| Lycia in southern Turkey is packed with some of | | | | the truly ancient sites have survived. |
| the finest wonders of the world, with a coastline | | | | Back on the gulet, life is like one long list of |
| perfect for sailing. Today there is a whole raft of | | | | heavenly pleasures: a morning dip into the warm |
| nautical charts and coastal pilots available for | | | | turquoise waters; a spot of snorkeling beside the |
| people cruising there. Yet only 200 years ago this | | | | rocky shore; an adventurous turn on the |
| coast in the Eastern Mediterranean was a | | | | windsurfer as a breeze comes up; a short |
| complete blank on the earth's atlases. The man | | | | expedition in the kayak to scout out a hidden inlet. |
| we have to thank for its transformation, for | | | | Needless to say if you want to conserve your |
| literally putting this part of Turkey on the map, is | | | | energy, there are relaxation opportunities galore, |
| a celebrated figure in all things maritime. His name | | | | from reading and sunbathing to a full blown |
| is an absolute constant on shipping forecasts and | | | | snooze. Then there's the parade of tasty treats |
| various instruments, for it became the scale on | | | | sent out from the galley, a real cornucopia of |
| which all winds are rated: Beaufort. | | | | freshly prepared mezes and main dishes; stuffed |
| Of course the coast of Lycia was well known and | | | | eggplants, grilled lamb, multicoloured olives, spicy |
| used long before Francis Beaufort, a British | | | | meatballs, feta cheese, and a whole host of |
| Admiral, began his survey in 1810. It was directly | | | | salads tossed with local lemons and olive oil. On |
| on one of the main shipping routes in antiquity, | | | | top of that is the bounty of fresh seasonal fruit: |
| the way between Greece and Egypt and in | | | | from mulberries to melons, pomegranates to |
| Christian times on the pilgrim trail from | | | | strawberries. Turkey is a gastronome's paradise |
| Constantinople to Jerusalem. Anybody who was | | | | and the ship's cook never fails to conjure up |
| anybody in ancient times seems to have sailed | | | | mouthwatering sensations each and every day. |
| along its coast or changed ships there - from | | | | As you set sail from another languid lunch stop |
| Anthony and Cleopatra to St. Paul, Brutus to | | | | and the boat's captain checks his position on the |
| Hadrian. | | | | GPS, spare a thought for Captain Beaufort |
| Yet these sailors are relatively recent compared | | | | cruising along this coast at the start of the 19th |
| with those who were travelling on one of the | | | | century. He complained in his diary how little he |
| greatest archaeological discoveries ever made. | | | | had to go on to find his way: |
| The world's oldest shipwreck lies off the Lycian | | | | "the only accounts extant were those left by the |
| shore, revealing the extraordinary length of time | | | | ancient geographers...there was no nautical |
| that people have been navigating along this coast. | | | | description of the coast, nor any charts whatever |
| When the Ülü Burun wreck was dated to | | | | by which the mariner could steer" |
| 1,350 BC, it sent shockwaves through maritime | | | | His task was utterly painstaking. Dragging a 100 |
| history. Here was a 3,350 year old vessel - a time | | | | yard long steel chain marked with flags and poles |
| capsule from the Bronze Age - and no ordinary | | | | on the shore, they took meticulous sightings and |
| little boat at that, but one carrying an | | | | sextant angles, and plotted the resulting position |
| extraordinary cargo that gives some idea of the | | | | points. Slowly but surely his team of surveyors |
| sophisticated trade going on here in the dim and | | | | worked their way along the coast, putting Lycia |
| distant past. Aboard were tons of copper, ingots | | | | on the map, despite the heat and overgrown |
| of glass and lapis lazuli, pellets of purple dye, | | | | vegetation: |
| swords and tridents, a wax book, and even a | | | | "their shoes cut on the rocks, soaked by the |
| musical instrument similar to a lyre, probably used | | | | quagmires, or burned in the red hot sands were |
| by the crew to entertain themselves of an | | | | of but little use'. |
| evening. A golden scarab of the Egyptian queen | | | | One of the prettiest places along the whole coast |
| Nefertiti is a clue as to the ship's possible origin. | | | | is ÜçaÄYız, which means 'three |
| Today travellers can cruise in comfort | | | | mouths'. This tiny fishing village is connected to |
| unimaginable in the Bronze Age or even | | | | the interior by a thin rutted road that twists |
