Indulge

Indulge

Kalkan is a gastronomic treat, we would not hazard a guess at how many restaurants there are to choose from (said to be over 90 !!). Where there is a roof terrace, there is a restaurant !

The dining options in Kalkan are wonderful with a wide range and style of cuisine available, to suit every palate.

Here are some of our favourites (in no particular order !):

Price indication:

£ :10-20YTL per head, ££ : 20-40YTL per head, £££ : 40+YTL per head

	Kaya Restaurant & Cafe Bar (££) Near the apartments, walking away from the town centre at the next roundabout. Wide selection of excellent dishes. A popular "early doors" meeting place for Brits living in Kalkan! Tel: 00 90 242 844 37 18
	Trio Restaurant & Bar (£££) Overlooking the harbour, lovely atmosphere, great food. Tel: 00 90 242 844 33 80
	Meydan Adana Sofrasi (£) On row of shops in front of Truffle Residences. Pides (Turkish pizzas) and kebabs, eat in or takeaway.
	Aubergine Restaurant (£££) Overlooking the harbour, one of the longstanding restaurants in Kalkan, great food. Tel: 00 90 242 844 33 32
	Korsan Fish Terrace (££) Has lovely views of the bay. Wide selection of fish and seafood
	Corner (££) Opposite Kaya on the higher roundabout. Has a oven for pizzas and pides (Turkish pizzas). Free delivery service for takeaways. Shows Sky TV Sports.
	Kosem Pilicevi (£) On row of shops in front of Truffle Residences. Small cafe doing spit-roast chickens. Also takeaways.
	Parc Kalkan Restaurant (next to Kartin S/market) (££) Great outside bar, gardens, childrens play area and restaurant on the left above the roundabout at the end of the Kalamar raod.
	Moonlight Bar At the top of the old town, a good place to have a pit stop. Sky Sports for the boys!!
	The Olive Garden Restaurant (above Merkez Bar) (£££) In the Old town. Great roof terraces with a menu that's a little different ! Excellent food. Tel: 00 90 242 844 34 08
	Alibaba Restaurant (£) On the main road towards the Old Town, below the lower roundabout. A Lokanta, traditional turkish fayre.
	Gironda (£££) On the main street in the Old Town. Attractive courtyard bar and rooftop terrace. Selection of excellent Turkish and pan Asian dishes. Tel: 00 90 242 844 29 71 or 00 90 242 844 12 98
	Rami's Terrace Restaurant Bar (££) A great location in the middle of the Old Town with a roof terrace restaurant. Good food and service. Tel: 00 90 242 844 23 83 or m: 0536 793 99 02
	Oz Adana (£) On road to the side of Kaya off the higher roundabout. Kebabs, pizzas, pides (Turkish pizzas) and other oven baked dishes. Eat in or takeaways.
	Marina Restaurant & Bar (££) Overlooking the harbour. Fabulous calamari and other fish dishes. Tel: 00 90 242 247 54 90
	The Nar Terrace Restaurant & Bar (££) New in 2009 on the main street in the Old town. Great terrace restaurant. Tel: 00 90 537 730 16 00 or 00 90 533 338 50 52
	Chops Kuzu Tandir (££) On the road up to Islamlar They specialise in roasted lamb, cooked in the traditional Turkish oak fuelled, tandir oven. Tel: 00 90 532 772 76 12
	Dunya Fabulous Italian ice cream + sundaes. Great for kids of all ages !! Relocating in 2011 to below Pisces Fish Restaurant, on the road down to the Old Town.
	Alternatif Restaurant (£££) Run by the Akdeniz brothers sinc 1999, good Turkish food and excellent steaks website: www.alternatiftourism.com, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Tel: 00 90 242 844 36 31
Ada's Pattiserie	Great pattiserie and bakery, lovely spot for breakfast. 100m up the Kalamar Road on the right. (£)
Adam's Restaurant	On the Kas road, about 1 km from Kalkan. (££)
Ali Baba's Restaurant	Roof top terrace restaurant & bar, opposite Parc Kalkan. (££)
Atlantis Restaurant	Roof terrace restaurant, above Ada's Pattiserie. (££)
Ayse's Kitchen	Turkish Lokanta at the Bus Station. Excellent local Turkish fayre. (£)
Chillies	On the corner, first left on the Kalamar Road. Mezes, pides, pizzas and casseroles. (££)
Ibo Kebab House	On the road going up to the bus station. Traditional Turkish dishes. (££)
Kalamaki Restaurant	In the Old Town, excellent dishes and a bit different ! (£££)
Kaptan Wine & Tapas	On the Kalamar Road, wide selection of wines, wraps, tapas, stone over pides and pizzas. (£££)
Mahmut's Restaurant	One of the fish farms in Islamlar.Will pick up and drop off. Ring 00 90 242 838 63 44. (££)
Merkez	Below the Olive Garden Restaurant. More informal and great people wating place. Great pizzas ! (££)
Mussakka	Relocated to the harbour in 2011. One of the best rated restaurants in 2010. Great steaks ! (£££)
Mussakka Brasserie	With a different menu in the small roof terrace where Mussakka was in 2010. (£££)

