Marmaris is surrounded by the Reşadiye Peninsula and Kerme Bay in the west, Ula in the north, Balan Mountain, Karadağ and Daily Hills in the east and the Mediterranean Sea in the south. Adaköy, which is connected to the shore with a thin tongue in front of the bay, is located in front of Bedir Island, Keçi Island and Güvercin Island. The oldest part of the city is Kale Mahallesi, which is built on a hill extending towards the sea. Marmaris later developed towards the foothills and along the coast.
Climate
In the district where the Mediterranean climate is dominant, the summers are quite hot and dry, and the winter months are relatively warm and rainy. Due to the orographic position of the mountains, Marmaris is one of the regions with the most rainfall after Rize in Turkey and the annual precipitation is over 1200 mm. Between May and September, there is not much precipitation and it is quite dry.
Transportation
transportation to Marmaris is made by regular bus services from Muğla, Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Denizli and Antalya.
For those arriving by plane, the nearest airport is Dalaman (90km), just an hour away. Bodrum-Milas Airport is 140 km away.
History
The old name of Marmaris is Physkos. Fiskos means “City of Nature” in Carian language. The reason for this name is that it contains all the elements and beauties of nature. Traces of it dating back to 3400 BC are known.
It developed as the port city of ancient Caria. Not much has survived from the ancient city, and you can see some ruins in Asartepe in the north. But these remains are very few and only of interest to archaeologists.
The city, whose known history dates back to 900 BC, was ruled by the Seleucids for a certain period in the Hellenistic Period, then by Rome, Byzantium, 13. In the 16th century, it came under the rule of Menteşoğulları. The Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent conquered this region in 1522. From here, he organizes an expedition to Rhodes and seizes it in the same year. Marmaris was given the name Mimaras during the Ottoman period, then it was called Mermeris and finally it was named Marmaris.
Marmaris, which came under the control of the Italians for a short time during the occupation years (between 1919-1921), remained as a fishing town until the 1980s in the Republican Period, and then quickly turned into a tourism city.
PLACES TO VISIT
• City Tour
• Close circle
• Sedir Island – Kedrai
• Turunc
• Bayir
• Farm
• Turgut & Selale
• Orhaniye & Kızkumu
• Selimiye
• Bozburun
• Willow
• Taslica
• Bozukkale (Loryma)
• Hisaronu
• Bordubet Bay
• Karacasöğüt (Waterfall, Cave and Ancient Settlements)
• Çubucak and İnbükü Forest Camps
Tourism Activities
Boat Tours to the Environment
One of the most enjoyable ways to spend the day in Marmaris is to take boat tours. Hundreds of boats, large and small, departing from the main Pier and various parts of Marmaris in the bazaar are full every day and organize daily tours to the surrounding bays. Yildiz Island (Nimara), Turunc, Kumlubuk, Ciftlik, Phosphorus Cave are among the most popular destinations across Marmaris. “Moonlight tours” are also organized at night. Some boats deal with restaurants in the places they call, while others provide food service on the boat. Entertainment on the boat is also not forgotten.
Longer daily tours from Marmaris are also organized. Ekincik and Dalyan are among the frequent destinations of these tours with giant boats.
“Blue Cruise” by Land in the Gulf of Gökova
Gökova Bay is the most preferred route of the blue cruise. The most enjoyable bays of this route lie between Karacasöğüt and Bördübet bay. These bays are Karacasöğüt, Okluk bay, English Harbour, Löngöz, Yedi Adalar, Gucuk Port and Bördübet bay, respectively. There are other large and small coves among these coves, but there is no transportation. If your vehicle is not low or if you have an all-terrain vehicle, try to drive along this dirt road. One of the routes of travel agencies that organize jeep safari tours in Marmaris is the dirt road that connects these bays.
English Harbor is one of your stopping points and is a beautiful cove hidden among the pine trees that go down to the shore. There you will read what the famous sea traveler Sadun Boro wrote for the preservation of this magnificent natural beauty. There are restaurants serving boats in the English port.
Ali Baba’s gazebo in Löngöz, which is among the bays where boats show the most interest, is suitable for pitching tents and camping. You can order stuffed leaves, salad, fried potatoes, wood-fired fish and cold soft drinks.
In Yediadalar, if it’s time, you can taste the Frankincense fig.
Amazon camping is your last stop in Bördübet bay. After that, you will either turn back on the same road or take the Marmaris-Datça road.
A Daily Alternative from Marmaris: Rhodes
While you are in Marmaris, you can spare a day for Rhodes. During the Summer Season, “hydrofoil” Catamaran type sea buses operated by Yeşil Marmaris from Marmaris Port to Rhodes operate every day. Boats operated by the Greeks, departing one after another at 09:00, reach Rhodes in 1 hour. Car Ferry, on the other hand, can operate two days a week. The days of the flights vary according to the demand. You can also join the daily Rhodes tours of travel agencies.
What can you do in the 5-6 hours you will stay in Rhodes?
The “old city”, which can be reached on foot from the port, will take at least 3-4 hours.
The places worth seeing in the historical city surrounded by walls can be listed as follows: Entrance to the historical city St. Paul or through the Freedom Gate; You can visit the Temple of Aphrodite, the Archaeological Museum (Rhodes Museum), the Grand Master’s Palace. There are also artifacts from the Turkish period in the historical city. These include the Süleyman Mosque, Ağa Mosque, İbrahim Pasha Mosque.
Every part of the historical city is also a shopping center. All kinds of small and large souvenirs can be purchased. There are gardens and cafes every step of the way where you can breathe when you are tired or overwhelmed by the heat. Rhodes cuisine has great similarities with Turkish cuisine. Moussaka is the most popular. But it has nothing to do with our moussaka. Let’s note that the prices are 50% above Turkey’s.
If you have time, you can take a taxi or walk to the new city. The cafes lined up by the New Market in the new city, the Mandraki Harbor just opposite and the three windmills on the breakwater of the harbor, the garden of the Grand Master Palace on the new city side will attract your attention.
If you plan to stay overnight, you will find many hotels in the eastern part of the new city facing Marmaris. Taverns, which are the focus of night entertainment, are also in the new city.