| Beaufort's time. The very best way to see the | | | | tortuously through a wild landscape of knife edge |
| Lycian shore is aboard a gulet. The word probably | | | | rocks. Not surprisingly the village is there because |
| derives from the French goulette, or schooner. | | | | of the sea. It's beautifully protected by two giant |
| For generations these two-masted wooden | | | | spits of land as well as the long thin mass of |
| vessels, sometimes also known as caiques, have | | | | Kekova Island which forms a natural breakwater. |
| been used for transport and fishing along the | | | | This has been a vital harbourage for some 2,500 |
| southern coasts of Turkey. Typically designed | | | | years, and its history lies all about. On one side is |
| with a sharp bow, broad beam and rounded aft, | | | | an incredible necropolis (literally 'city of the dead') |
| they are now designed and fitted with comfort, | | | | of stone sarcophagi standing up to ten foot tall |
| not trade in mind. Hand crafted in Turkey they | | | | and dating back to the 5th century before Christ; |
| come fully crewed, with a captain, cook, and | | | | on the other; the storage buildings, churches, and |
| additional deck hands. All passengers have to do is | | | | houses of the Byzantine town a 1,000 years later. |
| lie back, gaze at the horizon, and relax. | | | | The modern village of ÜçaÄYız is tiny |
| Much of the Lycian coast remains completely | | | | compared to its predecessors. Here you can find |
| unspoilt. Soaring limestone mountains drop sheer | | | | a few small places to stay; a couple of shops |
| into azure seas, carving the shore into a | | | | selling food and carpets, a tiny mosque, some |
| cavalcade of tiny coves, hidden bays, and pristine | | | | restaurants and a bar. That's it. It's a perfect |
| beaches. Hillsides are swathed in pine and olives | | | | place to moor up and idle away a couple of days. |
| trees. The ruins of countless ancient cities, Greek, | | | | Sail east and the Taurus Mountains suddenly |
| Roman, and Byzantine cram the coast, limiting | | | | recede from the shore revealing a large fertile |
| development to a few isolated areas. It's the | | | | plain at Finike, which is the source of many of |
| incredible combination of historical wonders, sailing, | | | | Turkey's oranges. A glorious hour's drive inland |
| and superb swimming that make this coastline a | | | | rises up and up to the ancient site of Arykanda. |
| truly magical destination. | | | | Set high on the side of a mountain this Greek and |
| Back in 1952, Freya Stark, one of the greatest | | | | then Roman town literally has it all. It's been |
| women travellers of the 20th century, sailed along | | | | dubbed the 'Turkish Delphi' because of its |
| this shore and fell madly in love with it: | | | | spectacular location and excellent preservation, but |
| 'Every bay or headland of these shores, every | | | | unlike the site in Greece you're more than likely to |
| mountain top round whose classic name the | | | | be the only visitors there. There are all the usual |
| legends and clouds are floating, carries visible and | | | | trappings of a prosperous antique city - agora, |
| invisible signs of its past...There are not so many | | | | stadium, temples, baths - but the setting makes it |
| places left where magic reigns without | | | | truly stand out. The view from the top of the |
| interruption...and of all those I know, the coast of | | | | theatre down a steep sided valley to the distant |
| Lycia is the most magical.' | | | | mountains is simply heart-stopping. |
| Where the native Lycians came from and when is | | | | There is more to Lycia than sailing and |
| shrouded in the mists of time, but the civilisation | | | | archaeology. One of the great highlights of the |
| they developed is utterly unique. Set between the | | | | region now is the Lycian Way, Turkey's first long |
| Persian Empire to the east, and the ancient | | | | distance footpath. Rated by the UK's Sunday |
| Greeks to the west, they borrowed ideas from | | | | Times as one of the ten best walks in the world, |
| both, fusing them into an exceptional architectural | | | | the trail follows 500 km of ancient tracks and |
| style, best seen in the tombs they've left behind. | | | | mule roads that linked the region before the |
| There are giant monolithic pillars crowned with | | | | coming of the car. Waymarked with red and |
| grave chambers made of marble dating back | | | | white stripes, many sections of it follow the |
| some 2,500 years. Hewn out of cliff faces are | | | | coast, so it's perfectly possible to drop anchor and |
| gigantic tombs fashioned to look like Greek | | | | venture off for a gentle stroll or serious hike. |
