Patara beach is stunning and makes an enjoyable visit as well as the nearby ancient side of Patara, with its gorgeous landscape and great swimming. Part of a national park, it is a key biodiversity area, rich in birdlife and the breeding ground of the endangered loggerhead turtle (caretta caretta). Luckily the beach has been declared off-limits for development because of the turtles, they are nearing extinction and protection of their nesting sites on the Turkish coast is very important. The beach is closed after sunset from May to October to give the turtles peace in which to lay their eggs as it is the second most important turtle nesting beach in Turkey.
The beach is an 12 kilometer-long strip of sand bordered on its ends by mountains and along its length by sand dunes and the large marshy area which once was the harbour of Patara. Voted as one of the top beaches in the world by Times Online, Best of 2005 and known as the "widest beach of the northern Mediterranean. Only about a 15 minute stroll from some of the major ruins, even in the height of summer it is never crowded. The absence of development and no water sports means that it is always peaceful. There is only one café near the end of the path to the beach, it also rents out sunbeds and umbrellas.
The nearest resort area (besides the village of Patara) is Kalkan and during the tourist season dolmuşes (shared mini-buses, tickets are cheap) make daily, frequent trips to Patara, stopping near the beach. I'm not sure if dolmuşes run to Patara from Kaş, but they do run from Kaş to Kalkan and you could connect there.
Patara beach is stunning and makes an enjoyable visit as well as the nearby ancient side of Patara, with its gorgeous landscape and great swimming. Part of a national park, it is a key biodiversity area, rich in birdlife and the breeding ground of the endangered loggerhead turtle (caretta caretta). Luckily the beach has been declared off-limits for development because of the turtles, they are nearing extinction and protection of their nesting sites on the Turkish coast is very important. The beach is closed after sunset from May to October to give the turtles peace in which to lay their eggs as it is the second most important turtle nesting beach in Turkey.
The beach is an 12 kilometer-long strip of sand bordered on its ends by mountains and along its length by sand dunes and the large marshy area which once was the harbour of Patara. Voted as one of the top beaches in the world by Times Online, Best of 2005 and known as the "widest beach of the northern Mediterranean. Only about a 15 minute stroll from some of the major ruins, even in the height of summer it is never crowded. The absence of development and no water sports means that it is always peaceful. There is only one café near the end of the path to the beach, it also rents out sunbeds and umbrellas.
The nearest resort area (besides the village of Patara) is Kalkan and during the tourist season dolmuşes (shared mini-buses, tickets are cheap) make daily, frequent trips to Patara, stopping near the beach. I'm not sure if dolmuşes run to Patara from Kaş, but they do run from Kaş to Kalkan and you could connect there.
Patara beach is stunning and makes an enjoyable visit as well as the nearby ancient side of Patara, with its gorgeous landscape and great swimming. Part of a national park, it is a key biodiversity area, rich in birdlife and the breeding ground of the endangered loggerhead turtle (caretta caretta). Luckily the beach has been declared off-limits for development because of the turtles, they are nearing extinction and protection of their nesting sites on the Turkish coast is very important. The beach is closed after sunset from May to October to give the turtles peace in which to lay their eggs as it is the second most important turtle nesting beach in Turkey.
The beach is an 12 kilometer-long strip of sand bordered on its ends by mountains and along its length by sand dunes and the large marshy area which once was the harbour of Patara. Voted as one of the top beaches in the world by Times Online, Best of 2005 and known as the "widest beach of the northern Mediterranean. Only about a 15 minute stroll from some of the major ruins, even in the height of summer it is never crowded. The absence of development and no water sports means that it is always peaceful. There is only one café near the end of the path to the beach, it also rents out sunbeds and umbrellas.
The nearest resort area (besides the village of Patara) is Kalkan and during the tourist season dolmuşes (shared mini-buses, tickets are cheap) make daily, frequent trips to Patara, stopping near the beach. I'm not sure if dolmuşes run to Patara from Kaş, but they do run from Kaş to Kalkan and you could connect there.
Nevşehir, formerly Muşkara, ancient Nyssa, is a city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey
According to 2000 census, population of the district is 105,078 of which 67,864 live in the city of Nevşehir The district covers an area of 535 km² (207 sq mi), and the town lies at an average elevation of 1,224 m (4,016 ft)History Historically, Nevşehir was a small village, called Nyssa, founded on the slopes of Mount Kahveci, in the valley of Kızılırmak (the ancient Halys) by the Hittites It later came under the rule of the Assyrians, who were taken over by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in 546 BC In 333 BC Alexander the Great defeated the Persians After the collapse of his empire, the Cappadocian Kingdom was formed with Mazaka (present-day Kayseri) as capital Nyssa became part of the Roman empire, when the Romans invaded the region in the first century BC Centuries later it was ruled by the Byzantines The Christian theologian and saint Gregory of Nyssa was bishop of Nyssa in the late 4th century AD Many of the churches, hewn in the rocks, date from these early years of Christianity The underground shelters were originally built to escape persecution by the Romans When Christianity became state religion under Constantine the Great these shelters served their purpose during raids of the Arabs or the Sassanids At the Battle of Manzikert (present-day Malazgirt) in 1071, the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV was defeated by the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan Nyssa became part of the Seljuk empire When this empire collapsed in 1308, Nyssa came under the control of the Ilhanid Mongols When the Ottoman sultan Selim I destroyed the Dulkadir Principality, Nyssa became part of the the Ottoman empire and was renamed "Muşkara" It remained a relatively insignificant settlement until the early 18th century The present-day city owes its foundation to the grand vizier and son-in-law of the Sultan Ahmed III, Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha who was born in Muşkara and therefore took a great interest in its construction as a city The small village with only 18 houses, formerly under the administration of the kaza of Ürgüp, was rapidly transformed with the building of mosques (the Kurṣunlu Mosque), fountains, schools, soup kitchens, inns and bath houses, and its name was changed from Muşkara to "Nevşehir" (meaning New City in Persian and Ottoman Turkish)
Nevşehir today The city is located at a distance of 290 km (180 mi) from the capital Ankara, and is within the historical region of Cappadocia The traditional main sources of income of the city, carpet weaving and viticulture have been overtaken by tourism, because of its proximity to the underground shelters, the fairy chimneys, monasteries, caravanserais and the famous rock-hewn churches of Göreme
