Gulet

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Gulet in front of Bodrum
Gulets in winter storage

A gulet [ ɡuˈlet ] is a thick-bellied, usually two- masted motor sailer made of wood on the Turkish coast.

Strictly speaking, the term is limited to those two-masters in which the navigating bridge is between the two masts. In common usage, however, every passenger motor sailer for tourists is usually referred to as a gulet.

Gulets have been built in Caria (especially in Bodrum and Marmaris ) since ancient times and for millennia they were the type of trading sailor who carried amphorae with olives and wine and many other valuable goods along the Turkish coasts. Their rigging has changed over the course of time; today only high sails are used .

Today's gulets are still made of wood in Bodrum and the nearby Bozburun as well as in Marmaris and Fethiye , and have become an important and characteristic part of Turkish tourism . They have been further developed and are equipped with an engine and some modern equipment. They appreciate the warmth and atmosphere of the wooden construction.

Gulets usually run under engines. Due to the poor sailing characteristics and the lack of experienced sailors, the sails are rarely set.