One of the outcomes of the improvement in Greek-Turkish relations which accompanied President Erdogan’s visit to Athens on December 7th 2023, was the Greek government’s decision to grant freer access for Turkish visitors to the islands of the Eastern Aegean. By special agreement with the EU, visitors to those islands were to be able to acquire on entry a 7-day visa valid for a period of 12 months, without having to apply for a full visa for entry to the passport-free Schengen area. The visa, which does not allow free travel to other European countries, costs 60 euros and includes a passport check and fingerprinting.
The scheme began operating on 1st April, first applying to Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios and Lesbos, with a further five – Symi, Kastellorizon, Icaria, Kalymnos and Limnos – added at the end of the month. It was taken up enthusiastically by Turkish visitors over the Bayram holiday from 6th to 14th April. Extra customs staff had been taken on in Mytilene to ensure the smooth processing of arrivals, with some 20,000 Turks visiting the first five islands over the holiday, compared with 6,000 over the same period in 2023.
At the start of the scheme, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a social media post on 31st March: “The express visa can be issued not only in summer, but all year round. The measure is designed to boost tourism in areas and at times of the year when there is not a lot of traffic, so it will help the local economies.”
A superyacht in Kolymbari
A different kind of Turkish visitor arrived in Kolymbari on Friday morning. The superyacht Meserret 3 was seen around 11.00 am, inching its way towards the shore just off the Gonia Monastery, preceded by its tender, which seemed to be prospecting for a safe anchorage. Early in the morning the yacht had left Chania, where it had spent several days moored off the Venetian Harbour and was snapped by a photographer of the Haniotika Nea. It finally dropped anchor some way off the Gonia Monastery and the Orthodox Academy, where it seemed set to stay for the holiday weekend.
The Meserret 3 ranks fairly high in the superyacht league. With a length of 75 metres, its has a total of 6 decks and its amenities include a main saloon and dining room on the main deck, a boat deck saloon, a jacuzzi deck, observation deck and study, a fitness room, a dive room and swim platform, as well as a helicopter pad. It can accommodate 22 guests in a total of 10 suites and a crew of 23. Powered by two 3,500 hp diesel engines it can travel at up to 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h) and has a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km).
Originally ordered by Brigadier Sir Timothy Landon, a British Army officer noted for his role in the modernisation of the State of Oman, it was sold before completion to Sir Donald Gosling, the chairman of National Car Parks in the UK. Gosling, who was an honorary vice-admiral of the British Navy, named the boat Leander G, after the frigate which he first served on in the Second World War. For many years it was stationed at Antibes on the Côte d’Azur, where it was available for charter, and was used more than once by members of the British Royal Family after the decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia.
After being sold in 2016, it underwent a change of name and finally ended up with its present owner, Mehmet Ömer Koç, who is a Turkish businessman, art collector, and chairman of Koç Holding, one of the biggest commercial enterprises in Turkey.
A reclusive figure not much seen in public, Koç lives in London and is known for his fondness for both contemporary and classical art (he holds a bachelor’s degree in Ancient Greek). An energetic sponsor of Turkey’s contemporary art scene, he also maintains an interest in Ottoman art, and has a large Iznik pottery collection. He is reported to have the finest private collection of objects and books about Ottoman history in the world.
(Wikipedia)