Introduction to Marmaris

590km (367 miles) west of Antalya; 165km (103 miles) southeast of Bodrum; 900km (559 miles) south of Istanbul; 185km (115 miles) southwest of Pamukkale; 120km (75 miles) northwest of Dalaman

After commissioning the construction of the castle on the hill as a preliminary to his siege on Rhodes, Süleyman the Magnificent returned from an expedition and exclaimed, "Mimar as!" ("Hang the architect!"). Locals use this story to explain how Marmaris got its name; and although this is another of those cute Turkish anecdotes, this one is particularly apt -- not for the castle, but for what central Marmaris has become. Urban blight has stricken "ocean drive," characterized by seedy-looking signage and fast-food stands advertising baked potatoes to a high concentration of low-budget English tourists lazing about on the bleak public beach. It's no wonder that tour operators of Blue Cruises bypass the town altogether and provide transfers from Dalaman Airport directly to the boat. Hang the official who let this happen, I say, and all the cheap-package tourists who have made Marmaris what it is, or rather, isn't, today.

Notwithstanding central Marmaris, the majority of the Province of Marmaris offers a stunning landscape of pine-covered peaks, isolated bays and inlets, secluded beaches, and a steady expanse of Mediterranean paradise. Much of it, thankfully, is protected, including the offshore islands and sea, preserving one of Turkey's richest areas for wild flora and fauna.

The city's location midway between the heavy-hitting resorts of Bodrum and Fethiye, combined with the ease with which mass tourism from the U.K. can fly in and out for a weekend, has made Marmaris more of a necessary (and evil) way station for clients of the Blue Cruise and for the yachting set. The difficulty of land access to the hilly coastline terrain along the Datça Peninsula provides an additional deterrent for the casual visitor. The Datça Peninsula still remains somewhat underdeveloped, probably because most of its visitors sail in with their own accommodations. If it's an off-the-beaten-track excursion that you're looking for, one good option to experience what little is left of Turkey's (relatively) undiscovered western Mediterranean is to explore the sea/land route between Bodrum and Marmaris (and on to Dalyan and Fethiye, if time permits).