The Turquoise Paradise – Fethiye

If you were a child who grew up in the ’90s, you probably had a treasure of picture postcards of countries you never visited and destinations you didn’t know existed. Traveling to Turkey was like looking into those cards, one at a time and seeing each of them come alive in front of me. Waters in different shades of blue, lush green mountains, snow-capped mountains, decorated streets, ships docked along the harbour and sunsets by the beach. You get the idea, don’t you?

Turquoise paradise

The Turkish turquoise coast attracts scores of tourists from the world over. Amongst the many popular destinations along the coast, Fethiye, a natural harbour in the Turkish Riviera is among the prettiest towns to stop by. I found it as a perfect and balanced destination compared to the crowded city of Antalya and the very active town of Bodrum. I was on a solo holiday, so I wanted some peace and quietness. Actually, lots of it!

Fethiye is a quaint town that gives you a taste of slow life. The people are polite (as in the rest of Turkey as well) and a little more sophisticated and seemingly rich in this part of the country.

Getting there

The closest airport to Fethiye is Dalaman which is approximately 1.5 hours away. There are daily flights to Dalaman from many cities in Turkey, but most come via Istanbul. I took an evening flight from Istanbul and was in Dalaman in about 2 hours. There are two airport shuttle buses – Muttaş and Havaş available to ferry passengers from the airport to Fethiye and is the most cost-effective means of travel here. The buses have stops at prominent locations and the fare to Fethiye was 23 TL. The last stop is the Fethiye Otogar (bus station) and you can take a Dolmus or taxi to your hotel from here.

Taxis are another option and could work well for groups or if you want to reach your hotel directly.

You can also reach Fethiye by buses from most Turkish cities. I heard from other travelers that this is a good option too if you have more time in hand.

Accommodation

As a backpacker and solo traveler, hostels are my preference. There are several options from beach resorts to luxury hotels to guest houses available in Fethiye depending on where you would like to stay. I wanted to stay around the harbour and Sakura Hostels was perfect for me. Extremely clean, modern, affordable, comfortable and great hosts…what more do you need? The terrace was overlooking the harbour whereas the balcony opened to the mountainside. With an affordable breakfast option, this place gets my 5 stars.

The ladies dorm that comes with a clean shared restroom

Truly, this is all the space you need

The colourful Turkish breakfast spread at the hostel

Turkish tea - çay

The view from the hostel

The good thing about hostels is that you are bound to make friends. And if you find good fellow travelers, you can also visit places together and share meals. I found two very good friends in Fethiye – a Japanese young traveller and a Dutch psychiatric nurse. My Japanese friend even accompanied me on my first day at Fethiye.

Best time to visit

June to November is when Turkey comes alive to welcome tourists. Be ready for a half-show or no-show of attractions and things-to-do outside these months. I picked the end of winters when it was cold and with drizzles on and off. It did not deter my travel plans in any way. I still made the most of what was available with my muffler, cap and jackets.

Getting around

The Dolmus - the government-run minibusses are affordable, comfortable and the best way to get around town and all the nearby places. Taxis are also available if you don’t mind spending more. I prefer public transport as its eco-friendly as well.

Places to visit

Fethiye Marina

A hop, skip and jump from my hostel landed me at the marina, quite literally. I landed there on a rainy day during the off-season period, so all the boats and ferries were docked making it a beautiful sight. I call them ‘boats’ because I can’t differentiate between a luxury yacht, a speed boat or a water taxi. They all looked great. There are several restaurants along the harbour but most were closed owing to the low inflow of tourists and the cold weather. No regrets, the lazy harbour is a great photo backdrop.

The quiet Fethiye Harbour

One of the restaurants along the harbour

Çalış Beach

Ever visited a beach that was empty despite being the most popular one, Çalış Beach was that on my trip. Being winter and with all the shops and hotels closed, there were just a few locals around. A beach full of pebbles, I was like a child picking the smooth and shiny ones until I realized it would add to my overall baggage. Needless to say, my pockets were full. Then, the most disappointing task of letting go of some. While I picked these for my son back home as souvenirs, it reminded me of my childhood and how I had loved collecting pebbles. The waters were cold and hence swimming was ruled out. It was around sunset time and with rainy clouds above us, the beach wore a dark look – beautiful nevertheless. 

