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Ancient geopolitical region of Anatolia (Turkey)
Photo: User:Simm, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Lycia (Turkish: Likya) is the westernmost section of Mediterranean Turkey. Sometimes known as the Turquoise Coast, it has a rugged scenic coastline popular for water activities. Administratively it corresponds to the southern part of Muğla Province and the western part of Antalya Province.
By bus
The larger towns, and smaller towns astride the main highway, have direct daily buses from Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.
By road
From Istanbul the quickest route to the region is usually the toll motorways O-7 / O-5 to Izmir then D550 towards Marmaris.
By boat
The Greek Dodecanese islands are only a few km from the Turkish mainland. Ferries sail from Rhodes to Marmaris and Fethiye, and in summer a day trip may be possible.
Consider hiring a car, especially if you're not being bussed from the airport to your accommodation, or if you're based away from the main public transport routes.
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Dalaman · International · DLM
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Marmaris is a port and beach resort in Lycia, along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. (The boundary of the Mediterranean with the Aegean is generally taken as the Datça peninsula just west.) The town straggles south to run into İçmeler, then the road crosses the mountains to Turunç.
Bozburun is a peninsula south of Marmaris on the coast of Lycia in Turkey. It's also the name of the village midway down.
Datça is the main town of the Datça or Reşadiye Peninsula, a scenic 70-km neck of land that forms the boundary between the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. It's here considered as part of the Southern Aegean region of Turkey; it's rugged, forested, and in 2020 had a population of 23,711.
This page describes Dalyan in Muğla Province of Turkey, not the city of Dalian in China. For Dalyan village in the Troad Peninsula south of Çanakkale, see Geyikli.
Dalaman is a resort town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The town and surrounding district had a population of 43,036 in 2020.
Göcek is a town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. It's a small resort midway between Dalaman and Fethiye, and at the last count in 2014 its population was 6590.
Fethiye is a resort town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye. It's very much on the international tourist circuit, although nowadays somewhat overshadowed by Ölüdeniz just south.
Kayaköy is a "ghost town” in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, 10 km south of Fethiye. Remarkably, 975 of these ghosts were substantial enough to deceive the census enumerators of 2022, and they run shops, cafés and guesthouses, and drive too fast around bends knowing they can't die a second time.
Ölüdeniz is a beach resort in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, famous for its “Blue Lagoon”. It was a tiny place until the 1990s, then Turkish tourism was boosted by direct flights from Europe, and the upgrade of Dalaman Airport put this stretch of coast within a one-hour coach transfer.
Faralya is a village in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, 15 km south of Ölüdeniz and 30 km south of Fethiye. It's best known for Butterfly Valley, a scenic canyon.
Kabak is a small village in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, 20 km south of Ölüdeniz and 35 km south of Fethiye. Officially it's called Uzunyurt, which comprises Kozağaç, Kirme, Hisar, Faralya (separately described), Kızılcakaya and Kabak.
Kınık is a town in Lycia, the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The reason to visit is the ancient Lycian sites of Xanthos and Letoon, both inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Kalkan is a small harbour in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, with a population of 3926 in 2022. It's well-developed for tourism but hasn't attracted a mass market, so it remains unspoilt.
Patara is in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. In ancient times it was an important city, birthplace of St Nicholas, but was abandoned and lost under sand dunes until rediscovered in the 1980s.
Kaş (pronounced Kaash) is a beach resort in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. It attracts a mixed crowd of British, German and Russian tourists but isn't on the package-holiday circuit, as its beaches are small and stony, and there are better beaches within a shorter transfer from the airports.
Demre is a town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, with a population of 27,700 in 2022. It stands over the ruins of ancient Myra, where Saint Nicholas was bishop in the 4th century AD. His legendary generosity gave rise to the tradition of Santa Claus.
Finike is a town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, with a population of 21,800 in 2022. It has tourist facilities but isn't in the western package brochures, as it's a relatively long transfer from Antalya to a not-very-good beach.
Olympos (or Olimpos) is a small village in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, next to the ruins of the Lycian / Roman city of Olympos. That in turn was named for the nearby mountain now called Tahtalı - the ancients gave the name Olympos to some two dozen prominent mountains in Turkey alone.
Kemer is a tourist resort in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, about 40 km southwest of Antalya. It's the largest of a string of resort villages, with a total population in 2022 of 49,383.
Elmalı is a town in the Lycia region of Mediterranean Turkey. It's 110 km west of Antalya and 35 km from the coast, at an altitude of 1100 m in the Taurus Mountains.
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