|
www.mugla-turizm.gov.tr |
|||
|
|||
|
GÖCEK-KEKOVA-GÖCEK |
|||
|
Day 1: Getting on board in the afternoon from port of Göcek. Have a welcoming drink, briefing about the tour and meet the others on board. Day 2: In the morning after breakfast and the port paperwork, you head towards Ölüdeniz. Yachts are banned from going into the lagoon in Ölüdeniz. After getting to the beach by small boats enjoy the sea and sand until the evening. Dinner and the night break are on Gemiler Island. Day 3: Leave early in the morning and, after sailing for 3.5 hours you arrive at the port of Kaş. According to your wishes you can spend some free time for yourselves or going to a nearby cove. The night stopping point and dinner is at Karaloz. Day 4: After breakfast you get to Kekova, where there is a food and swimming break before leaving for Demre. Here there is the opportunity to get ashore by small boats and visiting the ancient city of Myra, Church St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) and other ancient ruins. The night stopping point is at Gökkaya. Day 5: You head back for Kalkan in the morning after breakfast, and then have a tour of Patara, Letoon and Xanthos followed by a return to Kalkan in the evening. The night stop over is either at the ports of Kalkan or Yeşilköy. Day 6: After breakfast you sail off to Beştas Cove. After a food and swimming break you leave for Fethiye. Those who wish can visit Hamam Cove before returning to Göcek in the evening. Day 7: Leaving the boat after breakfast. Kelebekler Vadisi-Kötürümsü: These are among the most visited sites for boats that conduct daily tours from Fethiye or Ölüdeniz. It is best known for its beach and the Kelebekler Vadisi (Butterfly Valley). There are areas where you can put up a tent. There is also an open air restaurant with a covered area that provides services. The beach and the sand are beautiful. See the Fethiye pages for Butterfly Valley. After Kelebekler Vadisi, there is an area where high mountains drop at a right angle into the sea until you get to the Patara Beach. This part is named Yediburunlar (Seven Points). As you pass one point the next one comes up to meet you. Patara Beach: It is a seven kilometres long beach. Both the beach and the bottom of the sea are of very white sand. Around the centre of the beach the Eşen Steam flows into the sea. The beach is an egg-laying ground for the Carreta Carreta sea turtles. This area is covered by an environmental protection order. You can visit the ancient cities of Letoon and Patara right behind the beach. It is pleasant to have a horse-ride on the beach. Four kilometers inland there is the village of Gelemiş where you would have plenty of options of pensions, restaurants and shops. Kalkan: In the entrance of the wide Kalkan Cove there are the islands of Yılan (Snake) and Sıçan (Rat) forming the Islands of Çatal (Fork). Yılan Island drops into the sea with great steep rocks, while Sıçan is more suitable for anchoring and swimming. The daily boat tours from Kalkan stop here either on the way from Kalkan or on the return to Patara. For details check the Kalkan pages. Before you enter Kaş, the Bucak Inlet getting inland towards Kaş, on the west of the Çukurbağ Peninsula is suitable for the mooring of the boats. The shores are rocky and deep. Those who go ashore can get to the town centre by a ten minutes walk. The port of Kaş is wide and it stretches between the Çukurbağ Peninsula to the west and the port of Bayındır to the east. At its entrance there is the Greek island of Meis. On the Çukurbağ Peninsula Hidayet Cove facing Kaş and the port of Bayındır to the east, are suitable for swimming and boats to moor. The area between Kaş and Kekova is one of the beautiful routes of the Blue Cruise. On the way to Kekova, you first get to the port of Asar (Aperlai). The ruins of the ancient city of Aperlai are both on land and in the sea. The bottom of the sea is full of amphorae. It is forbidden to dive here to bring them out of the sea. You can get to Aperlai by land on Kaş-Üçağız road and by passing the ancient city of Apollonia. The road gets a bit worse after Apollonia. You pass through the strait of Akar to get to Kekova. Afterwards you might get to a popular stopping point for the daily boat tours, Yağlıca Koyu (Cove). It is a small cove but is good for swimming. The Gulf of Kekova covers a large area. Settlement areas such as Kekova Island, Kaleköy and Üçağız are all within this region. It has some of the best diving and yachting spots in Turkey. Kekova Island gave its name to the region. Even in rough weather this is a calm spot as it is cut off from open sea by Kekova Island. Its name in ancient times was Simena, the ruins of which are scattered from the port up to the hills and even in the sea. Those who walk up the hill to the theatre on top of the hill are met with a picturesque scene. There is no better spot to take a photo. Opposite to you there is Kekova Island and on your right Üçağız. There are Lycian rock tombs everywhere on the hill. In Kaleköy nearby, you will find small pensions and restaurants. A visit around the shores of Kekova Island by boat will give you a chance to see the ruins of a sunken city. The ruins of the ancient city that has sunken after an earthquake,can be seen with bare eyes as they lie at one to four meters deep. This is a very impressive site. On the narrowest part of the island is the Tersane Koyu (Cove of the Shipyard), with the ruins of a church on the shore. Here the sea is like a swimming pool. The surface of the sea is as if embroided with different tones of blues. Sıcak (Hot) Cove is the sheltered anchoring point on the Sıçak Peninsula on the western end of the gulf. From this cove you can get ashore and walk to Aperlai in half an hour. Those who stay here for the night, if they catch a chance of an evening lit by moon light, can have a perfect night. Here you can try to swim in the moonlight. When you leave the cove you pass the island of Toprak and then on your left will be the Kisle Strait or Değirmenlik Cove. Those who wish can go ashore here. Both have the stillness of a swimming pool. However, there is a more famous bay nearby called the Akvaryum (Aquarium). This cove is between Toprak and Kara Islands. Eight hundred meters to the east of Kaleköy, the shore forms a sheltered cove towards the north. In front of its western point lie a small island and its quay. This is the Hamidiye Cove. During the Balkan Wars (1912-14), Captain Rauf Orbay, commander of the famous Turkish warship Hamidiye, sheltered here from the attacks of the Greek navy. The Turkish flag painted on the rocks are a reminder of those days. The village and port of Üçağız are the most significant settlements in the region. The village was built on top of the ruins of the ancient city of Theimussa. It is possible to moor at the quay. The fish restaurants on shore serve the freshest fish and also other sea-food. There are pensions in the village. You can easily get to Üçağız by land from Kaş or Demre. The road is in a good state of repair. On the south east end of the Kekova Gulf there is only one protected cove, Karalos Cove, as all the others face the open sea. The entrance of the cove is not very noticeable. The last port on the eastern side of Kekova is Gökkaya. In the port area there are lots of smaller or larger islands and small coves that will make you feel special. You can anchor anywhere you like, anywhere that looks calm. In some coves there are restaurants. Aşırlı Island at the entrance of the cove is a popular stopping point for daily boat tours from Demre or Kaş. The island has a large cove and you can moor here. There is also a restaurant on the island. If you want you can get to the port of Çayağzı (Andriake) in Demre. In ancient times Andriake was the port of the ancient city of Myra. From here you can get ashore and visit the historical sites of Myra and the Church of Saint Nicholas. |
|||
|