Southwestern Turkey
This magnificently scenic and historically fascinating area, where the southern Aegean meets the Mediterranean is known popularly as the Turquoise Coast, due to the intense colour of the sea. Tourism in the region is dominated by several major beach resorts, each with a series of satellite villages, and a great many large hotels. Rocky cliffs are interspersed by lavish white sand beaches. Each small town and fishing harbour has a variety of pleasure boats, fish restaurants, bars and nightlife, while the larger hotels offer a wide range of watersports. And if that is not enough, the area is densely packed with ancient cities, and there is excellent walking in the hills behind the coast.
Bodrum (birthplace of Herodotus, known as the father of history) is dominated by the magnificent 15th-century crusader Castle of St Peter, now home to a fascinating Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Both Bodrum and Marmaris, set in a deep fjord-like inlet, have wild, noisy nightlife and a wide variety of boat trips for daytime hangover cures. Destinations include the Greek islands of Kos (from Bodrum) and Rhodes (from Marmaris). From Marmaris, you can also reach the charming fishing village of Datça and the ruins of Knidos and the reedy ruins of Kaunos, near the small resort of Dalyan.
Further along the Mediterranean coast are the small port town of Fethiye, with its imposing Lycian rock tombs, and Ölü Deniz, a stunning crystal-clear lagoon with a beautiful beach, surrounded by pine-covered mountains. The lagoon is protected from rampant commercial development by its status as a national park although the surrounding valley is completely overwhelmed by tourist development.
Continuing east along the coast, there are several relatively small and charming resorts such as Patara, with its 18km (11 miles) beach, charming little Kalkan and Kas, one of the most upmarket resorts on the Turkish coast, Olympos, a backpacker’s paradise and Kemer, where mass-market all-inclusive hotels hold sway. Between them are a wide range of historic sights, including the ancient cities of Patara, Xanthos, Myra, Olympos (home of the chimaera, living flame erupting eerily from the rock) and Phaselis.
Inland, there is excellent walking at Saklikent and in the Olympos National Park. Further away, other worthwhile stops include the pretty old town of Mugla, the carpet-making centre of Milas, and Pamukkale, near Denizli, famous for its spectacular calcified waterfall and thermal waters, used since Roman times for their therapeutic powers. Pamukkale also contains the ruins of the Roman city of Hierapolis.
The Mediterranean Coast: With sunshine for most of the year and a magnificent coastline, the western Mediterranean Coast is a popular holiday area. It is also a region steeped in history and legend, dotted with important sites and great medieval castles.
Situated on a cliff promontory, Antalya is a popular resort, boasting a picturesque walled old town and harbour, Kaleiçi, the monumental Hadrian’s Gate, Kesik Minare and Yivli Minare mosques and Hidirlik Kulesi, the round Roman tower, and a superb Archaeological Museum. With its mix of charming small guest-houses and modern hotels, it is the ideal starting point for tours to the outlying Roman cities of dramatic Termessos, in the mountains behind the city; Perge, a well-preserved and atmospheric place with tall Hellenistic walls and streets which still bear the marks of chariot wheels; and Aspendos, home to a remarkable second-century AD amphitheatre, still used for live performances during the annual festival. Turkey’s finest Roman aqueduct lies to the north of the city. Belek, 30km (19 miles) east of Antalya, has two championship golf courses, is the habitat of hundreds of species of birds, and one of several local breeding grounds for the rare leatherback turtle. In Side, now a thriving seaside resort, the Greek enclosure walls are still virtually undamaged. The town also boasts an exquisite fountain, a theatre, two agoras and Roman baths, great beaches and lively nightlife.
Nestling at the foot of a rocky promontory and crowned by a Selçuk fortress, the town of Alanya has some fine beaches and a great many very large resort hotels. A spectacularly scenic road connects Anamur, striking for its wave-swept Selçuk castle and ancient city, and Silifke, dominated by yet another vast fortress. The museum in ancient Silifke contains finds from the many archaeological sites in the vicinity. Mersin, built on a site dating back to Paleolithic times, is a major port. Nearby, parts of Tarsus date back to biblical times, when St Paul was a child here and Anthony met Cleopatra in the main square. The prosperous city of Adana, in the middle of the flat Cukurova plain, is the centre of Turkey’s cotton industry, and home to an imposingly huge modern mosque. The massive Taskopru Bridge, built by Hadrian in the second century, the ancient covered bazaar and nearby Crusader castles and Hittite settlements are all interesting sites.
The road from heavily polluted Iskenderun leads through the Belen Pass to Antakya, the biblical city of Antioch, where St Peter founded the first Christian community. The grotto where he preached can be seen just outside the town.
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