KEKOVA

Located on the Turquoise Coast, Kekova is the most scenic area in Lycia. Kekova is a set of picturesque islands, bays and small ancient cities that the blue voyagers love to explore. For those enjoying a holiday on shore, it is recommended (when not staying in one of the nice pensions of Kaleköy) to visit Kekova by excursion boat or rented small motorboat from Kas or from Demre (Myra). This way is easier and more enjoyable than driving along the winding road which ends in Üçagiz where one still has to rent a motorboat .

Kekova, which is an incredible place of beauty where nature mingles with the past and the present, consists of:

The village of Üçagiz and its harbour where the ruins of ancient 4 C BC Theimussa can be encountered. The majority of the sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs of the necropolis date back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The village of Kaleköy where the Lycian and Roman vestiges of the 4 C BC ancient sunken city of Simena are located. In addition to a surprising Lycian sarcophagus emerging from the sea and which has become the symbol of Kaleköy, on the shore ruins of Roman baths, rock tombs and sarcophagi, a citadel with a small rock-cut theatre inside (the smallest theatre in Lycia with a seating capacity of about 300 people) and cisterns can be seen.

Kekova Island has given its name to the surroundings. The place is also called the “Sunken City” as most of the ancient buildings sank in the sea as a result of various earthquakes. Along the shore one can see the foundations of submerged buildings and houses as well as staircases descending under the water. Tersane Bay , where yachts and boats may anchor, was a shipyard. Very near is a Byzantine church whose apse is still visible today.

In the Kekova area there are many ancient cities located very close to each other: Aperlae and Istlada along the coast, Apollonia in Kiliçli, Tyberissos in Çevreli.
As these cities were very small, some of them, such as Simena, Apollonia, Aperlae and Isinda, or Theimussa, Cyaenai and Myra merged to be represented as one entity in the Lycian League.