 |
Night life is one of the first considerations for making a good choice for a holiday. Antalya, Bodrum and Çeşme come to the fore with their lively nightlife and sea.
However, Turkey’s most beautiful natural coast still lies along the Mediterranean without any artificial effects or night life.
Datça avoids the mad crowds of Bodrum, Çeşme and Antalya and preserves its exclusive fauna and natural life.
It is possible to realize how beautiful Datça is while driving the car from the Dalaman airport.
The hills are covered in pinewoods, the sea lies beneath and the shores give the feeling that the each visitor is the first human being to visit there.
The Datça Peninsula combines the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and that’s why the region is famous for its legendary beaches and shores.
Even though some of the roads are in bad shape, it is because of the protected natural life of Datça. It is possible to follow hawks in the sky and foxes running through the colorful forests.
The International Year of BioDiversity 2010 was celebrated in Datça. One of 100 forest points of Europe, the Datça Peninsula is a region where diversity and natural wildlife deserve to be protected on a sustainable basis.
It is possible to find a life that suits everyone in Datça.
For example Bülent Sancakdar, the owner of Villa Aşina boutique hotel, says he does not want to live in Istanbul. He came to Datça many years ago and fell in love with the place.
Every part of Datça offers a different lifestyle to people. The Old Datça, which lies at the skirts of magnificent landscape of the small region, is a Mediterranean village that consists of as a small square.
All the houses in the village are made of amber-colored masonry. Walls are covered with crawling vines and fields are filled with almond trees and olive trees. Everyone is trying to do everything they can to protect Old Datça and look after the village.
On the other side, Central Datça reflects modernity on the peninsula.
Central Datça lies in front of its inhabitants with a perfect sea with the colors of blue and green and welcomes visitors with its hot, shining sun.
It is easy to eat a really good meal in Datça’s hidden coves, because almost everyone uses their own vegetables and collects them from their own backyard gardens. Everything that you can eat in Datça is organic.
The peninsula is known for three main foods. Fish, almonds and honey are the main products of the region. It is also possible to find the freshest products in Central Datça. However, the best places are along the shores and coves.
After passing through downtown and Old Datça, it is a must to follow the sea and discover the coves of the peninsula.
Hayıtbükü Cove is one of the best coves in Turkey. Even if there is a harsh wind over Datça, Hayıtbükü is always calm and easy.
After Hayıtbüyük there is Ovabükü Cove. It is impossible to find a shore with sand in Datça and Ovabükü proves this with a proud and clean shore. Ovabükü is covered with large stones but has the best and most natural sea.
Those who are in love with nature can stay at one of the pensions that lie just near the Ovabükü shore.
The pensions are small and built in harmony with the virgin land of Ovabükü. Melinda Pension among them may be the best pension on the shore. The owner, Osman Oral Demirel, works in for his own place with his family. It is possible to eat organic vegetables and fruits during breakfast.
Just near Ovabükü, lies Palamütbükü Cove, where there is a very long shore. Palamütbükü is one of the best places to spend a summer vacation in Datça.
Knidos, or Cnidus, was an ancient Greek city of Caria, part of the Dorian Hexapolis. By the fourth century B.C., Knidos was located at the site of modern Tekir, opposite Triopion Island.
The road to Knidos, which comes after Palamütbükü Cove, is full of beautiful sights. The best way to see the untouched coves of Datça is to travel all the way down to Knidos and finally see the ancient city itself.
Knidos is the meeting point for the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Knidos, Aphrodite’s ancient city, lies at the end of the peninsula.
The total length of the city was about 1.5 kilometers, and the whole area is still thickly strewn with architectural remains. The walls, both of the island and on the mainland, can be traced through their whole circuit; and in many places, especially round the acropolis at the northeast corner of the city, they are in remarkably good shape, nearly perfect. The first Western knowledge of the site was due to the mission of the Dilettante Society in 1812, and the excavations executed by C. T. Newton in 1857-1858.
The agora, the theater, an odeum, a temple of Dionysus, a temple of the Muses, a temple of Aphrodite and a great number of minor buildings have been identified, and the general plan of the city has been clearly made out. The most famous statue by Praxiteles, the Aphrodite of Knidos, was made for Cnidus. It has perished, but late copies exist, of which the most faithful is in the Vatican Museum.