We look forward to receiving some of your reviews, on which restaurants turn out to be your favourite.

Another enjoyable dining option, either during the day or evening, is visiting one of the trout farms nestled in the mountains near Kalkan. There are several of these restaurants in Islamlar village, approximately 8 kilometres from Kalkan. Dine in the open air, whilst enjoying breathtaking scenery. They do offer other dishes on their menus, it is not exclusively trout.

Refresh

Refresh

Turkey is known for its Turkish Bath, also known as hammams. For those of you that have not had the experience:

You will be taken to a dressing room and given a cotton wrap, known as a pestemal, and a pair of slippers. Change into your swimwear and wrap the pestemal around you sarong style like a skirt.

You are then taken into the sicaklik (the hot room or sauna) which has a raised heated marble platform (goebektas) in the center. You can lie (or sit) on the platform, where you are left to relax and work up a sweat.

After a reasonable period of time the attendant will return and scrub you, from head to toe with a coarse mitt. This exfoliates you refreshing your skin! This is followed by a soap massage, using a large cloth bag which resembles an icing bag. The cloth bag is blown into to create bubbles. You end up covered in white frothy lemon scented bubbles and are gently rinsed in warm water to finish the experience.

Once completed you are wrapped in towels and taken to an outer room to cool down, drink mint tea and relax for as long as you like.

The experience will leave you relaxed, exhilarated and thoroughly refreshed. A blissful way to spend an hour.

Turkish Baths can be found approximately a 15 minute walk away on the Kalamar road at La Sera Wellness, run by Edi. Bookings can be made by phoning (00 90) 242 844 1476. They do a full range of massages and treatments. Further details can be found on their website  www.kalkan-hamam-lasera.com  or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . La Sera Wellness is undergoing an extensive refurbishment during the 2009/10 winter.

Turkish Baths, massages and treatments can also be found at:

• Lykia Residence & Spa Hotel (see  www.likyakalkan.com/spacenter ) by phoning (00 90) 844 105
• Asfiya Hotel (see www.asfiyahotel.com )
• Kalkan Regency Hotel (see www.kalkanregency.com.tr )
• Pirat Hotel

Truffle Residence guests get a special discount at La Sera Wellness, the Lykia Residence & Spa and at the Asfiya Hotel. See Exclusive Truffle.

For the men in your party there are a number of barbers in Kalkan, where they can experience being shaved with a cut-throat razor at lightning speed and have the hairs burnt off their ears with spirit. Must be experienced at least once !!

See Exclusive Truffle for more information.

Relax

Relax

Beach Clubs:

There are currently seven beach clubs in Kalkan, which are an enjoyable alternative to lounging at the pool-side of the apartments.

Beach clubs are paved platform terraces and gardens cut into the bottom of the mountainside, with ladders going into the blue sea waters of the bay. They offer wonderful swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing with sunbeds and umbrellas for hire. Many of them also offer restaurant, bar and toilet facilities.