| temples. Other burials were fashioned from the | | | | Some gulet operators now offer specialist walking |
| living rock to look like houses, complete with roof | | | | cruises, so you can trek along some of the very |
| timbers, exactly like the wooden grain stores | | | | best stretches of the Lycian Way, with a boat |
| used in the surrounding countryside to this very | | | | ever present offshore, providing luxurious |
| day. Most common are the Gothic looking | | | | transport, dining and accommodation. What could |
| sarcophagi, thousands of them still litter the | | | | be finer than walking along a Roman road or |
| region, some decorated with the head of Medusa | | | | shepherd's track, discovering remote ancient cities |
| or ferocious lions to ward off tomb robbers. The | | | | with breathtaking vistas, and then having a swim |
| lids of these sarcophagi curve up to a narrow | | | | off the gulet at the end of the day? |
| point, which if you look at them upside down, | | | | In many parts of Lycia you can head a short |
| appear like a ship's hull and keel, a significant motif | | | | distance inland and step back in time to a simpler, |
| for such a seafaring people. | | | | pre-industrial age - to a countryside worked much |
| Many of the greatest Lycian sites are directly | | | | as it would have been in America and Europe a |
| accessible from the coast. Cast off after | | | | few centuries back. Go in the right month and |
| breakfast from Göçek, one of the main | | | | you'll find women in colourful trousers sickling |
| yachting centres in the region, and within a couple | | | | down golden wheat grown on slender hill terraces. |
| of hours you can have travelled back 1,400 years. | | | | Walk along dirt roads and you'll hear the tinkle of |
| Moor up at Gemiler island, less than a kilometre in | | | | goat bells filling the air, with a goatherd ushering |
| length, and you'll be able to explore the remains of | | | | on his flock of shiny black charges. Very |
| a small Christian community from Byzantine | | | | occasionally you might even come across some |
| times, that's been surveyed by Japanese | | | | semi-nomadic charcoal burners arriving into |
| archaeologists over the past two decades. Clinging | | | | harbour with the fruits of their labours after |
| to the island's slopes are no less than five | | | | several months living and working in the forests. |
| churches, littered with geometric mosaics and | | | | It's the timeless quality of Lycia that is one of its |
| fallen columns carved with crosses. The northern | | | | greatest attractions. Although a lot has changed |
| shore is packed with houses and shops equipped | | | | since Francis Beaufort first mapped the coast and |
| with cisterns where rainwater was collected and | | | | many of its ancient cities, there's a great deal that |
| probably sold on for a tidy sum to passing | | | | he would recognise today. His survey revealed a |
| shipping. Climb up through the trees and you'll find | | | | magnificent coastline and an untapped wealth of |
| an ancient processional way used by pilgrims en | | | | archaeological wonders. It wasn't long before a |
| route to the cathedral church on the island's peak. | | | | whole army of European treasure hunters were |
| Time your visit correctly and you'll reach the top | | | | out looking for the best ruins to ship home. When |
| ready to experience one of the very finest | | | | the first consignment of Lycian 'marbles' - statues, |
| sunsets imaginable: the sea sparkling with gold as | | | | temples, and tombs - arrived at the British |
| ranges of craggy hills turn into shimmering | | | | Museum in London they caused such interest and |
| silhouettes. | | | | excitement among the public that there was a |
| Just inland from Gemiler lies Kaya Koy, a place | | | | Gothic architectural revival. Fortunately there's a |
| brimming with atmosphere and mystery, the | | | | vast amount left to be seen in Lycia, and more |
| setting for Louis de Berniere's latest novel. This is | | | | and more is being uncovered by archaeologists |
| a genuine ghost town, abandoned by its Greek | | | | every year. These ancient sites form a perfect |
| inhabitants when Turkey and Greece swapped | | | | backdrop to a splendid sailing vacation. In many |
| populations in 1923. It's not very old by the | | | | cases it's possible to sail directly into the ancient |
| standards of other ruined towns along the coast, | | | | harbour of a Lycian city and moor for the night. |
| but wandering along its empty streets past | | | | How much better can cruising get? Sailing the |
| crumbling houses and chapels is both pleasurable | | | | Lycian Shore really is the experience of a lifetime. |
| and inspiring, and makes you realise quite how well | | | | |