Villa Tobias is on the tip of Kas, a charming seaside town on the Mediterranean coast in southwest Turkey. From the villa, you’re just steps from the sea, where you can take a cooling dip in the crystal-clear waters or explore the rugged shoreline with coves and colourful sea life. Built on the site of ancient Antiphellos, and you can still see visible ruins, including a theatre. The beautiful town centre has whitewashed houses and buildings draped in bougainvillaea. You’ll find plenty of local bars, restaurant and small streets lined with boutique shops. Every Friday there’s a market, a short walk from the town centre, where you can buy everything from Turkish delight to fresh vegetables and handmade trinkets, and at night, the main square comes alive.
From Kas, you can head to beautiful swimming spots such as Kaputas Beach, 18km west of Kas, with crystal-clear waters (it’s where the fresh mountain water meets the sea) or Patara Beach, a 19-kilometre-long stretch of shoreline that’s also a National Park. Getting to both Kas is easy – jump on the local Dolmus bus. There’s also the opportunity to take part in water sports like kayaking and scuba diving. Notable dive sights include a canyon, several reefs and wrecks, including two planes.
By boat, you can visit the small island of Kekova, where you can snorkel and explore the part-sunken ruins of Dolchiste, an ancient town which was destroyed by an earthquake. The Greek Island of Meis is also only a 30-minute boat trip away for a fun day trip. It’s a great place to swim, eat and relax. You can also head to vibrant Kalkan Town, about a 30-minute drive from Kas, where there are local bazaars, harbourside bars and rooftop restaurants offering a variety of delicious cuisine. Look out for Turkish specialities like gozleme (thin dough crepes) with cheese and spinach fillings. A local recommendation is the doner kebab place by the mosque, great for a lunchtime snack.
For more outdoor exploring, there are lots of walking and hiking routes in the area. The best known, and arguably most scenic, is the Lycian Way – a 499-kilometre tying-together of goat tracks and paths, which will lead you to unspoilt beaches, lush forests and soaring peaks.
The Region
Kas have become boutique resorts, 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 harbours 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 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 build 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 Salikent 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 & 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 towel. 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.
