Sinem_@, Author at Volans Suites

Günlüklü and Katrancı Beaches

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:50:10 +0000

Günlüklü and Katrancı Beaches

Günlüklü

Günlüklü, which is used as a rest camp in the forest, is a national park covered with Günlük (Sweetgum) trees called Liquidi-Ambar Orientalis in Latin. The camping, which has all kinds of facilities for tent vacations and daily picnics, has a lovely beach.

Katrancı

At the 15th km of Fethiye – Muğla highway, Katrancı, where pine trees embrace the sea and is surrounded by large and small bays, serves as a forest recreation camp. It is also possible to have a picnic in Katrancı park, which has ideal opportunities for tent tourism and camping.

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Saklıkent Gorge

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:42:58 +0000

Saklıkent

Saklikent, just behind Fethiye, is a natural beauty formed by the erosion of the raging waters coming from the high Taurus Mountains.

A stunning geological site located inland on the Teke Peninsula (between Fethiye and Antalya), about 40 km southeast of Fethiye. This is a great place for a leisurely hike. If you want to explore the gorge a bit further upstream, be prepared for some clambering and getting wet! There is an hourly Dolmuş that runs between Fethiye and Saklikent Gorge. Last service leaves the gorge at 5pm. From Fethiye go to the same dolmus stop that gets you to Ölüdeniz (not the otogar).

Saklikent can be also reached by taking the Fethiye-Antalya highway in the direction of Kemer district. After 13 km from the turnoff, you reach Tlos and after 21 km you reach Saklikent.
You pass Kayadibi village and reach the canyon entrance. You leave your car at the entrance.
You will pay a fee for the canyon entrance. Eşen stream bursts into the earth 100 meters into the canyon.

The stream flows so madly in summer and winter that it is impossible to move against the current. Wooden scaffolds attached to the canyon wall are built over the stream. You walk in a single line from the scaffolding and reach the place where the stream bursts.
If you wish, you can cross the icy water to the opposite shore and go deeper into the canyon. Don’t forget to take your rubber or cloth shoes with you as the bottom of the water is pebbly.

The canyon is 18 km long, sometimes narrowing, sometimes rugged. It is difficult to get to the end. The coolness on hot summer days is pleasant but the humidity is so high. It is best to walk a few hundred meters and turn back. You can end your trip with a meal and a drink at the restaurants at the entrance of the canyon.

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Kayaköy Village

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:37:41 +0000

Kayaköy Village

Located in a corner of Fethiye, Kayaköy offers a mystical atmosphere with its abandoned Greek houses and streets.

This village offers its visitors a historical journey opportunity by carrying the traces of the forgotten past.

You can find a hiking destination through which you can see the ruins of a Greek settlement abandoned in 1923 when the governments of Turkey and Greece mandated population swaps. The ruins also features some well-preserved structures, including a church.

If you follow the mountain road heading south from behind the historical Fethiye Castle, 7 km away you will reach a charming settlement where Anatolian Greeks lived until 1922. In the past, Kaya Village was called “Levissi”. In 1922, according to a population exchange agreement between the two countries, Thracian Turks and Anatolian Greeks were exchanged, but the Thracian immigrants who came to this region could not adapt to the environmental conditions and left the village in a short time. Since 1923, Kaya Village has been welcoming its visitors with the appearance of an abandoned “ghost town”.

In the summer of 2000, the restoration began for the village’s two large churches, a school and a few residences as part of a project carried out by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies and the Chamber of Architects of Turkey. Kaya Village, with its churches, chapels, schools, fountains, workshops, hospital and library, as well as thousands of abandoned houses, is still under consideration to be preserved as a cultural asset after restoration and to be used as an international “friendship and peace village”.

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Butterfly Valley

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:31:33 +0000

Butterfly Valley and Kabak Bay

Pieri Rapos, Euglapia Quadripunctia, Danaus Chtsippus and others.

Located at the bottom of a deep valley, Butterfly Valley is one of the most beautiful bays of Fethiye…

In the valley, it is possible to observe more than 40 species of butterflies, including Jersey Tiger Butterflies, throughout most of the year, starting in the spring.
Butterfly Valley is one of the most striking places around Fethiye. After climbing a bit laboriously in the rocky and pine valley, which was declared a 1st degree natural protected area on February 8, 1995 and closed to all kinds of construction, it is very surprising to see billions and billions of butterflies covering the rocks, trunks and leaves of trees, in short, everywhere like a shawl.

Two isolated canyons bordering the seashore to the south of Fethiye. They both feature waterfalls. Butterfly Valley is hippie heaven (though with the growing interference of the mass tourism) situated in a narrow canyon with almost no overland connection to the rest of the world, while remoter Kabak is the perfect place to escape the package tourist groups, and a great place on the Turkish Mediterranean to camp and have a truly laid-back experience.

Weekly boat tours around the spectacular Lycian coast, also known as “Blue Cruise”, all the way east to Olympos can be arranged through numerous companies from Fethiye during the high season (April to October).

To go to the Butterfly Valley, you will first go to Ölüdeniz, from there you will rent a boat or take a round trip to the sandy beach of the valley. At night, you can sleep in a corner with a sleeping bag if you want, or if you don’t want to, you will go back by the same boat you came in.

Those who are not sporty and not experienced in trekking should not try to climb up the valley. They should be content with climbing up to the first waterfall. Those who are confident and can’t resist the unusual call of the valley will see the above-mentioned view if they continue their ascent.

