| | | Marmaris
Marmaris (Turkey)
| | | | Marmaris is a port city and a tourist destination on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in the Muğla Province. | | Marmaris : Virtual tour |  | 5 sections and 13 items |
 Marmaris : Guide (4)
|  | Hotels at Marmaris
Lively hotels can be found in Marmaris City Center. More laid back hotels can be found in the Armutalan area at the back of Marmaris where the local council has banned the playing of music after midnight.
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|  | Restaurant at Marmaris (2)
Many places on the beachfront main road and just off it serving Turkish, English, Dutch and other nationality food. Tends to be cheaper away from the harbor and marina.
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|  | Marmaris marina and harbor (8)
The town of Marmaris is not just for the package holiday visitor as a trip to the harbor area will confirm. There you can see ocean going yachts costing US$10 million and rub shoulders with those who can blow US$1000 on a pair of sunglasses in the exclusive upmarket designer harbor shopping area.
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| | Marmaris : Visit Guide | |
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You can get flights to Dalaman, the nearest regional airport which is 100 km away from Marmaris. Coach transfers are 1 1/2 hours. Airport is served by many operators. Transfers are easily arranged on-line and there are frequent bus connections which correspond to the arrival of domestic flights provided by Havas costing YTL 25 single. Havas bus transfer times are detailed outside the airport terminal building. Tourists from the UK have to buy a Turkish multiple entry visa at the point of entry costing £10 (Bank of England notes only) which are valid for 180 days entry for visits of up to 90 days duration.
Get around
Cheapest way of getting around is using the dolmus minibuses. These are 11 seaters which travel the main road in Marmaris and Icmeler, the neighbouring resort. The fee is YTL 1.75 anywhere in Marmaris and YTL 2.00 between Icmeler and Marmaris. Marmaris dolmuses have a green band across them and orange for Icmeler. Other dolmus services serve Armutalan which is a suburb of Marmaris. The Armutalan dolmus has a blue band across them.
You can pick them up from the side of the road by hailing for them and they will stop wherever you want on the route.
Other buses are frequently available and compete with dolmus services. They are slightly cheaper and are council owned buses which are similar in concept but slightly larger than dolmus minibuses.
Taxis are also available on the meter or arranging prices up front but are very expensive (prices are negotiable).
See
Marmaris has busy beaches and a lot of bars and restaurants. The city is rather expensive for Turkey. Marmaris has also a busy nightlife with a street devoted to dance music and all the high tech clubbing scene. Bar Street is opposite the Busy Bazaar and will satisfy the most discerning clubbers with it's huge outdoor dance venues and all of the latest tunes.
Boat excursions can take you out round the bay and to neighbouring towns like Icmeler and Turunc with all inclusive food and drinks all day for as little as YTL 25. Marmaris also has two water parks. Local travel agents offer a range of trips to Dalyan, Fethiye, Pamukkale, Ephesus and other popular locations in Western Turkey. Another worthwhile trip is to Mugla, the regional capital which can be reached by frequent bus service from Marmaris Bus station (Otogar) for YTL 12. Journey time over the mountains is about 1 hour and is well worth the effort as Mugla is a real Western Turkish town not affected greatly by tourism.
The town of Marmaris is not just for the package holiday visitor as a trip to the harbor area will confirm. There you can see ocean going yachts costing US$10 million and rub shoulders with those who can blow US$1000 on a pair of sunglasses in the exclusive upmarket designer harbor shopping area.
Marmaris is primarily a resort that caters for British holiday-makers but recently has become popular with Russian and other Eastern European visitors.
Do
You can have a daily cruise taking you around the turquoise coves, mountainous shoreline, ruins of ancient cities, and a cave (the only entrance of which is from the sea) surrounding Marmaris with a stop at the beach of leafy Cennet Adasi ("Paradise Island").
Just take one of yachts (which have a capacity of 20 people) which can be found all along the waterfront of city centre, you can easily recognize them by their boards and touts. Basically all tours are the same. A tour doing the Bay in an anti-clockwise fashion (Turunç first, Paradise Island last) may be worthwile to look for, as most tours ply around the Bay in clockwise direction, and thus you don't have to be with hundreds of others who took other boats all the time. Book or buy a seat at least one day beforehand. Such an excursion cost about YTL25 per person in Summer 2010 (including a meal). Local drinks can be expensive once on board a boat!
