About Kalkan

Because of its great charm, Kalkan has a growing number of perennial visitors who say the town is the only holiday destination they would choose to visit repeatedly. There is simply no other town quite like Kalkan along Turkey’s coast.

Being a small peaceful Mediterranean resort and fishing town on the beautiful Turquoise Coast of Turkey, Kalkan has not been touched by mass tourism. More sophisticated than the usual resort town, Kalkan appeals to travelers looking for more than a “sun and sea” holiday. According to the Sunday Times, Kalkan attracts the kind of visitor who would also enjoy Tuscany or the Dordogne. The Guardian likens the town to “the Italian Riviera minus the poseurs.”

Kalkan has retained the texture of its history by protecting its distinctive Ottoman Greek architecture. Very strict building codes keep the town small and architecturally blended with the historic heart of the town known as “Old Kalkan”.

The town overlooks a beautiful bay in which islands seem to magically float upon the shimmering sea. Narrow streets twist down to the harbour, lined with old whitewashed villas with shuttered windows situated alongside small local specialty shops and restaurants in historic buildings..

Kalkan Restaurants

So many types of vegetables and fruit are grown in Turkey, consequently they are fresh and very low priced, unlike many of the European countries where the majority of vegetables and fruit are imported and therefore not really fresh and also expensive to cover the cost of importing..

Many pulses are used as staple food, beans cooked in a fresh tomato sauce with chilli or fresh green beans cooked in a tomato sauce. Oil oil is one of the most frequently used ingredients, and can be purchased from those who pressed the olives, olive trees are abundant in the area surrounding Kalkan.

Cheese is a popular staple. There are many different sort of white cheeses and it is served at breakfast with tomatoes, fresh bread, honey and green or black olives and eggs. Tea (Chay) is the traditional breakfast beverage.

Fish is abundant and there are approximately 100 types in the clear waters of the Mediterranean. Fish is rarely served with a sauce, but may be stuffed with rice and fresh vegetables, but it is mainly fried in olive oil with a wedge of lemon and always served with fresh bread and salad. Take a trip to Fethiye fish market where you can choose your fish, ie.. sardines, swordfish, seabream and numerous others and have it cooked for you at one of the surrounding cafes.

Start your meal with a Turkish meze ‘starters’. There will be cheese, fried courgettes and aubergines, salad, fish, deep fried liver, Boreks ( filo pastry filled with either cheese, meat, spicy sausage, and seasoning such as parsley and garlic and fried in olive oil. There are many different kinds of mezes depending on the area.

For dessert try baklava, layers of filo pastry, walnuts and syrup baked and sprinked with crushed pistachio nuts, or halvah, a sweet made from sesame oil or yoghurt with pine honey, all delicious.

Traditional coffee is drunk after every meal and is ‘cooked’. The coffee is stirred in cold water in a cezve (pot with a handle) and boiled until it produces a foam, you decide how sweet in advance. A wonderful end to a fresh and appetising meal.

Kalkan Beaches

There are stunning beaches and beach clubs in Kalkan and the immediate vicinity, with Patara Beach an obvious example. Several beach clubs complete the swimming options available in Kalkan, which are accessible by water taxi, taxi or on foot, these clubs are much more than simply platforms cut into the cliff side – they provide a peaceful and stunning place in which to relax by the water’s edge listening to the sounds of the sea and, occasionally, gentle background music.