Villa Zehra

Kisla is in the Kalkan area of Turkey, which offers its visitors unspoiled landscapes, beautiful beaches and great food at waterfront and rooftop restaurants!  This lively holiday resort is situated along the Turquoise Coast, known for its beautiful waters and beaches, which means if you’re looking for a beach holiday, you will have plenty to choose from.

In Kisla, you have access to the Kalkan Beach Park which benefits from shallow waters for the younger kids, a water slide for kids of all ages and water sports in peak summertime! It also has a waterfront restaurant where food is available, allowing you to make a fun day trip out of it. Kalkan Town Beach is a pebbly beach that has been awarded the Blue Flag for cleanliness – here you’ve got crystal clear waters and several café’s nearby.

For sandy beaches, Kalkan offers several! Including Kaptus Beach, where you can enjoy deeper swimming water, and the soft sand perfect for the kids to play in and the adults to relax on. Approximately 20 minutes from Kalkan you also have Patara beach, which is a long stretch of sand!

Patara beach is minutes away from Patara ruins, which are some of the most popular ruins to explore whilst you’re visiting Kalkan. Kalkan was part of ancient Lycia, which you have the chance to explore and experience through various ruin sites, like Xanthos and Letoon. If you and your guests enjoy a walk through history, then these beautiful locations will offer you all a wonderful experience.

If you’re hoping for a lively nightlife, you do have several clubs available in Kalkan, including the popular Botanik Garden Bar or The Fountain that both serve cocktails! There are various locations where you can enjoy some excellent cocktails and a great atmosphere in Kalkan. And in addition to the rooftop experience you can get from various restaurants in the area, you’re bound to have an evening experience to remember!

Read more about Kalkan

Kalkan has become boutique resorts, with cobbled streets and converted Greek houses, which belonged to the Greek merchants before the exchange of population in the 1920’s. Once quiet fishing harbours these days you are more likely to see traditional wooden gulets taking tourists to soak up rays on the sparkling turquoise Mediterranean. A boat trip is a must do, from the boat you can snorkel and usually a delicious lunch is prepared on board. Keen walkers should check out the Lycian way for designated walking paths in the area.

You cannot come to this area without spending  some time exploring the many Lycian sights, such as Xanthos, Patara, Myra or the sunken city of Kekova.

Patara is said to be where democracy started (they excavated stone voting block) and is also said to be the birthplace of St Nicholas, who became bishop at nearby Myra. The ruins here include an ancient theatre, city walls, government build and agora. The lighthouse on the site is said to be the earliest of its kind. Visit Patara in the late afternoon and finish the trip with a drink on the sandy beach watching the amazing sunset.

The Salikent Gorge is a great place to visit, especially if you want to cool off in the fresh waters whilst walking up the gorge. For the more energetic there are rafts and rings to ride the flowing waters. Further down you can enjoy a day canoeing toward the beach.

Islamlar sits 8 km above Kalkan. Once the place Kalkan folk went to cool off at one of the trout farms built to make use of the mountain’s springs. Today Islamlar houses many a villa, enjoyed by Istanbul Turks who prefer a holiday in slightly cooler and cleaner air. Here the locals grow grapes and pomegranates, but you’ll mainly see the men sat gossiping next to the local teahouse. The trout farms remain a place to come for a wonderful fresh meal, or a breakfast consisting of fresh local fare. The rocket will be the freshest & most tasty you’ve ever had; and the fresh chips cooked in olive oil take some beating.

By night both Kalkan and Kas come alive. Kas has more of a bohemian feel, people ambling through the cobbled streets, passing the ancient tomb in the street, haggling for textiles, carpets and other goodies, maybe stopping for the traditional Turkish ‘maras’ ice cream, a tulip-shaped glass of tea or a wonderful kebab in the shadow of the mosque. Most of the villas in Kas are just out of town on the Cukurbag Peninsula. A reasonable (5km) taxi or Dolmus (local bus) ride into town. Be sure to try the Piyaz, a white bean salad with tahini sauce.

Travelling along the coast, towards Kalkan you pass the modern marina, the children’s beach park (run by the local hotel school) and halfway to Kalkan the stunning Kaputas Beach, cut in a gorge with all different shades of turquoise in the sea.

Kalkan is a more sophisticated resort, with the villas built onto the mountainside. Evening are spent enjoying the rooftop restaurants, perched on the top of the old ‘konak’ houses. Then wandering to a seaside bar for a cocktail, after shopping for glass lanterns, Iznik pottery, handbags or pestemel towel. Do visit the ‘pastane’, local patisseries which do the most delicious morning pastries and you must try the ‘Gozleme’ pancakes at the Thursday market.

Other things to do in the area include scuba diving as the visibility is excellent, paragliding, horseriding on Patara Beach or kayaking around the sunken ruins at Kekova.