DATÇA

One side of it is the Aegean and the other side is the Mediterranean; one side gives peace and other excitement; Datça is a place that’s both difficult to get to and hard to forget .It’s for this reason exactly   that it’s beautiful.

Datça whose old name was stadia, has a history that dates back to circa 2000 BC. The Carians were the first local people of the town. Due to commercial reasons, the Dorians and Romans moved the city of Knidos, which was in the center of today’s Datça, to the tip and peninsula and built a number of temples. The city’s population reached around 70 thousand during the late Roman and Early Byzantine eras. Earthquakes and pirate invasion impacted here as well and the city was abandoned altogether.

In the 13th century, the peninsula was first a part of the Menteş Beylik and finally became known as Datça when it was included in Ottoman Borders in the 15th century. Despite being called ‘Reşadiye’ during the reign of one of the last Ottoman Sultans Reşat, the Republic changed its name back to ‘Datça’.

 

 

 

 

A BEAUTY THAT’S DIFFICULT TO GET TO

DATÇA ALMOND

The Datça almond is the most delicious in Turkey. High in nutritional value and used in many areas including pharmaceuticals, this almond is regarded as the world’s best. Datça locals put almonds in between dried figs, bake them and call them ‘bademli incir’ (fig with almonds).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIRACLE OF NATURE: LAKE ILICA

Datça town center promises sunsets void of noise. The beach where people swim here is taken over by the tables of small and large seafood restaurants at night. A Street that appeals mostly to foreign tourists appears before you a little further ahead. There’s fishing port at the end of the road where tour boats organize daily trips to the bays in the peninsula. The stops are what we would have recommended anyway because they’re all natural wonders; İnce Burun, Dilek Cave, Domuz Çukuru, Hayıt Bükü, Kargı, Hurmalı Bük, Dişlice Islands and Dimitri Bay…

There’s another natural wonder again near the center. It’s called Ilıca Lake. This lake where the sea and land unite, alongside Taşlık Beach and Belediye Park, is regarded as therapeutic for its spring waters. You can swim with sea turtles in the lake’s warm water and then swim in the sea and then wash the salt off in the lake that flows into the Mediterranean.               

FOOD HEAVEN

Datça is a true paradise in terms of food, especially seafood. There are close to 10 small and large seafood restaurants along the water the with tables on the seashore. They serve delicious Aegean herbs and flavors unique to Datça. Meanwhile, you’ll  get the chance to enjoy unique flavors in pleasant atmospheres throughout the day in Old Datça. Homemade lemonade is popular refreshment served in every establishment in Old Datça.

OLD DATÇA

Old Datça stands out for different qualities. The suburb that was made up of ruins only until recently was brought to life 10 years ago. English people, Germans and French people who’ve left their homes for a better life now live here. And there are also Turks who ask themselves ‘what am I doing?’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are art workshops that sell handmade cloths, silk shawls, bridal dowry goods and ‘peştemals’ (Loincloths) unique to the region in Old Datça.

RICH İN EVERY WAY

You can do some branch of sport in Datça. You can do scuba at aqua bay and you can do windsurf and kite-board at blue sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                              MERYEM MERVE DEMİRKAYA

                                                                               PHYSİCAL EDUCATİON AND SPORT TEACHER