Today’s photo is another Calis Beach sunset, but a slightly different one, with a sky full of clouds creating a beautiful patterned, glowing sky! Cloudy sunsets are the best, they look more intense! Love the reflection on the sea too. I still maintain that Calis Beach is the best place to watch the sun go down!
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Asiklar Tepesi, roughly translated to ‘hill of lovers’ offers beautiful panoramic views of Fethiye. Accessible by a really, really steep hill by car, or via 163 steps (I counted!) from a backstreet below, the view at the top is definitely worth it. There are little seating areas overlapping the edge of the hillside, built into little wooden decks – I’m always a little afraid of falling through! You can see the boatyard to the left, and the main bay, harbour and town in the centre, with Calis in the distance, and various mountain ranges even further in the distance, creating a sort of gradient in the skyline. You can sit here for ages, watching the boats sail in and out – the views are just stunning. We had some wedding photos taken from this spot too. You’ll find piles and piles of opened sunflower seed shells on the floor, since it’s a popular place for locals to come and sit with a packet of them, a beer and their friends or ‘lover’! It’s particularly popular at night too, with the whole of Fethiye lit up.
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Of all the beautiful things about Turkey, the sea has to be one of them! It’s so relaxing sitting on a beach, listening to the waves and looking out to the horizon. Of course it has that lovely Turqouise blue colour too. This photo was taken in Oludeniz in April 2011, a few days after my 18 year old self left the UK behind and moved to Turkey, a pretty crazy move at the time! There are lyrics to a song ‘I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean’ – and this photo reminds me of that.
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Driving or walking along the Fethiye peninsular provides you with plenty of opportunities for panoramic views of the area. Some look out points even have the metal binoculars which you can put a lira in and get a better view of everything. I took this photo while we were parked up somewhere along the peninsular, just past Aksazlar bay. I love how the trees frame the photo, with the masts from the boats in the background and beautiful mountains (with snow on the top – it was February and cold!) I love it when we first approach Fethiye in the transfer or car and you can see these mountains in the distance, always makes me feel like home! ❤
Most of my photos of Calis are taken from the beach, looking out to sea, or down the promenade, so today’s photo is a different view of Calis, taken from a boat sailing past. It was a January day and we were on a morning boat trip for breakfast. Obviously it was a bit cold and the boats don’t usually go out, but a few of the boats had the brilliant idea of offering a 2 hour trip, sailing from Fethiye, past Sovalye Island, along Calis beach and then back again, with a buffet breakfast served in between! The sea at Calis can get quite choppy during the day, especially in the afternoon, but for some reason the mornings are usually really calm – as you can see in the photo!
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Another sunset photo for today – but from a different viewpoint to the others! This was taken in February last year along the Fethiye peninsular. We had driven around and parked up on the cliff edge, climbed down a few rocks and sat waiting for the sun to go down. I have to say, I find the drive up there really traumatising, there are no barriers on the side of the cliff so as a passenger in the car, all I can see is the sheer drop and the sea below from the window, so I constantly tell Berkay to drive slowly which really annoys him! This particular day he was feeling over cautious too, as it was REALLY windy and really cold. We sat for about an hour watching the sun slowy disappear beyond the horizon and the colour of the sky change from blue, to orange, then to dark blue/purple before nightfall. You often see cars or motorbikes pulled up along the road, belonging to people who have climbed down the rocks for fishing or are just sitting relaxing with a bag of sunflower seeds and enjoying the view.
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Right at the far end of Calis Beach, behind Şat restaurant, sits a bit of a hidden gem! I took the photo in 2014, but I assume you can still access the area now, I know there have been a few changes to that end of the beach. We walked around to the furthest point of the beach, where it was impossible to go any further without getting wet! It’s where the canal meets the sea, where the water taxis travel on the route to/from Fethiye/Calis. I believe the area is a kind of nature reserve, with wildlife such as crabs, fish, birds and ducks swimming around, as well as lots of reeds, plants and pretty flowers growing. The views from here are spectacular, offering a slightly different view point of mountains Babadağ and Mendos.
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Although most people know Turkey for its almost-guaranteed sunshine for 6 months of the year, it’s not always hot…in winter it gets cold…VERY cold. Generally the coldest month in Fethiye is February, in my experience. I remember one winter it was around -2 degrees, with icy puddles outside. This photo was taken in January last year, on what was actually a warm day, but the evidence of winter was plain to see on the mountains in the distance – lots and lots of snow. It looks like I was in the sea, but I actually took the photo whilst on a hill off of Karataş beach, looking back towards Koca Caliş – you can see Sunset beach club and Jiva hotel in the centre of the photo. The mountains look so impressive covered in snow, but also vast and intimidating, a very prominent feature of the landscape even though they’re so far in the distance!
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Whilst on a trip to Dalyan, we got on a boat and were taken for a short ride down Lake Köyceğiz, to one of the mud bath & sulphuric hot spring centres along the bank. It was good fun, but a little odd, swimming chest deep in mud and rubbing it all over yourself, then washing it off and getting into a hot bath that stinks like rotten eggs… all part of the experience, but not particularly attractive! The boat journey down the river, though was very pleasing to the eye. We were there fairly early in the morning and was one of the first boats out, so the water was very still with no ripples from other boat engines, allowing the reflection in the lake to be crystal clear. I love the contrast between blue sky and green trees, and the reflection acting like a mirror image. Apparently, the lake was formed 7500 years ago, as a result of several earthquakes. A major fault line runs through the lake, and this is were the sulphuric hot springs come from too! Nature at its finest.
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You just can’t beat a Calis Beach sunset, especially during winter when the sun goes down right on the horizon rather than behind the mountains. The clouds make it even more dramatic, with the sky fading from yellow, to orange, then to red. The sun glowing, lighting up the horizon, with the silhouette of red island on the right. I love this photo especially because of the boat sailing across, can you spot it? Just think how magnificent the sunset would have looked from on board that, surrounded by the ocean!
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