Fethiye balances the attractions of a bustling resort town with the functionality of a working regional centre. Arrival at the bus station may give you the impression that you've come to the wrong place with no evidence of the sea, hotels, restaurants or any trappings of the tourist industry but a 5 minute taxi or dolmus ride into town will begin to reveal the place to you in it's true colours. Fethiye's strength is in it's role as a base for exploring the surrounding coastline and countryside. You'll find a good range of shops, eating places and accommodation and excellent transport services to surrounding attractions. The harbour area makes a pleasant place to spend the evening and the pedestrianised old town is appealing and a reasonable place to shop for souvenirs.
If you're there early enough in the day you might want to consider the 12 islands boat trip, a nice way to see the bay and an opportunity to seek out the quieter beaches and coves only accessible from the sea. As usual with boat trips, the smaller the group the better your day and the more flexible your itinerary.
If you're going to be based in Fethiye and are looking for sun, sand and sea there are several good beaches in the immediate vicinity in addition to Oludeniz although you can expect a lot of company in high season.
Fethiye's nightlife is working hard at catching up with Marmaris and Bodrum but it has a little way to go yet. You may or may not find this a blessing. You shouldn't have a problem eating or drinking until late but clubbing opportunities are limited.Almost all of what you see today is post 1957, the year in which an earthquake flattened much of the town. The opportunity for rebuilding presented by this natural disaster has resulted in the town's broad promenade and relatively uncluttered appearance but you wont find much of age in the 'old town'. The double 'ss' in the town's ancient name is a sign of probable pre-greek origin but the early history of Telmessus is pretty much unknown. Although located in ancient Lycia Telmessus was not originally part of the Lycian federation and had to be 'persuaded' to join in the 4th century BC. It was an important city for the next 1000 years or so, passing through the hands of Alexander, the kingdom of Pergamon and the Roman Empire until Arab raiders had pillaged sufficiently to make it a minor city within the Byzantine Empire.
Very few structures of any interest remain within the town. The rock tombs have survived (as they tend to) but the theatre which was evident up to the mid 19th century has been recycled and you'll find more of it in Istanbul than you will here.
For the last millenium the town was known as Makri, only changing it's name at the time of the exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece, a visit to nearby Kaya Koyu may give you an idea as to the nature of the town before the '57 earthquake.
Features:
Acropolis - A steep road up from the yacht marina will dwindle into a path and then a rough track leading to the summit, here you'll find a medieval castle (not that much left of it) and a pair of small rock tombs on the Eastern face.
Amyntas' Tomb - Most interesting of the group of tombs on the Eastern side of the town. The unknown Amyntas was laid to rest in the 4th Century BC and his fame rests on the accessibility and visibility of his monument as well as it's quality.
Museum - The Trilingual, an inscription from the Letoon heads a collection pottery, statuary and architectural fragments.
Holidays in Fethiye - Attraction Information
Kaya Koyu - Fethiye Holidays
Less than 30 minutes drive from Fethiye is a deserted village of Kaya Koyu, which means Rock Village.
It’s been empty since the Greeks *left* after a little bit of Greek/Turkish conflict in the 1920’s. It’s the nearest you’ll get to a real ‘ghost town’ this side of a wild west movie.