The beach clubs are accessible by foot, taxis or water-taxis from the harbour. Most charge for use of the sun beds and umbrellas.

We like relaxing by the sea at the Yali Beach Club, approximately a 15 minute walk away from Truffle Residences. You can relax and enjoy the amazing views of the bay in a peaceful setting. The biggest decision of the day is to choose between reclining on a lounger or in the shaded Ottoman seating area. There are restaurant and toilet facilities at the Yali Hotel & Beach Club.

Beach clubs can also be found at:

• Villa Mahal Beach Club - water taxi from harbour
• Kalamar Bay Beach Club - shuttle service from top of Old Town, water sports and scuba diving
• Kalkan Beach Club - water slide
• Ibo Beach Club
• Palm Beach Club - water taxi from harbour
• Patara Prince Beach Club - water taxi from harbour

Beaches:

The waters around Kalkan have a blue flag award for cleanliness.

Kalkan's pebble beach is a 10 minute walk from the apartments where sunbeds and parasols are available to hire.

Otherwise you can hop on a dolmus (a Turkish minibus) going towards Kas to Kaputas Beach which is a 10 minute drive away. This stunning beach is situated at the foot of a ravine (lots of steps!) but offers a lovely sandy cove.

Further afield is Patara Beach, approximately a 20 minute drive away. This famous beach is regularly featured as one of the Mediterranean's best and most beautiful beaches! 18 kilometres of sand! Patara beach was voted one of the top beaches in the world by Times Online  Best of 2005. It is also home to loggerhead turtles.

Escape

Escape

No holiday to Kalkan would be complete without a gulet cruise, a uniquely Turkish experience which cannot be repeated elsewhere. Gulets are wooden Mediterranean-type Turkish yachts. The south coast of Turkey offers the right winds, right depths and an abundance of safe and sheltered anchorages for these traditional wooden boats. It is a day of pure serendipity !

Day trips can be booked through tour agencies or at the harbour and include swim stops and lunch. Don't forget your snorkelling gear ! Please see Exclusive Truffle

See

See

KALKAN MARKET DAY:

Market day in Kalkan is every Thursday from around 8.00am until late afternoon. It can be found on the right hand side, near the mosque, by going up the hill on the main road from the centre of Kalkan. It is a 5-10 minute walk from Truffle Residences.

Fresh fruit and veg, herbs and spices, jeans, polo and T shirts, clothing, shoes, 'genuine fake' watches, turkish delight, lamp, leather goods and many other things can be found at the market. Don't forget to haggle to get the best price !

KAS:

The lovely town of Kas is a 30 minute drive east along the coastal road. It has a larger harbour than Kalkan. Kas has many bars, restaurants and shops and well worth a visit.  Market day is on Friday.

You can get the bus, from the bus station in Kalkan, to Kas and takes approximately 45 minutes.  The buses leave Kalkan at 07.25, 08.25, 09.20, 10.20, 11.20, 12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.20, 17.20, 18.20 and 19.50.

FETHIYE:

The main regional town is Fethiye, a 60 minute drive west from Kalkan. There is a frequent bus service from Kalkan.

Fethiye has a much larger harbour and many shops, bars and restaurants. In addition it has a fish market where you can go and buy fresh fish and sea food and take it to one of the many ajoining restaurants and have it cooked there and then for lunch or dinner.

MEIS:

The Greek island of Meis (Castellorizo) is a 30 minute boat ride from the harbour at Kas and is a pleasant day trip.

The island has an interesting history. There is a charming harbour with a warren of alleys and houses behind the waterfront shops and restaurants. There are a number of churches, dedicated to a variety of St Georges.

The boats run daily from Kas at a cost of 20 Euros (40 YTL) per person. Being a Greek Island the only currency accepted on Meis is the Euro, which can be obtained from the cash machines at banks in Kalkan. I would not risk the cash machine on Meis as it is tempremental and kept my card, which then involved a certain amount of hassle to get it back. You can also purchase bacon and pork chops from one of the small shops on the harbour and there is a small duty free shop.

