Sights around Fethiye
How to get to Fethiye
I chose Fethiye as my last stop, since it’s closer to the Dalaman airport where I need to go to return to Canada. Fethiye is much bigger than Kas, more like 100,000 people, and is also on the Turquoise Coast.
To get to Fethiye from Kas, the very easy and cheap option was to take a public bus. They run several times a day, and cost about $5. The bus stations are conviently located in the middle of the towns.
I texted for a taxi to get to the bus station. The station wasn’t what I expected. It’s an open parking lot surrounded by booths for different bus companies.
Where to stay in Fethiye
After an hour or so on the bus I arrived in Fethiye. I found a taxi there to get to my hotel. I splurged on this hotel, and it was beautiful. https://www.booking.com/hotel/tr/unique.en-gb.html? By splurged, I mean I paid about $80 a night.
Hotel Unique is a luxury hotel built into a cliff across from the marina and close to the city centre. There are Lycian ruins at the entrance.
I read reviews on it, with several people commenting they were upgraded to a sea view balcony. A city view balcony cost slightly less so that’s what I booked, hoping for the best. I thought I might be upgraded for free, and if that didn’t happen I planned to pay the extra. It’s low season after all and most rooms seemed to be available.
I forgot all about that, until the hotel manager told me she had upgraded me to sea view balcony. My ploy worked! And I loved my room.
What to see in old town Fethiye
When I first looked out a massive yacht was docked on the edge of the marina. I waited to take a picture of it until I was down there, and then when I was near to it I couldn’t get it in a picture because it was so big! I tried searching for its name, Lion King, and couldn’t find it, but apparently it had a very good chance of belonging to a Russian oligarch. Russia invaded Ukraine over a month ago now, and United Nations members have seized superyachts like this when parked in other countries in Europe.
I walked to the old town nearby, and shopping, but most of it was tacky knock-offs – shops actually have names like “Genuine Fakes”!
There was one nice shop where I chatted with the owner. He told me that British tourists own many homes here, but haven’t been able to come for the last two summers because of covid. He also said the hotels here are filled with Ukrainians escaping from the invasion by Russia.
Somehow I was talked into a buying a box of turkish delight, not sure how that happened. That sales guy was good! The samples were delicious.
A seafood dinner on the coast?
I stopped at a restaurant along the harbour for some seafood. My favorite kind of food! The waiter told me they were just opening for the season, (it’s still early April) and they had no seafood yet. Maybe they should have waited to open until someone went fishing?
I stayed and ordered something else, since I already had attracted a dinner companion who I simply couldn’t leave.
On the way back to my room, I bought a bottle of wine in a corner store. There were mussels with lemons on the counter. I asked about them, and the handsome man behind the counter (his wife was there too) fed me a rice-filled mussel. With a spoon. Like a baby. I now had my seafood fix.
What to do in one day around Fethiye
I had only one more day here, and wanted to see some of the sights in the surrounding area. It seems like no one is open for the season yet. I contacted two tour agencies, hoping for the best.
Guide Tours Oludeniz said they could send a driver who could take me wherever I wanted to go, but he did not speak English. Good enough! The plan was to see ancient tombs in the hills above the city, Karakoy ghost town, and the stunning beach at Oludeniz.
That morning, I had the turkish breakfast at my hotel. It was massive.
I learned that that this breakfast really only happens in Turkish homes on Sundays. It’s now Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, but most Turks I met don’t observe it. To follow the rules would mean fasting from sunrise to sundown, not even water, and no smoking.
I went down to the hotel lobby after breakfast to find an English speaking man waiting for me. He was the owner of Guide Tours Oludeniz. He had heard of me asking for a tour, and decided to come along with the driver to guide me. It was their first tour of the season, and he wanted to make sure I was a happy customer!
Lycian rock tombs
Our first stop was the tombs in the cliffs just above the city. The ancient Lycians built the tombs up high so the dead could be visited by angels. They date back to around 350 BC.
You could climb to the entrance of the biggest tomb.
Kayakoy ghost town
Almost a hundred years ago, in 1923, Turkey was victorious in a war with Greece. The new republic of Turkey demanded the expulsion of any Greeks remaining in Turkey, to deter any uprisings. Turks living in Greece were forced out as well, but there were much smaller numbers of people affected. For one take on this exchange,
As a result, whole cities were abandoned. Kayakoy is one of those cities. It is now a tourist destination, with some new development starting around it.
Oludeniz
Oludeniz (translating as dead sea, due to its lack of wind) is a nearby town renowned for its beautiful beach, and the Blue Lagoon nearby. It is a famous spot for paragliders landing on the beach. They take off from the top of Badabag mountain. There is a new cable car to take you up the mountain to watch the paragliders take off.
Butterfly Valley
In the mountains over Oludeniz, there is a lookout where you can see Butterfly Valley. The valley can be accessed only by boat, and is home to over one hundred species of butterflies. You can’t see butterflies from the lookout, but the view is spectacular. However, there is a better view from the secret spot my guides knew. I was happy to hold on to the flimsy fence separating me from the view.
My guide kept a story about the valley to tell after the viewpoint. In recent history, a pregnant woman fell from a surrounding peak while with her husband. She ended up in many pieces in the valley. The husband had recently take out life insurance on her, and he’s now in jail for life for her murder.
Back in Oludeniz, the owner stopped at his office and I had tea with his family.
I paid for my tour then, expecting to pay much more. After all, I had a guide in addition to a driver, and I saw additional sights. He refused extra payment! I tipped the driver more instead.
Back in Fethiye, my guide took me to the other end of the city across the bay to Calis Beach, popular with the locals.
And then I was back at my beautiful hotel for the evening. My flight home is in the morning.
