But first, the emergency kill switch
Do you remember a couple of weeks ago (Blog 165) when A B Sea’s starter motor solenoid got stuck in the ‘on’ position and one of the wires go so hot it nearly burst into flames, and the only way we managed to turn off the engine was by shutting off the fuel supply?
Well that left us anxious to find a quicker way to shut the engine off in any future emergency.
Diesel engines, once fired up, can only be stopped by removing either fuel or air supply. We aren’t able to easily reach our air intake to cover it sufficiently to cut off air, so we wanted to find a way to turn off the fuel supply without waiting the several minutes it takes if the fuel is turned off at the tank switch. Which was how we shut off the fuel in our emergency.
Fortunately we had lots of helpful comments on our YouTube video for that week (Ep. 155). Baz eventually found the emergency manual kill switch (which on our engine is) on the starboard side of the engine to one side of the small solenoid that is activated by the red ‘off’ button on the dashboard. So now we know that if all attempts to turn off the engine from the helm fail, then the inconspicuous looking kill switch will instantly cut off the engine.
That’s one more solution that will help us travel in A B Sea with confidence.
Visiting Santa’s place
Santa aka St. Nicholas, was born in the medieval village that sprung up at Patara, one of the Lycian towns just north west of Kaş and we visited that amazing archaeological site when we were in Turkey two years ago. This time, we went to Myra to see the church of St.Nicholas which was built over the original church around 540 AD, two hundred years after Nicholas had served as a bishop. The majority of Myra’s ruins lie under the agricultural town of Demre, which is situated about 45 minutes by car south east from Kaş.
St. Nicholas’ bones had been interred in an ornate sarcophagus at the church at Myra, but they were stolen and removed to Bari, Italy in 1087 when the area was conquered by Muslim Seljuk Turks. Their final resting place is now the Basilica di San Nicola. During the First Crusade, the few bone fragments that were left in the sarcophagus were taken to Venice by sailors. Talking of which, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors (among a collection of other interesting groups, including merchants, archers, repentant thieves, prostitutes, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe).
So in the course of my life so far, St. Nicholas has represented me four times.
You can work out which of the four categories I’ve fallen into!
Now, now. Be nice.
Bishop Nicholas also had a lovely habit of secretly giving gifts to those in need, and that is how his famous role gave rise to the first Santa Claus.
Mosaic tiles and splendid murals
This church was covered for hundreds of years by alluvial silt – as is most of the rest of Myra today. And the silt kept the murals and tiles well preserved over time. Now that it has been excavated and is sheltered from the elements by a large modern roof structure, St. Nicholas’ church is open to the public. The entry cost is 50 TL, but we bought a MuzeKart for 60 TL each (available to residents) and so entry into this one site almost paid for the card!
If you’re interested, Baz explained in last week’s video (Ep. 156) several different ways you can get a discount on entry into the archaeological sites around Turkey.
The church itself is well worth a visit. I can’t explain it in words as well as with photos and of course this week’s YouTube video. To watch that, just click here.
Until next week, I wish you health and happiness, as you take the actions that bring your dreams to life.
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