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I am standing in the heat of a summer’s afternoon amid the ruins of Patara, one of the most important Eastern Mediterranean cities and ports of ancient times.It’s a huge site of Roman amphitheatres, triumphal arches, temples, columns and sarcophagae, and a broad, cobbled main avenue leading down to a sandy beach and an emerald sea.Fascinating though this is, particularly for archaeologists and history buffs, you may be more interested to know Patara’s other main claim to fame. This is where Santa Claus was born.
By all accounts he was a decent chap who performed several miracles in the area around 350AD. And when the port silted over and everyone fell on hard times he used his family fortune to help the needy.On one famous occasion he climbed on to the roof of a poor man’s house and dropped a sack of gold down the chimney.Which, of course, he’s been doing ever since – except now it’s not so much gold as Nintendo games, DVDs and Barbie dolls.
Santa – or St Nicholas, to give him his proper title – is said to be buried in a church a few miles from here. But you and I and every child under the age of about 11 knows that he now lives in Lapland.And quite why the kindly old buffer swapped this warm, idyllic spot for an icy grotto near the Arctic Circle is beyond me. Alzheimer’s, possibly.
The Lycian region of Turkey is an extraordinary landscape of towering mountain ranges, pine forests, steep river gorges and broad plains of wheat fields and olive groves.
The coastline is speckled with tiny islands and many of the beaches – like the one at Patara, which is some 10 miles long – are of fine white sand. There are lively resorts, towns with bustling markets and mosques and villages that have changed little over the centuries.
What’s more – and it’s a big bonus for British holidaymakers this year – Turkey is outside the Eurozone so everything, from drinks to meals out, is half the price of France, Spain, Portugal and neighbouring Greece.
Here’s my guide to this fascinating region...
When to go ;
In spring, the fields and hillsides are carpeted in wild flowers and the air is filled with the scent of pine. July and August can be stiflingly hot but the summer season is long and you can be basking in warm sunshine until late October.
Where to stay ;
About an hour’s drive west of Dalaman airport you’ll find the little port town of Fethiye. Around the bay there’s a pine-clad peninsula which has been turned into an all-inclusive resort hotel, Club Letoonia It’s in a great setting, with views of the surrounding mountains and the small sailing ships, or gulets, setting off for the islands around the coast.
Letoonia is a village in its own right. It has shops, beaches, a theatre, a well-equipped spa, tennis courts, at least seven bars and five restaurants. Youngsters can use the water slides and be busy for days on end at the children’s club.
And you can’t, for once, blame the Germans for this. When I was there last week, 80% of guests were Brits, with just a few Dortmunders and Russians.
If you can’t get a sunbed you can always catch the hourly hotel ferry across the bay to Fethiye (10TL return – about £4) for a hearty kebab lunch in the Paspatur, or Old City, which has shady, vine-covered restaurants and plenty of carpet and jewellery shops.
The hotel also has its own gulet, which runs full-day excursions to outlying islands and sleepy Gocek nearby (have an Efes beer for 2TL at the hilariously named Kebab Hospital on the harbourside).
No problems finding a sunbed here – the boat only takes 12 at a time – and you can snorkel, enjoy lunch and drinks on board, and have a great day out for about 40TL.
What to see ;
You could spend a whole week eating, drinking and splashing about at Club Letoonia (indeed, some British families I spoke to had no plans to leave their sunbeds or the bar) but it would be a huge mistake not to explore this region, whether it’s on an organised tour or by hire car.
Head south out of Fethiye and five miles’ driving along winding roads through fields and forests brings you to Kayakoy.
Once a thriving Greek community, this town of more than 1,000 houses, 14 churches and two schools, was abandoned in 1923 when the inhabitants, along with more than a million other Greeks living throughout Turkey were repatriated to Greece through a massive population exchange between the two countries following the Greek war of independence.
Historically, Turks and Greeks lived together in this region for centuries: the Turks as farmers in the Kaya valley, the Greeks living on the hillside dealing in crafts and trades.
Now the village of Kayakoy, as it is called in Turkish, or Karmylassos, as it was known in Greek, which had been continually inhabited since at least the 13th century, stands empty and crumbling, with only the breeze from the mountains and mist from the sea blowing through its ruined houses and streets.
It’s eerie but if you come here in the evening you can enjoy a Turkish meal and music at the Kervansaray restaurant… and listen for the ghosts of the past.
Kayakoy is just a short hop from one of the area’s most famous resorts, Olu Deniz.
With a backdrop of mountains and a long beach of fine white sand it’s popular with holiday-makers, particularly around its natural lagoon.
About 30 miles from Fethiye, winding up through the mountains with spectacular views of the plain below, you’ll come to the ancient Lycian site of Tlos.
As one of the six principal cities of Lycia (and one of the most powerful), Tlos once bore the title under the Roman Empire of “the brilliant metropolis of the Lycian nation”.
It is one of the oldest and largest settlements of Lycia and was eventually inhabited by Ottoman Turks – it was one of few Lycian cities to still be inhabited until the 19th century.
There is evidence that Tlos was a member of the Lycian Federation from the 2nd century BC and the mythical Bellerophon and his horse Pegasus are said to have settled here. You may not see a horse with wings but you will stumble across some amazing artefacts as you wander around the site. There’s a Roman amphitheatre, evidence of temples and archways, and, carved into the side of a hill, a necropolis of delicately carved house-tombs.
What to buy ;
The best time to get a sunbed at Letoonia is on a Tuesday, when everyone else heads off on the ferry to a huge market in Fethiye.There you can buy just about everything, from Turkish delight to leather coats, gold and silver jewellery to pottery and spices. If you haggle you’ll get a bargain. And there are some great fakes, too – fancy a “Gucci” bag? It could be yours for under a tenner.
Need to know ;
You’ll have to buy a tourist visa when you land in Turkey.
This costs £10 per person (they accept sterling) and it saves time if you have the correct cash handy.
The local currency is the Turkish Lira and there are around 2.5TL to the £.
If you are planning to visit any religious sites, women should cover their shoulders and men should wear shorts which come below the knee.
Topless sunbathing is frowned upon.
For more info about Turkey, visit www.gototurkey.co.uk