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The Blue Lagoon

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:22:58 +0000

Ölüdeniz

Discover Ölüdeniz, the world’s favorite for swimming and water sports with its crystal clear turquoise sea, white sandy beach and the sun that never fails to shine…

The lagoon is a famous (perhaps the most famous in Turkey) beach area located in Ölüdeniz to south of Fethiye, with a pretty nice lagoon seperated from open sea by a sandbar. The Blue Lagoon resembling a dead sea with its stagnant water and sheltered structure, Kumburnu National Park and Belcekız Beach offer you a holiday in a natural paradise view that you cannot easily get enough of.

To reach this piece of heaven on the earth takes about 45 minutes away by dolmuş. Note that the local dolmus does not leave from the otogar but nearby in front of the red PO petrol station where there is a small bus shelter.

The road from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz through the pines is 14 km. At the end of the hilly road, you suddenly come across a magnificent blue. This is Belcekız Bay. When you walk along the sandy beach stretching through the bay, you see the unique Ölüdeniz. Oludeniz is like magical, it just stands still. There is not even a single moss on the bottom, it is covered with white sand. The light refracted by the water and the sand at the bottom gives it a turquoise color. The shadow of the pines falls on Ölüdeniz and enriches this impressive turquoise.

It is also the starting point of the cable car ride that reaches the unique Babadağ view. You can also watch this beautiful view from the sky with paragliding by leaving the Babadağ runway area. In addition to paragliding, other activities you can do are various sea sports, boat tours, canoeing and sea biking, nature walks and rock climbing.

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Ancient Cities

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 15:55:00 +0000

Ancient Cities

Tlos

Tlos, 28 km from Fethiye, is one of the oldest settlements of Lycia, known as Dlawa by the Hittites and survived until the 19th century. It is known as the “sports city” of the Lycian Federation and it is believed that the mythological winged horse Pegasus and his hero Belleforontes lived here. Acropolis, Kanlı Ali Aga’s Palace, Stadium, Gymnasium, Palaestra, Bath, theater, necropolis where Belleforontes’ tomb is located are the structures that have survived from Tlos.

The ancient city of Tlos, which is 40 km. away from Fethiye, can be reached via a 12 km road on the Fethiye-Antalya highway, after 22 km, by turning to Kemer Suburb and turning right through the city (Çatallar Village road).

Cadianda

The ancient city of Cadianda is located near Üzümlü, 20 km from Fethiye district center. This 2500 year old ancient city opened its doors to visitors 10 years ago. The structures, which are considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of the Cyclopean walls of ancient times in the world, sports complex, theater, temple-type monumental tomb called Heroon and agora are some of the structures worth seeing in Cadianda.

Pınara

Pinara, the “center of beauty” of Lycia, can be reached from the Fethiye – Kas highway to Minare Village. The sight of countless tombs excavated on the slope of a round hill shaped like a pigeon’s nest is really exciting. A heart-shaped temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite surrounded by heart-shaped columns is perhaps the most interesting structure that makes Pinara worth seeing.

Xanthos

Xanthos, the place where its people committed the first mass suicide in history by not surrendering during the Persian invasion in 546 BC, is known as the first political capital of the Lycian Federated Union. Xanthos, one of the most beautiful ancient cities of Turkey, is located right next to Kınık Village on the Fethiye – Kaş highway. Excavated in 1838 by the British researcher Charles Fellows, the “Monument of the Nereids” and other unique examples of Lycian art are still on display at the British Museum in London.

Letoon

According to historical sources, Letoon, founded in dedication to the Goddess Leto, is the “sacred city” and “religious center” of the Lycian Federated Union. It is known that all the sacred ceremonies of Lycia were held here. Archaeological excavations in 3 temple structures dedicated to Leto, Artemis and Apollo, nympheus, Byzantine church structures, agora and theater are being carried out by the French excavation committee.

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History of Fethiye

Sinem_@ — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 15:41:52 +0000

History of Fethiye

It is known that Fethiye, whose name in ancient times was Telmessos, was founded in the 5th century BC on the border of Lycian and Carian civilizations.

Fethiye is a tourist town with an international atmosphere. It has an excellent marina and good nightlife. The town also serves as an excellent base for touring the inland country-side, and is probably the only city in the world where you’ll find sarcophagus in the streets. These pre-Roman Lycian relics are especially spectacular when floodlit at night.

The town has a population of around 50,000 but the population increases dramatically during the high season, from April to end of October, when off-shore residents spend their summers at their second homes.

The 2400 year old Lycian Amintas Rock Tombs located in the cliff in the back of the town center. These massive rock cut tombs are very worth seeing as they are literally the symbol of the town offering superb views of the archipelago. It is a little hilly but a scenic walk to get up there. It is pretty straightforward route finding since the tombs are clearly visible from the harbor but you may also follow the road signs to navigate your route. There is an admission fee but they already look great from the entrance anyway.

The ancient theater of Telmessos is located in the city center of Fethiye, just behind the commercial pier. It is known that the theater, which shows a typical Roman feature, was built in the 2nd century on top of another theater built in Greek style.

The history of the Teke peninsula, which was called Lycia in the past, dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. In fact, the fact that the Lycians participated in the Battle of Kadesh with the Hittites is the most important sign that they are among the oldest indigenous peoples of Anatolia. In the course of time, Lycia was invaded by Persians, Alexander the Great, Romans and Byzantines but was never taken over.

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