In Kalkan, a small harbourside town on Turkey’s southern Turquoise coast, life moves at an elegant pace. Set against a breath-taking mountain backdrop, the old fishing village, turned popular holiday destination, still retains its old-world charm. The vibrant resort has a treasure trove of narrow streets, whitewashed Ottoman Greek houses and inviting boutiques for you to explore. It’s also famous for its harbourside bars and rooftop restaurants serving a variety of delicious cuisine.
Kalkan remains relatively unspoilt with its beautiful natural scenery of green pine forests, deep blue seas and a beautiful bay on which it sits. Perhaps the main stand-out feature is the harbour lined with colourful cafes and restaurants and dotted traditional fishing boats. You can take a boat tour on a classic wooden gullet (Turkish boat) and explore the beauty of the bay. With its closeness to the pine-tree-clad Taurus mountains too, there are plenty of exciting walking and mountain biking routes. You could also book a horse riding tour to traverse the mountains and olive vineyards, even ride on Patara Beach.
In the town centre, you’ll find shops selling everything from patterned rugs (Kilims) to chic souvenirs. The local market is well worth a visit too to ignite your senses and have a go at haggling. Look out for stalls serving fresh gozleme – traditional and tasty thin dough savoury crepes. By night, head to one of the rooftop bars or restaurants for stunning views of the town with your evening meal.
It wouldn’t be a fantastic holiday without a trip to the beach, right? For a soft sandy spots, head to the 12km-long Patara Beach, which is also a National Park or the much-photographed Kaputas. Both are a short drive away or Kalkan has many day beach clubs – complete with paved platform terraces and restaurant facilities and opportunities to take part in water sports like jet ski and waterskiing. Whether you want to swim, snorkel or just watch the world go by, it’s the ideal day out.
For exploring further afield, you could drive 27 kilometres to the bohemian town of Kas, stopping off to explore the beautiful surrounding villages on the way. In Kas, there are more top-notch restaurants and shops, alongside the impressive ancient site of Antiphellos. From Kas, you could book a boat trip to Kekova island where you can swim or snorkel around the part-sunken ruins of Dolchiste, an ancient 2nd-century town which was destroyed by an earthquake. A stunning area and a day out not to miss.
The Region
Kalkan has become a boutique resort, with cobbled streets and converted Greek houses, which belonged to the Greek merchants before the exchange of population in the 1920’s. Once quiet fishing harbour, these days you are more likely to see traditional wooden gulets taking tourists to soak up rays on the sparkling turquoise Mediterranean. A boat trip is a must-do, from the boat you can snorkel and usually a delicious lunch is prepared on board. Keen walkers should check out the Lycian way for designated walking paths in the area.
You cannot come to this area without spending some time exploring the many Lycian sights, such as Xanthos, Patara, Myra or the sunken city of Kekova.
Patara is said to be where democracy started (they excavated a stone voting block) and is also said to be the birthplace of St Nicholas, who became bishop at nearby Myra. The ruins here include an ancient theatre, city walls, government building, and agora. The lighthouse on the site is said to be the earliest of its kind. Visit Patara in the late afternoon and finish the trip with a drink on the sandy beach watching the amazing sunset.
The Saklikent Gorge is a great place to visit, especially if you want to cool off in the fresh waters whilst walking up the gorge. For the more energetic there are rafts and rings to ride the flowing waters. Further down you can enjoy a day canoeing toward the beach.
Islamlar sits 8 km above Kalkan. Once the place Kalkan folk went to cool off at one of the trout farms built to make use of the mountain’s springs. Today Islamlar houses many a villa, enjoyed by Istanbul Turks who prefer a holiday in slightly cooler and cleaner air. Here the locals grow grapes and pomegranates, but you’ll mainly see the men sat gossiping next to the local teahouse. The trout farms remain a place to come for a wonderful fresh meal, or a breakfast consisting of fresh local fare. The rocket will be the freshest and most tasty you’ve ever had; and the fresh chips cooked in olive oil take some beating.
By night both Kalkan and Kas come alive. Kas has more of a bohemian feel, people ambling through the cobbled streets, passing the ancient tomb in the street, haggling for textiles, carpets and other goodies, maybe stopping for the traditional Turkish ‘maras’ ice cream, a tulip-shaped glass of tea or a wonderful kebab in the shadow of the mosque. Most of the villas in Kas are just out of town on the Cukurbag Peninsula. A reasonable (5km) taxi or Dolmus (local bus) ride into town. Be sure to try the Piyaz, a white bean salad with tahini sauce.
Travelling along the coast towards Kalkan you pass the modern marina, the children’s beach park (run by the local hotel school) and halfway to Kalkan the stunning Kaputas Beach, cut in a gorge with all different shades of turquoise in the sea.
Kalkan is a more sophisticated resort, with the villas built onto the mountainside. Evening are spent enjoying the rooftop restaurants, perched on the top of the old ‘konak’ houses. Then wandering to a seaside bar for a cocktail, after shopping for glass lanterns, Iznik pottery, handbags or pestemel towels. Do visit the ‘pastane’, local patisseries which do the most delicious morning pastries and you must try the ‘Gozleme’ pancakes at the Thursday market.
Other things to do in the area include scuba diving as the visibility is excellent, paragliding, horseriding on Patara Beach or kayaking around the sunken ruins at Kekova.
