Five compelling reasons to visit Marmaris

Melih Uslu

Marmaris, the pearl of the Aegean, is set to reclaim its golden age of tourism as the Marmaris Chamber of Commerce collaborates with the local community to revitalize the region's appeal.

The chamber is creating sustainable tourism initiatives that will have a global impact. Some key initiatives include extending tourism to a full 12 months by making better use of the historic İçmeler Hot Springs and promoting Marmaris pine honey in partnership with the Marmaris Honey House.

Additionally, they aim to showcase the region’s rich cultural heritage to the world. Exciting plans also include transforming the site of a thousand-year-old ancient shipwreck off Serçe Harbor into an underwater park, opening newly created walking and cycling trails, positioning Kameriye Island — famous for its Blue Jesus fresco — as a significant religious tourism destination, and hosting concerts and night tours in the ancient city of Amos.

Here are the reasons that will convince you to Marmaris holiday.

Marmaris Castle and surroundings

The beauty of Marmaris, which boasts an uninterrupted 16 kilometers of coastline from the city center to the town of İçmeler, knows no end. Leaving behind the Old Mosque, which dates back to 1789, and continuing onwards to the right through the road that climbs to the castle, I come across the caravanserai built under the aegis of Suleiman the Magnificent for his mother Hafsa Sultan. The caravanserai, whose epigraph contains the date 1545, is the sole monumental structure of Marmaris and one of the most important in its environs. Over the hill of the citadel resembling a labyrinth of white walled houses and narrow streets, arises Marmaris Castle. Built in 2,000 B.C. and renovated during the reigns of Alexander the Great and Suleiman the Magnificent, Marmaris Castle has turned into one of the best neighborhoods of the Aegean with its narrow streets, souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants. The arched gate of the castle surrounded by high walls opens up to a dazzling inner courtyard that resembles the Gardens of Andalusia. The most important written sources regarding Marmaris Castle were written by the 19th-century architect and archeologist Charles Texier. Today, providing services in the four halls hidden in the vestibules of the castle, the Archeology Museum harbors many treasures; the antique candle holders, coins, glass artifacts, busts and stelae, as well as different types of sarcophaguses and earthenware on display here were unearthed at the excavations at Knidos, Burgaz, Hisarönü and Loryma.

Blue voyage routes

If you decide to take a blue cruise and sail the white-capped sea on a comfortable yacht, Marmaris is just the place for you. Blue cruises, which began in the Bay of Gökova in the 1950s, offer entire days dedicated to immersing oneself in nature, exploring history and enjoying the sea. Depending on your preference, you may join up for a day, a weekend or an entire week. Awaiting you here are opportunities like swimming and sunbathing in the bay of your choice or following the ancient trails.

Kızkumu to Selimiye

The turnoff to Bozburun is along the Marmaris - Datça highway. A few kilometers ahead, Orhaniye Cove is a haven for gaily painted yachts. Kızkumu on the shore of this cove, which gleams like a blue bead between the mountains, is one of the peninsula’s most popular beaches. My next stop is Selimiye. In this village, which could only be reached by sea until 20 years ago, there are now places of quality that can compete with the French Riviera. The restaurants that serve rare Mediterranean fish cooked by special methods are a favorite with blue cruise tourists. Viewing pleasure is high on the exciting road that runs from Selimiye along the edge of a precipice. Finally, a breathtaking sunset awaits us at Bozburun Bay at the end of my route.

The Carian Way

An important port settlement from the times of the Carians to Alexander the Great, and from the Romans to the Ottomans, Marmaris and its vicinity harbor a total of 12 ancient cities. According to Herodotus, the ancient historian from Halicarnassus, even in 3,000 B.C., there were traces of civilization in Marmaris. Reached by following the İçmeler-Turunç itinerary by an almost 20-minute delightful journey, Amos is on the Carian Road. Situated to the northwest of Kumlubük Cove on an escarpment, the ancient settlement features a theater, a temple, and a pedestal that used to hold statues.

After Amos, I head towards Bozburun Peninsula, one of Marmaris’s two arms that extend into the Aegean. Taking the Bozburun turn, passing through Hisarönü, built over the remains of Erine city belonging to the Carian civilization, I head towards Orhaniye. Within the borders of Orhaniye, before getting to the village, you can climb a narrow pathway through the forest to Bybassos. The ancient cities of Bybassos and Kastabos, a bit further to the north, were the region’s prominent settlements around the 5th century B.C. Today, even though there is little left of them, it is worth visiting to enjoy nature and the local scenery.

The Anatolian pyramid

Set up at the heart of a narrow valley embraced by the green hills that stretch towards the sea, Orhaniye calls to us with a small cove that opens to the Hisarönü Bay, where the Aegean gives the Anatolian coasts away to the Mediterranean. A little off the shore, sidling to the heart of the cove, like a finger made of red sand, Kızkumu sparkles underneath the sun. There is an island in the middle of the cove and the remains of a castle on the island. It is considered that the castle belongs to the ancient city of Bybassos. With a past dating back to the 3rd century BC, Orhaniye is a small Greek village made up of two neighborhoods. The village’s church, which dates back to the Byzantine times, remains within the touristic premises adjacent to the marina today. My next stop is Turgut village, famous for its waterfalls and hand-woven carpets. You can reach the ruins of the ancient city of Hydas, three kilometers from the village center, by climbing a steep path. The acropolis of Hydas is set up 270 meters above sea level. Among the remains hidden by the thick foliage are the gates of the city, its walls, and a cistern. To the north of the acropolis, known in the region as Turgut Castle, a burial chamber, which stands on a rock 40 meters above the valley floor and features a pyramid-shaped roof unique in Anatolia, draws attention.