Turkey - Thomson Simply Travel The Collection Summer 2012 (December Edition)

At a glance Kalkan Living history, fantastic walking trails and superb beaches are just some of the highlights of the very pretty and laid-back Turquoise Coast. alkan makes a very appealing base. Once a tiny fishing village, it's turned itself effortlessly into a small holiday resort that's lost none of its charm. Rising steeply behind the harbour is a warren of narrow streets. Here, pavement cafés rub shoulders with shops crammed with colourful kilims and arty trinkets. And there's a wide choice of good restaurants, many with roof terraces offering bay views. When it comes to swimming, Patara Beach, west of Kalkan, takes some beating. Its 18-kilometre stretch of sand is backed by dunes where you can catch glimpses of the ruins of the ancient city of Patara, once Lycia's most important ports. Friday flights to Kalkan Take... the wooden walkway into the heart of Saklikent Gorge. You can sample freshly-caught trout in restaurants jutting out over the rushing water. Afterwards, paddle in the shallows or be as dare-devil as you like by hiring special shoes and scrambling higher. Explore... the ruined monastery, temple, theatre and tall pillar tombs at Xanthos, once Lycia's most important city. And don't forget Letoon, the sacred cult centre of Lycia, where you can see the half-submerged remains of Leto's Temple. K North-west of Kalkan, the quiet village of Ovacik slumbers on the lower slopes of Babadag Mountain. You'd never guess it's only a few kilometres from Olu Deniz whose famous lagoon attracts the crowds. Walk the other way, though, and mule tracks and trails lead to the remote Lycian Way with its overgrown settlements and forgotten villages. And if the sight of the turquoise waters gets too hard to resist, you can scramble down to claim an isolated cove all to yourself. Hike... from Ovacik to the ghost village of Kayakay. Here, 3,000 abandoned houses straddle the hillside and make for a sombre sight. Their owners were Greeks who packed up in 1923 as they were repatriated to Greece as part of an exchange between the two countries. Fethiye Kemer Saklikent Canyon Gombe Saklikent Xanthos Es en Kasaba Kalkan Kaputas Kas Patara Beach Kalkan 12 km Climate Average daily maximum temperature (ºC) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 17 21 23 27 28 26 Oct 22 188

Turkey contd…