MV SAVARONA The magnificent 4,646 gross ton, 446 by 53 foot twin funneled ultra deluxe cruise ship SAVARONA was built as the worlds largest private yacht in 1931 for American heiress, Mrs. Emily Cadwallader, at Blohm and Voss in Hamburg. The Gibbs and Cox-designed ship was prevented from sailing to the US by prohibitive import duties and was thus rarely used. In 1938, SAVARONA was sold to the Turkish government for use as an accommodation ship for ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who spent only six weeks aboard until being moved by stretcher to the Dolmabache Palace, where he eventually died. The ship sat idle through the war, and was then converted to the training ship GUNES DIL. In 1979, she was gutted by fire at Istanbul and left to rot, until being chartered for 49 years by Gemi Kutarma Denizcilik ve Turizm, who re-engined and rebuilt her (for approximately $25 million) with incredibly opulent accommodation for 32 guests. SAVARONA's stunning accommodation boasts 16 suites of varying sizes, a Turkish bath, a library/suite dedicated to Ataturk (furnished with many of his personal artifacts), and a gold-trimmed grand staircase that survives from the ship's original incarnation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Named for an African swan living in the Indian Ocean, the ship was designed by Gibbs & Cox in 1931 for American heiress Emily Roebling Cadwallader, granddaughter of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany. She cost about $4 million ($53 million in 2006 dollars).[1] In 1938, the Turkish government bought the yacht for ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, who spent only six weeks aboard before dying a few months later. Throughout World War II, the ship lay idle in Kanlıca Bay on the Bosporus. In 1951, she was converted to the training ship Gneş Dil (English: Sun Language). In October 1979, the ship was gutted by fire at the Turkish Naval Academy off Heybeliada Island in the Sea of Marmara. She lay virtually abandoned for ten years. In 1989, she was chartered for 49 years by Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu. Over three years, his firm completely refurbished her for about $25 million, removing the original steam turbine engines and installing modern diesel engines. The ship was rebuilt at Tuzla Shipyards in Tuzla, a suburb of Istanbul. Now the ship serves to famous and important guests and helps to keep the memory of Atatrk alive.