Anybody here?

The beautiful pebbles almost fit to be jewelry

Çalış Beach is about 6.5 kms from the Fethiye Otogar and can be reached in 15 minutes by the Dolmus. It was deserted in early March but can get very crowded in the summers.

The beach under a cloudy sky

Fethiye Fish Market

Yes, a fish market! Why would someone want to visit a smelly fish market on a holiday? The Fethiye Fish Market is an attraction and a crowd-puller for tourists and locals alike all year around. You can find fresh fish (and not smelly at all) here and a huge variety to choose from. If you are a seafood lover, you will want to make this home. From sea bass to mackerels to large shrimps, what’s special is that you get to pick fish of your choice and walk up to any restaurant at the market and ask them to cook it for you. 

My eyes popped out at the freshness of the fish here

Pick your choice

Eat all you can

Restaurants offer appetizers or meze while your fish is getting ready. Turkish mezes are traditionally little appetizers that appear on the table before the main course. This is especially true if you go to a fish restaurant. Mezzes include Hummus, Salads, pickled vegetables and fish, loaves of bread and other hot and cold starters. The displays are very inviting, but I chose to go easy on the starters and wanted to do justice to the fish.

Turkish Meze

More Meze

Pay for what you eat

Absolutely fresh and delicately flavoured, the fish was a super hit. I went back to the market twice during my trip to Fethiye. And I usually don’t repeat places unless they are exceptionally good. The restaurants charge 10TL to cook the fish and the appetizers are charged separately based on what you pick. The fish is charged based on the price of the day and the quantity you buy.

Dolma - Stuffed vine leaves

A crab based starter

Prawns in a spicy sauce

Grilled fish

Baklava - a sweet and rich pastry

 The men in Turkey were extremely good looking, the ones in Fethiye being the best. They looked like stars out of a Hollywood movie. The owner at the restaurant I visited was so good looking, he was the topic of our conversation throughout lunch. In the end, we couldn’t figure if we liked him more or the fish.

Ruins of Tlos

When the weatherman predicts rain, the beach is ruled out. Fethiye has quite a few options for a rainy day and visiting ruins is one of them. The Tlos ruins are located about 35kms away from town. Now in ruins, Tlos once served as the bustling urban center of ancient Lycia. While it may look like a short visit at first given the size of the site, it will take you a good 3-4 hours to make the best of your visit. Even if you are not interested in history, the city walls, ampitheatre, public baths and market street all overlooked by the fortress and Lycian tombs are sure to send you back in time. 

The ruins of Tlos

The entrance to the ruins

The great bath

A tomb on the site dating back to 350-320 BC is associated with Bellerophon of the Lycian royalty. In 168 BC the city started minting coins in Lycian style. In 43 AD the Lycian region became a Roman state, in which Tlos was a metropolis. Many ancient roads from the neighbouring cities met in Tlos.

Hisarönü

Hisarönü is a tourist town dotted with resorts, hotels, restaurants and great pubs. For the Indian, it is the equivalent to Baga or Calangute in Goa, but cleaner. Being a transit point and a great place to stay, I felt it was important to mention it in my blog. But guess what? All shutters were down owing to the off-season. Even at 11am, there was no life in the town setting the right mood for my visit to Fethiye’s famous ghost village.

The empty streets

Why bother giving a name

Mr Perfect's place

Kayaköy

Kayaköy village, which is 13 km (8 miles) from Fethiye, was built over a Greek town, with a history going back to the Lycians. During the Byzantine period, it was called Levissi. The ancient city has 3500 houses, chapels, churches, schools, a hospital, and a library, most of which were built when it was a Greek settlement. In recent years, only two churches, a school, and a few houses were restored and the whole area was made a museum. It was occupied by the Greeks till the 1920s. After the Republic of Turkey was founded, the Greeks living in this area were swapped with the Turks living in the western Thrace. It was abandoned during the population swap so now it looks like a ghost town with lots of partially destroyed houses, churches, and schools.

