Kalkan - the friendliest place on earth
Kalkan, Turkey - September, 2004
At first glance it might appear that the fishing village of Kalkan on the Turkish Lycian coast has been invaded by the British but nothing could be further from the truth. Instead the locals have opened their doors and hearts to holidaymakers and go out of their way to make you feel part of their family.
The hardest but most exhilarating part is the two minute icy wade through a rushing river to the beginning of the gorge.
With over 200 restaurants they have also opened up all their kitchens too! The choice is staggering with the majority of restaurants on roof terraces overlooking the small harbour and bay. Shocking pink bougainvillea, the cool breeze from the sea and star filled skies make the simplest of restaurants beautifully chic.
The lights coming on in the village is a signal to the residents of the hotels and villas spread up the side of the mountain that its time to eat. Leaving your hotel you join the crowds of people all pouring into town for the evening. As the first restaurants appear you are greeted by smiling waiters who try to entice you in with pictures of their terrace, views and menus. Nobody feels hassled and you pass the same faces every evening with promises of “maybe tomorrow night”.
Despite the number of visitors the town hasn’t lost any of its charm. It’s still very Turkish with no restaurants offering embarrassingly English fare. You are welcomed by the owners with hand shakes and, for those better acquainted, a kiss on each cheek. The same happens as you leave and despite it being your first visit you feel like a regular who has been coming for years.
If your knowledge of Turkish food stops at Kebabs then you are in for a treat. To encourage you to try the local cuisine the menus describe in English how each dish is cooked and the ingredients. Although every restaurant serves Turkish food they all have their own specialities and different ways of cooking; some dishes are cooked in clay pots smashed open at your table by a wooden hammer, or appear on hot plates or sizzling burners. Turkish bread is delicious and different everywhere you go but the most dramatic resembled a Calzone pizza served fresh from a stone oven. The local wine is also surprisingly good and the waiters are happy to make recommendations that will suit all tastes.
We never tired of eating Turkish food or fresh fish but if you do there are a few restaurants that also offer international cuisine, Turkish pizza and even one Chinese restaurant. There are restaurants to suit all budgets and all offer first class service equal to the top restaurants in London or Paris. The high standards may be due to the fact that some are owned by restaurateurs from Istanbul and, if you turn up without a reservation, you might find you have to book for an alternative night.
Kalkan’s two main bars sit side by side and compete with their choice of pop music and how many tables and chairs they can extend down the sloping road. This is as wild as it gets in Kalkan although the Moonlight Bar does have a small air conditioned dance floor, located behind patio doors, for those not content to just tap their feet outside. The bars are also owned and run by local families and stay open until the last person leaves. Drinks are kept on a tab in your waiter’s notebook and, although the final tally may be embarrassing, you can trust them to keep an accurate account of how many you have had. Then when you get tired there is an endless supply of yellow taxis to take you home but even in the early hours of the morning it is perfectly safe to walk.
The term beach club is a bit deceiving as the club is cut into the rocks beside a sheltered bay full of fish.
As the majority of restaurants are on the rooftops it cleverly leaves the ground floor free for shops selling jewellery, crafts and pottery, shoes, clothes and of course Turkish carpets. It also means that for a small town it is surprisingly crammed packed and there is always a colourful new street of shops and restaurant to discover. The narrow, cobbled roads all eventually lead down to the harbour - the only flat piece of land in Kalkan - home to even more restaurants and the town’s small pebbly beach.
If you are the kind of person that gets tired sitting round the hotel pool then there are endless ways to spend the day. The Kalkan region is full of ancient ruins such as Xanthos, the ancient capital of Lycia and the castle and tombs at Tlos. Then there is the sunken city of Kekova or located in the mountains the well preserved Roman city of Arycanda. For the more active there is scuba diving, trail walks, sailing as well as many activities at Saklikent Gorge – the second largest mountain gorge in Europe.
Saklikent is a perfect place to spend the afternoon for all ages and fitness. The hardest but most exhilarating part is the two minute icy wade through a rushing river to the beginning of the gorge. After that the highest the water gets is to your calves but for the majority of the time you are only ankle deep in muddy water. For £3.50 it’s definitely worth hiring the rather attractive plastic black-brogue like shoes just before you cross the river.
As well as the dramatic scenery and smooth rock formations the main attraction is the pale grey mud. It’s hard to resist delving your hands into the water and adding your name in mud to the others that cover the gorge walls creating eco friendly graffiti. It is also fun to watch mud lovers cake themselves from head to foot although we opted to fill an empty water bottle to enjoy a face pack in the privacy of our hotel room. After the invigorating walk back through the river you can kick of your shoes and chill out on the thatched lounging platforms that hang over the icy cold water, settling down into the floor cushions with slices of water melon and a cold Efes beer.
If you just want a change of scenery but still want a lazy day sunbathing then you can take a Gulet cruise along the coast or visit the many beach clubs a short trip away by boat or taxi. Kalamar Beach Club offers a free taxi to and from your hotel or villa and the friendly staff and great lunch all add to a perfect day. The term beach club is a bit deceiving as the club is cut into the rocks beside a sheltered bay full of fish. In the mornings the clear petrol blue water is as calm as a swimming pool making it the perfect time to go swimming, snorkelling or trying your hand at water ski-ing or scuba diving.
If you prefer sand then Kaputas Beach is close by or further a field is the eighteen kilometres stretch of deserted beach at Patara, a national park where turtles come to lay their eggs. Kalkan’s taxi drivers will happily drop you off and collect you at an agreed time accepting payment only when they have returned you safely to your hotel.
The surrounding Lycian scenery itself is breathtaking with its wide valley floor ending on either side in high mountain ranges where you can lunch in shady river trout restaurants. The fertile fields grow aubergines, cotton, sesame, tobacco and olives. Children sell bags of fresh figs by the road side and roof tops are covered with red chilli peppers drying in the sun and the whole valley floor is covered in hundreds of tomato greenhouses.
Whether by design or coincidence Kalkan is the perfect template for a holiday destination. The whole village is like staying in a five star hotel and could easily win awards for its service and hospitality. It’s the sort of place you want to encourage your friends and family to spend their summer holiday as you know they would be safe and receive the same incredible welcome.
You will come home not only with a suntan but also having learned about Turkish food, wine, religion and customs from the friendliest people. You also won’t be able to resist buying an evil eye good luck charm and hopefully will have tried to pronounce a few tongue twisting words of Turkish. Locals and visitors don’t want Kalkan to get any bigger or to change and I can understand why as it is just absolutely perfect the way it is.