From Marmaris to Bozburun

From Marmaris to Bozburun

Bozburun is located towards the edge of the eastern shoreline. One of the two strips of the Marmaris Peninsula. Bozburun can be reached through Bayırköy, Çiftlik, Orhaniye and Selimiye by land .A little further on Söğüt appears. Except for Bayır, all of these settlements can be reached by sea. A minimum of 3 days is needed for a sea trip.

Bayır

Bayır is one of the favorite stopping points of jeep-safari tours. Do not forget to have tea or a cool frothy yoghurt drink (ayran) under the shade of the large, historical plane tree in the village square. The rumor is that walking once around the old plane tree prolongs life. Habitants of Bayır have written this on the identity disc of the plane tree. It is claimed that Bayır village is founded on the ancient City of Syrna and there was a temple dedicated to Asklepios, God of Health, in place of the mosque today. The stony road which is used today leads to the Acropolis.

Çiftlik

The large sandy beach of the Çiftlik Bay attracts attention. There are very few beaches like Çiftlik beach in Marmaris and the other surrounding bays. The sea is always very clear. There are a few hotels and harbour restaurants in the bay. There is also a small island which is private property. The Gebekse Bay nearby is among the preferred places for blue cruise boats to spend the night. Gebekse Bay has a small beach and a harbour restaurant. It is very enjoyable to go snorkeling and watch the thousands of colours under water.

Turgut

Turgut, 9k from Bayır, has just started to develop with tourism. The biggest carpet shops around Marmaris are in Turgut. Carpet shops and gift shops provide liveliness when tourists come to shop. There are many restaurants which offer fresh and tasty food.

Remains of the ancient ages attract the attention in the bay. Remains can be seen on a garden wall at the seashore and further inside on the Temenos wall which is thought to surround the holy Ygeia area. These remains are believed to belong to the city Hygassos.

Orhaniye and Kızkumu

One of the important tourism centers in the Hisarönü Gulf is Orhaniye. Boats visiting the Hisarönü Gulf often spend the night in Orhaniye. The sea is always very still here. The shade of the pine forest falls on the sea painting the sea a very special color. People apparently walking in the middle of the sea attract attention. As a result of the sand movements, a high strip of sand is formed beginning from the land, which divides the bay in two. The strip around 600m long is called Kızkumu. There is a story about it. “A girl who wanted to meet her lover filled her skirt with sand. She walked in the sea filling the sea with the sand from her skirt. She drowned there because of insufficient sand in her skirt”.

There is an island in the middle of the bay with some castle remains. This castle is said to belong to the ancient city of Bybassos.

Selimiye

Selimiye is another stopping point for boats traveling between Marmaris and Bodrum. The village is very green with little restaurants gathered around the bay servicing mostly boats. They have a variety of fish as it is abundant here. Pure olive oil and laurel leaves give a unique taste to steamed fish. Stuffed courgette flowers are a specialty of the Aegean kitchen.

The old name of Selimiye is Hydas. There are remains of three castles around Selimiye. Hellenistic city wall remains are frequently visited and they are located on a hill southeast of the bay. There are boat tours to Kamelya and Dişlice Islands.

Daily boat tours to nearby bays and islands are available from Selimiye. The first stop is Kamelya Island. There is a monastery on the island which is an easy climb. A mosaic, formed from black, white and gray sea stones decorates the base of the monastery.

Another stopping point is Dişlice Island. There are volcanic rocks which create a monumental lookout of the island. The rocks are so indented that the island is very convenient for lovers who want some privacy. This has given the island the name “ Love Island” among locals.

Bozburun

Bozburun is one of the most secluded places of the region from the view of tourism. This place is recommended for people who are after a peaceful, relaxing vacation. There are not any large tourist facilities, all the facilities are small but good. Bozburun is in one of the bays of the Sömbeki Gulf. The environment can be considered as quite naked compared to other regions of Marmaris. There are small motels, pensions and good fish restaurants in the village. People grow their own vegetables in the gardens of their houses and collect eggs from their own poultry houses. Local people go fishing daily for fish and sea products. Everything within the village is in walking distance. Villagers use bikes to get around. Bozburun is famous for constructing schooners. There are many small shipyards and slipways on the shore forming an interesting view. Saranda district in Söğüt Village, which is only 5km away from Bozbururn, is the best place to watch the Sömbeki Inlet and Simi Island at sunset. The ancient cities of Taşlıca and Phoinix are also worth seeing.