The popular resort Fethiye, 135 km southeast of Marmaris, hosts an important marina at the head of a beautiful bay strewn with islands.

 

A hill crowned by the ruins of the crusader fortress built by the Knights of Rhodes overlooks the little port. Above the town , (called Telmessos in antiquity), numerous Lycian rock tombs, reproducing the facades of ancient buildings, were cut into the cliff face.

 

The road to Fethiye winds up and down hills through a heavily forested region that offers occasional glimpses of the sea and an islet or two basking in total seclusion. The Gulf of Göcek and its friendly marina is one of the Mediterranean's best sailing spots. Hisaronu, at the skirts of the Mount Babadag-Oludeniz, is a world-wide popular paragliding center.

 

The 14 kilometre road that leads you to


Ölüdeniz from Fethiye is surrounded by pine trees. At the end of the winding road all of sudden a wonderful blue comes before you. This is Belcekýz Cove. Once you walk over the long beach you see the incomparable Ölüdeniz lying before you. Ölüdeniz is as if it appears to be enchanting and lies still with no movement in its clear waters. There is nothing of the bottom of the lagoon but white sand. The reflection of the water and the sand bottom give it a turquoise colour. On the surface are the reflections of the green pines and this enriches the impression of the turquoise colour.

 

There is a story behind the name of Belcekýz Cove. According to legend, ships in ancient times used to anchor in the open sea and the crews would come ashore in small boats to get drinking water here. One of the handsome sons of an old captain was fell in love with a gorgeous girl called Belcekýz whom he saw on the waterfront. Belcekýz too ended up with her heart beating faster and she fell in love with him. However, the boy had to get the drinking water and return to his father’s ship. Though the ship sailed away, Belcekýz watched for her lover to return. Each time the boy came to get water they saw each other and made love.

 

One day, as the boy and father were sailing nearby, a storm blew up. The son told his father that he knew of a cove where they could shelter that was as still as a pool. The old and cunning father thought the son's suggestion came from his desire to see his lover and that he was acting selfishly and did not care whether the ship sank or not. The dispute between the two kept on going as the waves grew higher. As the ship was rocked by the strong wind and was about to crash onto the rocks, the father hit his son with an oar and he fell into the sea. After the father headed back to the helm and continued his voyage, he found himself in an extremely still cove. He understood that his son was right but it was too late. The son died, his body being found on the rocks. Belcekýz, seeing that her lover was dead, committed suicide by jumping onto the rocks. From that day on the place she jumped from was named as Belcekýz and the place the boy died was named as Ölüdeniz. Maybe the colours of the water that keep changing are fires of mourning, one for the boy and one for the girl.

 

In Ölüdeniz you will find numerous hotels and restaurants.

 

Nine hundred and fifty hectares of land around Ölüdeniz and the beach of Kýdýrak have been determined as a place under protection order and turned into National Parks. Construction in the area of the Ölüdeniz lagoon and the Kýdrak Beach is banned and these sites are classified as special protected areas. The Kumburnu rest facilities within this protected zone are run by the office of the Muðla provincial governor, associated with MELSA Ltd. Co. Annually, approximately, 400,000 people make use of these facilities. There is a fee for the entrance. There is one large and one small cafeteria that provides food and beverage services. Besides fast food and drinks there is traditional gözleme available at the Þark (East) end of the area. There is an organised picnic area for those who want to picnic, though lighting a barbeque is forbidden between May and October. It is possible to rent umbrellas and chaise longues. The car parking, toilet and shower services are free. The car park area holds 650 vehicles and is monitored by employees and security cameras.

 

On the beach you have access to aqua sports such as parasailing, water skiing and banana boats for those interested.

 

There is also a handcraft shop that is associated with MELSA. Here you find handcrafts unique to the Muðla region.

 

This extraordinary piece of nature is being fastidiously taken care of and cleaned, with a laboratory set to take measurement of the sea water from parts of Belcekýz Beach daily. The aim of this is to get the ISO 14001 Quality Certificate for the beach. In Turkey the first beach to get this certificate was Kýdrak Beach.