Destination Golf Turkey 2015 2015 | Page 14

SEASIDE SURPRISES Travelling along the Aegean and Antalya coastline provides many cultural treats, archaeological wonders and stunning coastline views. The majority of people who pack for Turkey pack the swimsuit and the bucket and spade, but with 8,000km of stunning coastline and 352 blue flag beaches, a Turkish holiday has much more to offer. Turkey’s seaside treasures include the world-famous resorts of Bodrum and the Oludeniz lagoon, the tranquil harbour towns of Kas and Kalkan, and many more. Located on the bay of the same name, Izmir is a modern city brimming with life with a great selection of restaurants along the corniche. Worth a visit is the peninsula of Cesme, with its beaches and thermal springs, which lies to the west of Izmir. On the Izmir-Antalya road, Aphrodisias (Geyre) was an important cultural and art centre, famous for its training in sculpture, but the most famous stopping point along here is the famous Pamukkale, its calcium-rich thermal waters flowing out of the mountain to form a layer cake of white icing on the hillside. You may take a bath here in the folkloric health-giving Destination Golf Turkey | Page 12 waters. At sunset, the white turns to pink and lights up the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis behind the calcium-terraced mountain. This part of Turkey is home to some of the greatest treasures of the Hellenic empire (more a cultural empire than a martial one), or at least the south west corner of the land. Thankfully it is the corner to which tourists have the best access. Izmir, Dalaman, Bodrum and Antalya airports all serve the region. It is on the coastline between Izmir and Antalya that the best known resorts are found: Bodrum of the castle, Marmaris of the azure water, Datca of the flowers, Köycegiz with its lake and watery archipelago and Fethiye of the ancient monuments. Two of the world’s greatest beaches are within a drive of each other: stony Oludeniz near Fethiye and sandy Patara near Köycegiz. Patara is one of the longest stretches of sandy beach on the Mediterranean at 14km. The beach is the breeding ground of the endangered Loggerhead turtle and so development has been kept at bay. Instead, its backdrop is something more ancient: Lycian and Roman ruins and swooping dunes with no buildings visible except of a small cafe. It may not have the feel of Christmas, but the nearby village of Patara was the birthplace of St Nicholas, the 4th century Byzantine bishop who later passed into legend as Santa Claus. As you continue west you reach the mountain cities of Termessos and Arikand, as well as coastal towns such as Olimpos, Kale, Kekova and one of the most beautiful of all, Kas. Bodrum was home to the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The wonder did not survive, but nowadays Bodrum has enough intriguing ruins, stunning beaches and cliff-top resorts to attract people from all over the world and make it one of the signature attractions of this coast. The highlight is the Castle of St. Peter, also known as Bodrum Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 15th century and claimed