Kalkan is a town on the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast, and an important tourist destination. The area includes historical sites (such as

Tlos Tlos ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊍𐊀𐊇𐊀 ''Tlawa'', Hittite: 𒁕𒆷𒉿 ''Dalawa'', grc, Τλώς or Τλῶς) was an ancient Lycian city near the modern town of Seydikemer in the Mugla Province of southern Turkey, some 4 kilometres northwest o ...

and

Kekova Kekova, also named ''Caravola''Bertarelli (1929), p.134 (Greek: '' Dolichiste''), is a small Turkish island near Demre (Demre is the Lycian town of Myra) district of Antalya province which faces the villages of Kaleköy (ancient Simena) ...

) and fine beaches (including Patara Beach and

Kaputaş Beach Kaputaş Beach is a small beach between Kaş and Kalkan in southwestern Turkey. Location The beach is situated at a distance of 20 km from Kaş and 7 from Kalkan, at a point where an extremely narrow valley towered by steep cliffs and ...

). Kalkan is an old fishing town, and the only safe harbour between

Kaş Kaş (; el, Αντίφελλος, translit=Antífellos, translit-std=ISO) is a small fishing, diving, yachting and tourist town, and a district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 168 km west of the city of Antalya. As a tourist resort, it is re ...

and

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (). ...

; it is known for its white-washed houses, descending to the sea, and its brightly coloured

bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...

s. It averages 300 days of sunshine a year. Until the early 1920s, nearly all of its inhabitants were

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

and the town was called Kalamaki. They left in 1923 during the

exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

after the Greco-Turkish War and emigrated mainly to

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

, where they founded the new town of Kalamaki. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen at Kalkan. Kalkan was an important harbour town until the 1970s as the only seaport for the environs. It declined after construction of Fethiye road but revived after the emergence of the tourism industry in the region. Although part of the

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

province administratively, Kalkan is connected more closely to Fethiye economically and for transportation. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' listed Kalkan among the best tourist destinations for 2007. The paper recommended Kalkan especially for those seeking a romantic vacation and who do not want to travel far from their home country in Europe. According to a 2012 survey 96% of visitors to Kalkan during 2011 were from the United Kingdom.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalkan Kaş District Turkish Riviera Towns in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Former Greek towns in Turkey Fishing communities in Turkey Populated places in Antalya Province

See also

Footnotes