The dead town

The ruins are stunning, and you can choose to trek along the rocky pathways. I was visiting this place alone. For one, I am terrified of anything remotely ghostly, two I went there alone. The terrible decision if you know me. Nonetheless, I still went up the village (literally praying aloud, yes that’s me!), walked in and out of abandoned homes, walked into chapels and schools until I started feeling uncomfortable. There’s nothing wrong with the place and there’s nothing ghostly here. But I had fed myself enough thoughts to get me running down.

Hello? Anyone home?

The Church

Kayaköy can be reached by Dolmus from Fethiye. An hour or two is enough to visit the village. However, if you like trekking, this is the start point of the world-famous Lycian way. The Lycian Way is one of the world’s great long-distance hiking trails of 540 kms, regularly featuring in top-10 lists of must-visit places. I am told this trek takes about 29 days.

Ölüdeniz

Get ready to go click, click, click! That’s what Ölüdeniz makes you do. A couple of kilometres from Hisarönü, this resort town is a must-visit if you are in this region. As you drive through the lush green mountains, the turquoise beauty reveals itself. This is by far the most stunning beach I have seen. While I thought Thailand and the Andamans had great beaches of the ones I had been to, this one beat them all. Again, with just a few people around, I literally had the beach to myself. I had read so much of this place, but seeing the empty shore, I wondered if I had reached the right place. I spent an entire day here basking in the sun, thanking God for this marvellous creation of His.

The blue expanse

A sea amidst mountains

The blue cave

Making our way into the cave

50 shades of blue

The calm waters make it look like an infinity pool. Get into your swimwear and you could spend the entire day here. Ölüdeniz is known for paragliding. I had booked a flight too, but it was cancelled because of a local protest by paragliders and instead I opted for a solo boat tour of the surrounding islands. Pure luxury I must say, and I realized it only when I converted the currency back home. All I can say is, at 350 TL for 1.5 hours at sea, it was worth every pie. The famous blue lagoon is right here. If I ever come back here, I would like to stay at one of the star resorts on the shores of the lagoon.

Paragliding over mount Babadag

I could sit here all day

One of the best views ever

The calm seas

Butterfly Valley

Wait did I say Ölüdeniz was the best beach? Well, I would like to change that to Butterfly Beach. Imagine being on a beach that is inaccessible by road, no tourists around, only a café that’s closed with its owner guarding the place and my ‘boatman’. I literally had the beach to myself. Of course, my mind was racing with scenes from Bollywood having to land at a beach with two men. What if….. Well, Turkey was extremely safe and so I could tuck my fears away. To reach Butterfly Beach, you either must take a boat from Ölüdeniz or trek down the valley.

The absolutely beautiful Butterfly beach

The lodge that opens in the summers

The still waters

My ride for the day

Butterfly Valley is one of those off-beat places surrounded by steep, vertical rocks of up to 350m. There’s a waterfall at the end of the valley but I warned against going there alone. And yes, it gets its name because of the different butterfly species around.

During the season (April to November), there are several water taxis and boat tours available so you can make this tour at a much affordable price. The beach is not too big so even fifty people may seem like a large crowd.

Old Paspatur Market

This wasn’t really on my itinerary, but my hostel was located in this area and I found this place pretty. The Old Paspatur market is home to many stores covering apparel, jewellery, sweets and some great restaurants. What I liked best though are the cobblestoned pathways with umbrellas for shade. I did buy some honey, one of the specialties here. The market looked quite popular with the locals here. Do visit it if you are near the harbour or the fish market.

The umbrella covered street

While I had picturized the ruins of Turkey, I never expected the coastline to be so stunning. Fethiye was truly a gem and was the best part of my Turkish travel. Being a solo traveller, it was safe and the people were more than willing to help. Compared to the other Turkish cities I visited, I found this the most affordable too. The non-touristy feel of the place, the slow life and yet so much to experience….I loved Fethiye!