History
Although Kalkan does not appear to
have been a place of significant settlement in the distant past, it
was the only safe harbour between Kas and Fethiye and so became an
important port during the 19th century. It was settled 150 to 200
years ago by people of both Greek and Turkish origin and was known
by its Greek name "Kalamaki." Goods were transported by camel
from the Xanthos valley nearby and the mountain highlands near
Elmali. From Kalkan, cargo ships sailed for the far reaches
of the Ottoman Empire laden with cotton, grain, wine and
timber.
By the early 20th century Kalkan
had become quite a sizeable village. At the turn of the
century it had its own custom's house and in 1915 there were
reportedly seventeen restaurants, a goldsmith, a shoemaker and
several tailors. The first local elections were held in 1928 and in
1937 the present elementary school was opened.
Following World War I, the exchange
in population between the new Turkish Republic and Greece took
place in 1923 after the Turkish War of Independence. Most of
the Greek origin people then living in Kalkan left Turkey.
Some went to the nearby Greek island of Meis, but most were
resettled near Athens. They were resettled as a community
(like most Greek immigrants from Turkey) and named their new town
"Kalamaki", after Kalkan's previous name.
Trading continued until it faded
away in the 1950's due to the improvement of the Turkish road
system and the adoption of overland transport. With no more sea
trade, the population of Kalkan trickled away as people moved to
larger coastal cities to find work. Luckily, Kalkan was saved
by the arrival of wealthy English yachtsmen in the 1960's and
tourism eventually became the main economy of Kalkan. Because
of this, Kalkan has retained its historic charm. Strict
building and preservation codes are enforced and many of Kalkan's
buildings are listed
![Historic site around Kalkan.jpg]() |
The Taurus mountains rise to over
ten thousand feet and the highest peaks are snow covered right into
early summer. Its magnificent scenery with its lakes, woods and
forests, its stunning turquoise coast line and superb ruins of two
dozen cities make Lycia a place to explore and enjoy. Lycia's
coastline runs for several hundred kilometers, borders the
Mediterranean and attracts yachtsmen to the crystal clear waters
and near perfect climate.
The UNESCO world heritage site of Xanthos was Lycia's capital city
for much of its history and the principal cities of Tlos, Myra,
Pinara and Patara, all close to Kalkan attract visitors from all
over the world to look at the ancient ruins dating back over 2000
years. The British museum also has an extensive collection of
Lycian artifacts.
With a climate often compared to
that of Southern California you can be guaranteed sun from May to
October and beyond. Endless warm days can be spent at your
private pool, on the town beach, visiting the many beach clubs,
enjoying lazy days at sea, learning to sail, scuba dive, water ski
- the choices are endless. And if the mood takes you there is
plenty more to see outside the confines of Kalkan, the 12 mile long
sandy Patara Beach in the next bay;-one of the top ten in the world
(Sunday Times 2005),'Kaputas'- within 15 minutes of Kalkan and 'Olu
Deniz'- 45 minutes away, add to Lycia 's unique historic and scenic
appeal to visitors.
