Turkey - Lycia - Between Fethiye And Antalya (103/151)

Turkey - Lycia - Between Fethiye And Antalya (103/151)

Lycia forms a sea-girt bulge bound by mountains on the southernmost tip of the Turkish Aegean coast. A wild mountainous landscape that rises up from the Mediterranean to the airy heights of three thousand metres. It is a starting point for many of the blue-water cruises along the southern coast of Turkey on the gulets, the traditional motorised sailing boats. Since a holiday at the Lycian coast is hardly conceivable without a blue-water cruise, Fethiye boasts many shipyards. It is only due to tourism that this traditional wooden ship building still exists in Turkey. The question as to whether Turkish ship-builders have a patron saint, like Christian seafarers who trust in St. Nicholas - who actually came from the Lycian coast - is greeted with amazement. Islam, of course, doesn't know Nicholas. Yet Christian pilgrims still flock to the Lycian Myra because of this holy man, who lived here as a bishop in the 4th century A.D. and is said to have performed numerous miracles. Only a few kilometres away from Myra are the scattered ruins of the silted-up Patara, another fascinating place steeped in mystery. For example, a mysterious palm grove is said to be the birthplace of the god Apollo, and archaeologists believe that his famous oracle is to be found somewhere here in the vicinity. The deserted hinterland with its dreamy atmosphere could also be a magnet for travellers. Yet, up to now, few of them have ventured into Lycia's wonderful mountain world.