What does the term blue cruise mean? Does it refer to the blue-like hue of ocean waters as a reflection of the skies? Maybe
. The documented history of the term is particularly interesting and exclusively artistic.
The blue cruise is a Turkish cultural heritage. Traditionally known as the blue voyage or Mavi Yolculuk in Turkish, the term blue cruise refers to recreational boating expeditions along the Turkish Riviera located on the southwestern coast of Turkey. The most probable source according to local travel experts is Azra Erhats 1957 book titled Blue Cruise. In the book there is a reference of voyaging into the blue (ocean waters) denoted as to be taking a blue cruise.
Only recently has the term become a global reference to cruising voyages when the practice was adopted in tourism literature. Today blue cruise is a common term across the world and especially popular with the Turkish tourism industry.
Historical traces have identified the term to have first been introduced into popular Turkish literature by such Turkish writers as Cevat akir Kabaaal, the so called the Fisherman of Halicarnassus. Sabahattin Eybolu and Azra Erhat (who translated the Turkish version of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad) were also the most probable initiators of the expression that would soon take centerstage in defining the single most popular tourist attraction in European seascape.
In the 1960s popular Turkish literature picked up the term and made it very popular among the masses. Blue cruise voyages became a commonplace pastime for the Turkish masses. Those who visited Turkey from Europe and the rest of the world carried with them the reference of luxurious sea voyages as blue cruises, a sweet sounding name by any means. Today the concept of a blue cruise remains close to what it was then although it has evolved to refer to exclusive cruises into the sea in luxury yachts.
A contemporary full blue cruises is a voyage starting in Didim Island or Kuadas Island (mainly starting at Bodrum town) and touring many attractions, natural sceneries and remote islands for several days before terminating at the famous port of Antalya. Such cruises are usually for tourism purposes and not as a means of transport. The appeal of blue cruises to a global selection of cruising lovers confirms the adage that Turkey has selflessly shared some of her most exotic cultural heritages with the world.