Kalkan, which is connected
to Kas, is a popular tourism spot although it doesn’t have any
historical sites. Kalkan is on the Kas-Fethiye highway and its
old name is Kalamaki. It is 25 kilometers away
from
Kas. During the population exchange in 1922, some of
the people living here emigrated to Greece and Australia.
Those who emigrated to Greece set up a village for themselves
near Athens and called it Kalamaki. These people still inhabit
this village. The offspring of these people visit Kalkan from
time to time when they miss home.
Soap-making and olive oil production
were the main sources of income for the people of Klakan
until recently. In recent years, Kalkan became an attractive
spot for people who take the blue sea voyage tours.
Kalkan has a recently built yacht dock and several clean
“pansion” guest houses and hotels along with restaurants
serving delicious seafood. Boats find shelter in Kalkan,
which is a very safe port. They can meet their all needs
here and also they can visit Patara, Letoon and Xanthos,
the three important cities of Lycia, in just one day.
Tourists staying in Kalkan can visit
the Kaputas Cave, located just 6 kilometers from Kalkan.
The cave is 50 meters long, 40 meters wide and 15 meters
high. When you walk into this cave, you will be mesmerized
by the spectacle formed by all the shadows of green
and blue formed by the interacting reflections of the
sunlight. The interior of the cave is large enough to
accommodate a boat. Next to it there is Kaputas Beach,
which is an ideal place to swim.
The Güvercinlik Sea Cave (Pigeons Cave) is home to a
large number of pigeons, and it is two kilometers away
from Kalkan, behind Cape Ince. Güvercinlik Sea Cave
is only 100 meters away from the Güvercinlik Cave. There
is a road that goes all the way to Inbas Cave on the
coast of Kalkan’s Bezirgan village.
Kalkan is a great resting place on balmy winter days
or in spring with its pansion guesthouses among purple
and red begonias and white buildings, many of which
have been turned into restaurants. You can also make
trips to nearby places during your stay in Kalkan. For
example, the Bezirgan valley, right above Kalkan, is
an ideal place for walking. From the hills above the
village of Bezirgan, you can see the remains of an ancient
city called Pirha. After walking 15 minutes from the
village, you’ll reach the ruins, which stand 850 meters
above sea level. The slope of the mountain is full of
rock tombs. There are also sarcophagi scattered around.
There are rock tomb with regular decorations in the
Göldag area, which is on the border of the Bezirgan
and Islamlar villages. On the way to Gömbe, while leaving
the village of Bezirgan, a Lycian house-type tomb stands
carved into a rock across from a plane tree. Both the
inside and the outside of the tomb is decorated with
reliefs, but unfortunately the tomb itself is falling
into pieces.