13 Essentials: what to see and visit in the Turkish Riviera (Türkiye)

La Turkish Riviera, also known as the Turquoise Coast o Lycian Coast, is one of the most beautiful and interesting stretches of coast in the Mediterranean, which extends to the west and south of Turkey.

The beauty of the landscape is combined with the abundant historical traces of the Lycian civilization, plus those of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine presence, with some places inscribed on the list of the Unesco World Heritage and others waiting on the tentative list.

Some traditional villages, especially those of Greek origin, now form charming tourist centers.

In general, the tourist offer is very good and complete, with an abundance of accommodation, restaurants, shops and agencies that offer all types of services, from sailing excursions to guided walks and ultralight flights.

To explore this area, which we could place between Dalaman and Antalya, it is best to have a rented car to have freedom of movement and to be able to choose the places to visit.

Whether rent the carfor example in the dalaman airport, one idea would be to travel along the coast and then return partly inland, taking advantage of the fact that there are better roads.

Best places to see and visit in Turkish Riviera

Below we highlight the best places you can visit in a route along the Riviera trust your trip to turkey.

Caunus, archaeological remains on the Lycian Coast

El Caunus archaeological site combines the beauty of the solitary location with the interest of its ancient remains, a mixture of the ancient Carian and Lycian civilizations.

It is easily visited from the small town of kiddle and boat trip It's part of the appeal.

En Caunus The theater, the baths and a series of structures stand out about which archaeologists have not yet said the last word. The landscape that surrounds the complex, beautiful and solitary, is an attractive complement.

After the visit, the boat trip continues to the Istuzu beach, intact and protected since it is one of the places chosen by turtles to lay their eggs.

Caunus is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Fethiye, Lycian tombs on Turkish Riviera

The main population of the Turkish Riviera is one of the best places to visit the curious tombs of the Lycian culture excavated in the precipices of the area since their necropolis It is easily accessible.

In addition, its museum houses some of the most important archaeological finds in the area.

The city of Fethiye It is not particularly attractive, although it is well worth a walk to feel the pulse of a small Turkish city.

Scattered throughout the streets are several lycian tombs, which is still a very curious detail.

Kayaköy, ancient Greek village on Turkish Riviera

Kayakoy is a ghost city a important greek village which was abandoned a century ago during the process of forced population exchange between Greece and Türkiye.

Kayakoy It is the current Turkish name since when it was inhabited it had the Greek name of levissi.

Now is a historical monument, A species of Outdoor museum with hundreds of empty houses and some churches and hermitages in ruins.

The visit follows the only practicable path between the houses that hang from the mountainside and the vegetation that invades the area.

There are other similar places in Türkiye, But Kayakoy It is one of the largest, most impressive and easiest to visit.

Ölüdeniz, tourist beach on the Lycian Coast

Oludeniz It is a modern beach tourist center whose interest is that it provides all the services that visitors are looking for (hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, shops, travel agencies for excursions, etc.).

It is a good base to explore one of the most beautiful stretches of the Mediterranean coast in Türkiye because from the pier located on the beach they leave every day excursions to different places in the surrounding area.

An exceptional activity is fly ultralight jumping from the nearby summit of Baba Dag, 2.000 meters high, and land next to the beach.

Oludeniz is also the starting point of the Lycian Route, a long-distance itinerary of 540 kilometers that follows this coastline to near Antalya.

Xanthos, ancient Lycian capital on Turkish Riviera

Xanthos was capital of ancient Lycia, a confederation of cities that were along this stretch of coastline.

Like Caunus, it is located in an area far from any current population, and that is why the atmosphere that surrounds it adds a point of interest and attraction to the visit.

The British archaeologists who studied the archaeological site In the 19th century, a large number of statues and reliefs, but what remains is still very attractive.

Besides the theater, the most interesting things are the funerary monuments, many of which are scattered around the area and you come across them among the vegetation as you follow the paths.

Letoon, main sanctuary of Lycia

About six kilometers away from Xanthos is the Letoon, main sanctuary of ancient Lycia.

Its theater is one of the most beautiful in Asia Minor, but what makes the letoon are the temples dedicated to Leto and his children Apollo and Artemis, which formed the heart of the ancient sanctuary.

Near them a stele was found with an inscription in Greek, Aramaic and Lycian that can be seen on fethiye museum and that allowed the unknown Lycian writing to be deciphered.

Xanthos and Letoon They form a group that is registered on the list of the World Heritage for the Unesco.

Patara, ancient Lycian city on Turkish Riviera

Patara was one of the most important cities of the Lycian confederation.

