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, 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 mile) beach; charming little Kalkan; Kas, one of the most upmarket resorts on the Turkish coast; Olympos, a backpacker's paradise and home of the chimaera, a living flame erupting eerily from rock; 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 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.
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