Kalkan

streets of Kalkan

Kalkan is a lovely small hilltop town that overlooks a tiny bay. Its quaint, traditional, white-washed houses, shuttered windows and balconies garlanded with brilliant flowers that cascade to the streets below, make it the ultimate in a peaceful holiday town in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Narrow winding streets lined with souvenir shops lead down to the charming harbor.

Kalkan is located at 230 kilometers (143 miles) west of Antalya or 25 kilometers (16 miles) to Kas. Nearest airport is at Dalaman to the west, 120 kilometers (75 miles) which takes about 2 hours by car. You can enjoy a daily excursion in a Gullet (wooden hulled local boats) to the islands, a moonlight dinner cruise, or go by minivan to the nearby villages such as Patara, Kas, and Bezirgan. Patara beach is a 12 kilometers long, unspoiled white sand beach located at a distance of 15 kilometers from Kalkan. There is another beautiful small sandy beach, Kaputas beach, at 5 kilometers east of Kalkan. Unfortunately, there are no sandy beaches in Kalkan town.

Every morning boats busily take tourists to one of the nearby beaches or small bays. As the sun sets it is Kalkan style to meet on the roof terraces for a drink before dinner and enjoy the comings and goings of the yachts, the business of the marina and the panoramic view of the Mediterranean.

Kalkan doesn't have any ancient sites, it was founded about 150-200 years ago by local Greek and Turkish people who named it "Kalamaki" village. The oldest building in the town is the mosque above the harbor, which originally was a Greek Orthodox church until 1920's.

Lately, many expat foreigners have bought (and continue to buy) property in and around Kalkan for holidays or for their retirement. This lovely town became a popular residence especially for the British nationals.