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Fethiye, which is a district of Muğla Province in Aegean coast of Turkey, has been the centre of the oldest Anatolian civilizations since ancient times. The district has been known as “Telmessos” by Lycians, who were the first inhabitants of the region. After Lycians, the region had been inhabited by Persians (6th century BC), it had been conquered by The Great Alexandre (4th centruy BC), The Egyptian King Ptalomus and had been inhabited by The Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire/Byzantium respectively. In 1282, Fethiye (which was named as “Makri” at that time) was conquered by “Menteshe” which was one of the “Anatolian beyliks”, established by the Oghuz Turks after the decline of The Seljuk Empire. In 1424 the city had become a part of the Ottoman Empire and had the name “Fethiye” after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the successor of the Ottoman Empire.
Fethiye, Ölüdeniz
Fethiye is one of the best holiday destinations in Turkey with it’s beautiful beaches, historical sites, national parks and extreme sports, especially paragliding activities. Ölüdeniz, a town 15 km south of Fethiye, is located down in Babadağ mountain from where paragliders take to the skies. When you go down the mountains on the road to Ölüdeniz, you first see Belcekız bay with its light turquoise water, surrounded by green mountains, located in a narrow valley backed by forested cliffs. There is also Blue Lagoon at one side of the Belcekız beach, which is sheltered and protected in a national park (Ölüdeniz Tabiat Parkı). Ölüdeniz, which means “dead sea” in English, lies with no movement and clean waters. As it is a lagoon, it is surrounded by small mountains, in the form of a cove and it does not take any wind, which makes the sea very calm inside the lagoon. On the other hand, Belcekız side of the sea can sometimes be quite wavy. You can see caretta carettas in the region very often, it is very common to swim with sea turtles in this calm lagoon 😊.
Blue Lagoon (Ölüdeniz, Turkey)
According to a legend about Ölüdeniz, ships in ancient times used to anchor in the open sea and the crews would come ashore in small boats to get drinking water in here. One of the handsome sons of an old captain fell in love with a beautiful girl called Belcekız whom he saw on the waterfront. Belcekız too ended up with her heart beating faster and she fell in love with him. However, the boy had to get the drinking water and return to his father’s ship. Though the ship sailed away, Belcekız watched for her lover to return. Each time the boy came to get water they saw each other and made love. One day, as the boy and father were sailing nearby, a storm blew up. The son told his father that he knew of a cove where they could shelter that was as still as a pool. The old and cunning father thought the son’s suggestion came from his desire to see his lover and that he was acting selfishly and did not care whether the ship sank or not. The dispute between the two kept on going as the waves grew higher. As the ship was rocked by the strong wind and was about to crash onto the rocks, the father hit his son with an oar and he fell into the sea. After the father headed back to the helm and continued his voyage, he found himself in an extremely still cove. He understood that his son was right but it was too late. The son died, his body being found on the rocks. Belcekız, seeing that her lover was dead, committed suicide by jumping onto the rocks. From that day on the place she jumped from was named as Belcekız, and the place the boy died was named as Ölüdeniz. Maybe the colours of the water that keep changing are fires of mourning, one for the boy and one for the girl.
Fethiye Museum
Ölüdeniz is one of the most beautiful parts of Fethiye but it is not the only sight to see. There are many historical and natural sights including the Butterfly Valley, Telmessos Antique Theater, Ghost Village of Kayakoy, Tomb of Amyntas, Xanthos valley, ancient settlement of Cadianda (Kadyanda), Çalış beach, Fethiye Museum, Port of Fethiye, Tlos Ruins, Saklikent Gorge... I would recommend you to have boat trips or day cruises to some of the sites such as Butterfly Valley and St Nicholas (Gemiler) Island.
For food, i would definately recommend you to go to Fethiye Fish Market 😊. If you have any questions about my post or if you just would like to have advice from a local please feel free to contact me by e-mail or by filling out the contact form in the website.
Lots of love from Turkey.
Dilek
Bibliograpy
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