Southern Turkish Coastline

Day 1: Board your yacht in Marmaris and settle in, perhaps having a drink on the aft deck while you survey the busy quay below.  Have dinner on board or in one of the many quayside restaurants ringing the harbor.  Before or after dinner explore the castle ruins and the many meandering alleyways of the bazaar.  This is your time to experience the drama of bazaar rug purchasing and the flamboyance of the carpet men.  Overnight in Marmaris.  Or, immediately after boarding, sail for Kumlu Buku for dinner beneath the ruins of ancient Amos in picturesque surroundings.  Go ashore and stroll around the site of ancient Amos and anchor in the bay overnight to enjoy the clear waters.

Day 2: Early in the morning, your crew will set sail for the bay of Ekincik while you have breakfast on board underway.  Take a small river boat up the Dalyan River to the ruins of ancient Caunos.  With a local guide, spend an hour or two exploring this ancient Carian site. Visit Dalyan village, with lunch at a riverside taverna, before returning to the yacht in Ekincik.  In the afternoon head towards another anchorage to overnight and enjoy the beautiful waters along the Turkish coast for a refreshing swim.

Day 3: An early morning departure for Kalkan. Lunch in the anchorage and then spend the afternoon exploring Kalkan, an important port during the 1800's.  Settled by Greek and Turkish people under the Ottoman Empire, Kalkan was a large trading port.  Here goods were brought in by camel from inland locations and put on trading ships bound for other international ports.  Kalkan grew as a prosperous city and its many streets and buildings are reflective of the Greek Ottoman architecture of the 19th century.  Wander this unspoiled trading city and explore the many nooks and crannies filled with little shops and hidden terraces.  Overnight in Kalkan.  

Day 4: - 5: Cruise to the region known as Kekova for a two-day visit to include Kekova Island, Ucagiz and Kale Koy (ancient Simena).  On Kekova Island be sure to visit Tersane Bay, where the dramatic ruins of the apse of a church stand on the beach.  The sunken city that was originally Lycian is the major attraction in this area, as remains are everywhere.  An earthquake is believed to have dropped the land into the water, leaving ruins on both the remaining bits of land, and submerged in the shallow waters below.  Those submerged ruins can be viewed from above and in certain areas you can snorkel over the ancient foundations and what is left of a once busy harbor front.  Ucagiz is a small town which has yet to be disturbed by tourism.  There are a number of sarcophagi to be seen near the town littering the little islets.  At Kale Koy, there is a single sarcophagus standing in a beautiful small bay, near where steps can be seen carved into off-lying rocks said to have been an ancient mill.  Perhaps the highlight of a visit to Kekova is the climb to the castle and the medieval fortress.  The view is breathtaking and the castle was built around a tiny ancient amphitheater and several ancient Lycian tombs carved into the face of the rock summit.  While in this area, you can also tour ancient Myra, where the church of St. Nicholas is located, and the Demre-Ucagiz area via land, which are important Lycian and Byzantine historical centers. Also, see the Lycian cliff side tombs and the ancient Roman amphitheatre of ancient Myra, now Demre.