Kalkan

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Kalkan Harbor

It has small steep winding streets linking together with an authentic Turkish atmosphere, many tiny shops, cafe bars and restaurants.  You can sit back and relax on its pebble beach, sit and sip a cool drink in one of the bars and watch the day go by, or be as energetic as you want by enjoying the many watersport activities, boat trips or exploring the many wonders of the ancient ruins nearby by taking a day trip.
In the evening the streets become alive, the bars are buzzing with music to entertain you with a variety of different choices of music, a guarantee you will find one to suit you. Dine at one of the many restaurants and star gaze into the late night then wander home when it suits you.

You will find in Kalkan you will have the opportunity to book an organised trip, hire a car, visit the nearby towns, Kas which is 29 km along the coastline or for a bigger town try Fethiye 89km away with its famous Tuesday market! If you enjoy walking, the Lycian Way is marked out along its route through and around the Kalkan.
   
Remember, Kalkan is a maze of steep hills, who goes down MUST come back up!! Don't worry though, Kalkan has a very obliging taxi service for the faint hearted!
   
The tourist season in Kalkan starts the 1st May until 31st October, and the Council regulations prevent the noise of building during those times to make Kalkan a relaxing and inviting place to holiday.          

Although Kalkan is expanding year by year it still remains a charismatic place which people come back to year upon year.

Patara

Patara, The Gate

Patara situated at the mouth of the Xanthos River close to Kalkan. Patara was one of the six most important cities of Lycia and extremely wealthy too due to the trade that flowed through, it was accessed by means of its famous Patara port being the most major port of Lycia. Following its capture by Alexander the Great in 333 BC it became a key naval base.
The structure of the city of Patara still visible today includes an impressive Roman style triple arch, many sarcophagi, a bath complex, Byzantine basilica, an amphitheatre and the large Granary of Hadrian. Much of Patara remains undiscovered, buried beneath the sand, including the legendary Temple of Apollo.  Excavations continue revealing many structures and treasures previously hidden by the sand dunes.

In its Christian history period Patara became famous for being the city where St. Paul landed and worked during his third missionary passage en-route to Jerusalem. Patara is also known to be the birthplace of St. Nicholas c.300 A.D. Bishop of Myra and the future ‘Santa Claus’.

Today, Patara beach is often visited by the many visitors of Kalkan, Kas, Fethiye and the other tourist areas of the ‘Turquoise Coast’. It’s a place not be missed with its stunning countryside

and fantastic beach.  It is a protected national park and a home for many wildlife species and birds, Patara’s beach is also the breeding ground of the endangered Loggerhead turtle. The sandy beach with its sand dunes is 17km in length and bordered at each end by mountains, the splendid famous harbour of Patara is sadly now seen today as a large wet marshland.