Kalkan

Mediterranean, Turkey 2 tours visit here

Kalkan is a small coastal town in Antalya province, on the stretch of Turkey's Mediterranean shore known as the Lycian coast. It grew up as a Greek fishing and trading port called Kalamaki, and its Greek Orthodox population left in the population exchange of the 1920s. The quarter they built survives as a grid of steep lanes lined with whitewashed houses, wooden balconies and bougainvillea, dropping to a small harbour and marina. The town has no beach of its own: the shore below the old quarter is rocky, and swimming is mostly from platform beach clubs or boats, which is one reason development spread up the hillsides into villas with sea views. Most eating and drinking happens on rooftop terraces above the old town, liveliest in the evening once the heat eases. Kalkan works as a base for several nights rather than a quick stop, with days spent on boat trips from the harbour or drives along the coast road. Kaputas, a turquoise cove reached by a long staircase down from that road, lies between Kalkan and Kas, and the sandy beach and Lycian ruins at Patara are a short drive the other way. The season runs roughly from late spring into autumn, and many businesses close over winter.