Darica

Marmara, Turkey 1 tours visit here

Darıca is a coastal district of Kocaeli province on the northern shore of the Gulf of İzmit, the eastern arm of the Sea of Marmara. It lies at the western edge of the province, right against the Istanbul provincial boundary, so while it is not part of Istanbul itself it belongs to the same continuous urban belt and is easily reached from the city's Asian side. Its main draw is the Faruk Yalçın Zoo, still widely known by its earlier name, Darıca Bird Paradise. Set on a hillside above the water, it combines one of Turkey's best-known private zoos with extensive botanical gardens, greenhouses and open enclosures. Most visitors treat it as a half-day outing, and since much of the site is outdoors, spring and early autumn are the most comfortable seasons. Otherwise Darıca is an ordinary Marmara seaside town rather than a resort. A promenade follows the shore towards the Bayramoğlu headland, with tea gardens and fish restaurants that fill up on summer evenings and views across the gulf to the hills of the opposite shore. Before the 1923 population exchange the settlement was a Greek fishing village called Aretsou.