Imparator Hotel

Ölüdeniz - The Legend

by Aurorae

Ölüdeniz (or 'dead' or 'calm sea') takes its name from Turkish legend. In Medieval times, many Greek-bound Syrian and Egyptian ships used to pass by Ölüdeniz and take on board fresh water. One day the handsome son of an old sea captain met Belcekiz, a beautiful young girl, at the bay where he stopped to fetch water. The two fell in love at first sight and thereafter, would meet whenever the young man's ship passed by. One day the father and son were caught in a terrible storm at sea. The son, knowing the area well, suggested they take shelter in the calm, protected waters of the inlet at Ölüdeniz, but the old captain objected, believing that his son might be endangering the ship just to meet his beloved. Their disagreement turned into a violent quarrel, and, when the captain thought his ship was about to be dashed on the rocks he shoved his son into the sea with his oar. Finally, he saw the calm waters of the inlet in front of them but it was by then of course too late. Belcekiz, on hearing of her lover's death, threw herself into the sea and also drowned. The place where she died is called Belcekiz, and the inlet that became her lover's watery grave is called Ölüdeniz.
What a sad story about this enchanting place...

ancent monuments: lycia is still living !

by FAIRYCHIMNEY

if your not into history,trekking....etc and all you want is to lay down on the beach a beer in the hand at least go and visit some ancient ruins.i say ruins but , infact many of them very well preserved : closest places you can go by local buses are : letoon, xanthos,patara
you can enjoy the fantastic ancient architect in patara and at the same time you can enjoy the sun in one of the longest beaches in turkey : about 12 km long !

Lycian Rock Tombs

by sandysmith

Above the town, within walking distance, are these fascinating rock tombs, cut into the limestone slope. There are many of these rock tombs along the lycian coast but the most striking ones are here at Fethiye. The main rock tomb here is carved in ionic form, dating back to 450 B.C. A fading inscription details that it was the resting place of Prince Amyntas son of Hermagios but little else is known about the family or indeed the tomb itself.

Ruins of Patara

by sandysmith

Patara had a delightful, unspoilt, undeveloped feel to it when we visited - mind you that was several years ago now. It was the principal port of ancient Lycia and evidence of its architecture can be seen - such as this Roman gateway. Around this area yet more tombs can be seen littering the ground.

Scuba Diving in Fethiye

by Tdiver

"1st day blues"

As usual after meeting up with everyone on Memhets boat , the Seaborn Legend , on Saturday morning it's straight out to sea and a check dive in Turunc bay. After 47 minutes we surfaced to find the boat had moved, as it had been at anchor i wondered why. This became apparant when we got back on the boat by rib and found out the anchor had fallen off the chain. We found it next day at 40m down, the nut had rusted over time and just fallen off.That's me in the middle lifting it clear of a rock.

On our 2nd night dive and our penultimate dive we found this slipper lobster(Scyllarides latus) also in Turunc bay.Usually found when the water is cooler but you could be lucky later in the summer.Also they are generally nocturnal.

A great place to dive together with Af Kule is the Turkish baths, warm open to the sky it also promises rare anemonies and large cave sweepers.Af Kule is a chimney shaped cave open to the sky just at the top and open on 1 side all the way down to 40m.

Broken amphora are i'm afraid all the amphora you are likely to see, they are on many dive sites with a bit of hunting.

A great captain and crew make your weeks stay stress free and diving can be between Marmaris to Kas.

The common hermit crab(Dardanus calidus) is frequently spotted on every dive although maybe not as big as this one in a triton shell.

The common octopus(Octopus vulgaris) can also be seen, usually hiding in holes in the rocks or like this one in Sariyarlar bay in a hole augmented with small rocks and usually discarded shells from previous meals.My favourite marine creature as they are so inquisitive if you take your time and can coax them out but please don't try and drag them out.

The mediterrranean moray(Muraena helena) is a great favourite of mine, rarely seen in the open unless shooed out and not aggressive as it looks although watch those fish size fingers of yours.Many thanks to Yalcin Sonmezler for these great shots he took all week.