Remember your passport.

ANCIENT HISTORICAL SITES:

History abounds at a number of ancient sites dating back to Lycian, Byzantine and Roman times. Mentioned in Homer's Iliad for the bravery of its fierce warriors, Lycia was a federation of cities established around 1400 BCE. There were around 40 cities in the federation which originally had its certre at Xanthos, and later, under the Romans, at Patara. Lycia became part of the Persian in 540 BCE until the arrival of Alexander the Gtreat in 334 BCE. In 190 BCE Lycia came under the Roman influence.

A local cultural anthropologist, Dr Trica Emptage, has written an excellent book called 'The Road to Ruins : Lycian Turkey - Fethiye to Kas'. Visitors to Kalkan can call in at the Parc Kalkan Bar and Restaurant and buy the book for 25 TL. An excellent read describing the history of the area with amusing anecdotal stories.

The ruined city of Tlos, a fortress-topped acropolis dramatically set high up on a rocky outcrop. Predating 600 BCE, Tlos was one of the largest cities in the Lycian League and boasted some of Lycia's best artists and sculptors. It is in the process of excavation by a Franco-Turkish team of archaeologists. In 2006 an intact tomb was discovered there, complete with all of its treasures.

Patara, the birthplace of St Nicholas, is a mystical site half covered with the sands of Patara Beach. It is a huge site and much of it has not yet been excavated. There is a fine amphitheatre and the remains of a huge granary built by the emperor Hadrian.

Pinara ruins, an important city in ancient Lycia with a splendid and isolated setting, is located high in the mountains. Best known for its plethera of tombs carved into the mountain side. There are ruins of a number of temples, a small amphitheatre and other buildings.

Xanthos, the ancient capital of Lycia with a Roman theatre and pillar tomb with Lycian inscriptions. Xanthos was destroyed by the Persians in 540 BCE and again by Brutus about 500 years later.

Letoon , the religious centre of Lycia, has a shrine to Leto, consisting of three temples.

Experience

Experience

For those of you who require more than lying on a lounger in the sun, there are a numerous activities to be enjoyed, which can be booked through Bougainville Travel in Kas or from a number of tour operators in Kalkan:

	SCUBA DIVING is available in Kalkan harbour from Dolphin Scuba Team. They have been based in Kalkan since 1993 and are PADI qualified. See their website www.dolphinscubateam.comor contact them by email on: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The Kalkan Dive Centre can also be found at the Kalamar Bay Beach Club where a whole range of diving and water sports (jet ski, banana tube, ringos and water skiing) can be enjoyed. See their website www.kalkandiving.com
	SEA KAYAKING in Kekova where along the shoreline are Byzantine ruins partly submerged by the sea, called the Sunken City.
	PARAGLIDING is available near Kas and can be booked through a number of the tour operators in Kalkan, this includes your transfer to and from Kas.
	WATER TUBING AND RAFTING is available outside Saklikent Gorge (Hidden City) which is the second-largest (20 km-long) gorge in Europe, the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey. It is a spectacular place, with sculpted walls soaring high above. Four km. of the gorge is walkable after April when most of the snow from the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through the gorge on its way to the Xanthos River. Summer is the best time to visit as the canyon is deliciously cool and shady with cold water. Several tour operators in Kalkan offer tours to Saklikent Gorge, often in conjunction with a visit to Tlos.

Outside of and tucked within the gorge locals have set up small restaurants with seating areas on wooden platforms suspended just above the rushing waters. These are a great place to kick back upon Turkish rugs and cushions with a beer under shady trees. Among other things on the menu, they offer delicious fresh trout and g'zleme (Turkish pancakes filled with meat or cheese).

The gorge is open from the April 1 to September 30. Be sure to wear shoes that you don't mind getting wet or sports sandals as the rubber shoes available for rent at the river bar are not very comfortable. You may also want to bring a change of clothes with you in case you get wet.

For more information, see www.saklikentgorge.net