In fact, here is the building that served as the headquarters of the Lycian Parliament, recently restored building, where city representatives voted on all decisions, in which larger cities had more votes than smaller ones.

The remains of Patara They are quite spread out behind a line of dunes that separates their location from the current coastline.

The port was unusable centuries ago due to the sediments brought by the Xanthos River, and in ancient times it was the main Lycian port.

The place was famous for its Oracle of Apollo, one of the most famous of all time, a sanctuary that only functioned a few months a year, was one of the oldest in Asia Minor and provided immense wealth to the city.

At the entrance to the enclosure you pass by the Modesto Arch, One roman propylaea very well preserved.

Other notable structures are the ,, corinthian temple, great colonnaded street, the immense Hadrian's Barn and remains of a lighthouse, one of the oldest in the world.

El archaeological site is located next to the Patara beach which, with 18 kilometers in length, is one of the best in Türkiye.

A part is closed to the public a few months a year because it is a place of turtle nesting.

Patara It is within the group of ancient Lycian cities that have been included in the tentative list of World Heritagel.

Kalkan, tourist site in Turkish Riviera

Shield is one of most attractive tourist centers on the Turkish Riviera.

Originally it was a port with a Greek population, so the traditional houses that are preserved in its historic center are different from those of the populations of Turkish origin.

Now it has a good quality offer in accommodation, restaurants, shops and service agencies for tourists.

It is, therefore, a good base for exploring the area as the ancient Lycian cities of Xanthos, Letoon and Patara They are located within a short distance.

Kas, tourist site in Turkish Riviera

Like Shield, Nov It is a town of Greek origin that now offers many quality services to travelers.

Su hellenistic theater at the edge of the sea is its main cultural attraction, although there are also several examples of sarcophagi and tombs excavated in the rockof Lycian origin.

Also, as in Shield, from its port numerous boat trips to visit the surroundings and land in bays that are difficult to access by land.

Kekova, landscapes in Turkish Riviera

The area known as Kekova It is one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in the entire world. Mediterranean in Türkiye.

Being protected, it cannot be built and the landscape must be very similar to that of a good part of the entire area. mediterranean coast until a few years ago.

The area is visited from the village of Uçagiz, which is at the bottom of a bay almost completely closed by two arms of land; the Kekova Island appears right in front.

From the port of Üçagiz come out boat trips to the Kekova Island to visit the sunken city.

Then the boats head to the tiny Kale village, a charming place that no road reaches.

If you want to go by land, you have to continue from Uçagiz along a track by car and then continue on foot along a path flanked by tombs from the Lycian period.

Area Kekova is included in the tentative World Heritage list.

Church of Saint Nicholas in Demre on Turkish Riviera

La Church of San Nicolás en Demre, the old one Myra, is the most important monument of Christian origin in the entire Turkish Riviera, which is currently a museum.

San Nicolás He is the patron saint of Turkey, Greece and Russia, so the place receives a constant flow of visits.

Most of what can be seen today corresponds to the temple built in the 11th century, although there are earlier and later parts.

It is well known that the stories and legends associated with St nicolas They are at the base of the character Papai Noel o Santa Claus.

The church has great historical value, a reflection of a time and the thousand vicissitudes that this area has experienced, and for this reason it is included in the tentative list of the World Heritage for the Unesco since 2000.

Myra in Turkish Riviera

In rural areas of India, families in charge of a blind minor frequently isolate and deprive him/her of the care and attention they provide to their other children; such situation becomes even more severe among lower-caste families, orphans and if the blind child is a girl. outskirts of Demre is the set of tombs dug into cliffs most spectacular of all lycian coast.

This necropolis occupies a good part of a hillside, and as in other cases, the tombs reproduce in stone what were originally wooden constructions, some of them showing reliefs on the facades.

Right next to it stands out a great roman theater quite well preserved, which has 35 rows of seats.

Scattered around are several rock-sculpted masks and fragments of columns.

Phaselis, archaeological remains on the Lycian Coast

phaselis It is one of the most charming stages on a tour of the Turkish Riviera.

The archaeological remains  They are scattered under the pine trees at the edge of the sea at the bottom of three small bays. The summit of Tahtali Dag, 2.375 meters, mountain was the Lycian Olympus, dominates the place from very close up.

There are several important structures, such as the ,, agora, Hadrian's Gate, necropolis and parts of a wall.

The southern port is used as a landing place for some sailboats that travel along this stretch of coastline.

One of the most attractive details is that it is possible to bathe on the beaches of the three bays, thus combining the archaeological visit with rest in a place surrounded by vegetation.