We sailed northward through the Dardanelles beneath the 1915 Canakkale Bridge. The bridge itself, a gleaming modern landmark linking Europe and Asia, stands as a bold opposite to the centuries old landscape around it.  As passage continues toward the Aegean Sea, the strait narrows and is guarded by powerful stone fortresses. On the European side stands the great Kilitbahir Fortress, its heart-shaped bastion built by Mehmed the Conqueror to command the strait, mirrored by its twin, the Cimenlik Fortress, on the Asian shore. Farther toward the mouth, two weathered forts come into view that once roared with Ottoman artillery during the First World War. The waters widen and the Aegean opens ahead; the forts and monuments fade into the distance is a reminder that this narrow strait has been both a boundary and a bridge between worlds. We now continue out sail towards Athens, our next destination…  Loving every day onboard the Volendam!