BlackBook No Better Place The 53m Halas 71, anchored in Cennet Koyu in front of Villa Maçakizi A trio of women in diaphanous dresses made their way inside the hotel from a long night at the beach bar, sweeping like lovely ghosts past creeping bougainvillea and geometric glass sculptures by Turkish artist Sema Topaloğlu. Having just arrived from London, my husband and I sat observing it all quietly from a table in the lounge when, suddenly, we had company. An English chap plonked himself at our table, ordered a tequila and soda (“Rum makes you fat. Tequila makes you high,” he informed the waiter) and began regaling us with his love affair for the hotel. “We are all one family here,” he proclaimed jovially, between slurps. I had long heard the stories about Maçakizi – the supermodels and royalty, the parties that last until morning (sometimes the afternoon) – but to see it in action was another story. The hotel is less a place to stay than it is a lifestyle, where guests are welcomed by the charismatic owner Sahir Erozan and his amiable Australian sidekick, general manager Andrew Jacobs. The next day, at the beach club, a group of Americans were deep in discussion about the minimum length of yacht required for a family of four plus staff (22 metres, apparently). At breakfast, an English couple worked from laptops at their table; they’d been staying there since June, with no plans to leave before the hotel closed for the season in November. By the beach bar, no matter the hour, a group of Givenchyclad men could be found smoking Cohibas. Even with Covid-19, the spectacle couldn’t be stifled: colourful masks and bespoke hand sanitiser in chic bottles were the latest must-have accessories. I had not come to talk boats or smoke cigars, though. I had come to see the newest additions to the Maçakizi family: a 12-suite pleasure yacht and an exclusiveuse villa. That afternoon, we set sail on the 53m Halas 71. Gliding from Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay) to Çatalada (Fork Island), past mega-mansions and superyachts, the vessel was majestic, if not exactly in the same style as the glistening white showboats we passed along the way. Commissioned in 1912 by the Bosphorus Steam Navigation Company and built in 1914 in Glasgow, Scotland, the ship was, like many back then, repurposed by the British navy for use in World War I. After the defeat at Gallipoli, it operated in Istanbul as a steam ferry, transporting traders and tourists across the Bosphorus. In 1984, it was again converted, this time into a luxury yacht, by media tycoon Haldun Simavi, who, with his wife, Çiğdem, entertained an impressive roster of guests on board – Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, John Malkovich and Bill and Hillary Clinton. Today the Halas 71 is owned by Turkish textile magnate Caroline Koç and managed by Erozan and his team. The boat is available for charter for a few hours or up to a few weeks for visits to the sunken ruins of Simena in Kekova and stunning seaside towns like Bozburun and Göcek. › PHOTO ENGIN AYDENIZ 18 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