For food, there is a large supermarket at the end of the main road before the harbor and marina called Tansas which stocks virtually everything including international brands. Tansas has a sister company called Migros which has two stores in Marmaris, one at the harbor and another larger store on the main road close to the Marmaris Court building. Another hypermarket is situated on the main road beyond the suburb of Armutalan, Kipa is the Turkish division of Tesco and offers a huge range of international and own brand products at competitive prices. Many of these supermarkets have in store bakeries which produce lovely fresh bread.
Most tourists enjoy visiting markets in both Marmaris (Armutalan) and Icmeler. The markets sell most of the same things the local shops stock but one can haggle a bit more. Beware of pick-pockets in these places. The market in the Armutalan area of Marmaris is on a Thursday and the Icmeler market is every Wednesday.
Beware some unscrupulous Turks try to sell baby tortoises to tourists and encourage them to smuggle them back home in luggage as pets. They will die of course in aircraft holds and can be picked up by airport x-ray machines in hand baggage. It is an offense to attempt to import a tortoise into most EU states as they are an endangered species.
Eat
Many places on the beachfront main road and just off it serving Turkish, English, Dutch and other nationality food. Tends to be cheaper away from the harbor and marina. Nice (and expansive) restaurants are located on the beachfront promenade. Proprietors will stand outside establishments and harass you into looking at their menu. Don't be too intimidated and a polite "No thank you" or "Later" will put them at bay. Marmaris and Armutalan councils have no tolerance for hassle and have special local police (Zabita) who videotape and close establishments who harass tourists. Most local establishments no longer hassle passing tourists.
Prices are YTL 5-12 for starters, YTL 10-25 for entrees depending on establishment.
Many places will accept "international" currencies (£$ €) . These currencies can gain you heavily discounted prices in certain restaurants such as a three course meal for £5 (Scottish notes are not usually accepted)
A bottle of water at a hotel can cost anything from YTL 4-8. A 8 liter bottle of water can be purchased here for YTL 3.
Drink
Local beer called Efes is served everywhere and is very good . Another drink worth trying is Ayran which is a yogurt based drink. Very cooling and good for you. Some establishments stock imported beers such as Becks, Budweiser or Fosters but tend to be more expensive. Wine is very expensive and seems to be all local. Good and common winery is Villa Doluca.
One of the local drinks provided by hotels as an alternative to fruit juice is called 'Tang'. It is manufactured by Kraft and is available in sachet which mixed with water make 1 liter of fruit drink. The sachet cost about YTL 0.65.
Nightlife
Marmaris is famous for its nightlife. For pre partying drinks many small bars along the beachfront offer the perfect place to watch the warm sun set. There are a selection of good clubs along the beachfront which play a variety of music and cater to different tastes.
For hard-core partiers Bar Street is where the party's at. Located in the old town this street has over 100 bars and clubs ranging from rock bars to Club Arena, a huge outdoor nightclub with foam parties. All are open to at least 04:00am.
Beware when drinking in Bar Street as prices are much higher (YTL 15-20 for a spirit and mixer) than those along the beach front although entry to most clubs is free and there are periods when there are special offers available.
Sleep
Lively hotels can be found in Marmaris City Center. More laid back hotels can be found in the Armutalan area at the back of Marmaris where the local council has banned the playing of music after midnight. Armutalan council has also banned live entertainment from bars limiting it to hotels. There are exceptions however so make sure you choose a hotel that suits you.
As with any trip it is advisable to check websites for info on your hotel before you book as there can be great differences. All inclusive deals are good value but beware of bed and breakfast and half board as hotels may restrict you bringing food or drinks into their premises making you dependent on their offerings which will be much more expensive than buying from a supermarket. In a very hot climate like Turkey a few drinks each day can add a lot to a holiday cost. In self catering properties beware of damage charges. Soiled towels and bedding can cost up to YTL 80 to replace and damage to curtains and furnishings can be very costly. Note any damage however small on arrival and report it!
Get out
Ferries and high-speed hydro-foils depart several times a day to Rhodes, Greece but port charges are expensive. Still a good day out and a chance to visit another country and sample it's culture whilst close-by.
Turkish Airlines has a store in downtown Marmaris where flights can be booked. OnurAir also fly to several Turkish destinations from Dalaman. Beware: Prices at Dalaman Airport are expensive. A Coke costs YTL 7, large local draft beer YTL 15 and a McDonalds/KFC Meal YTL 25. Avoid the expense by taking food/snacks with you from the resort before flying from Dalaman.
Nearby
Two peninsulas jut out from Marmaris into the sea:
The one extending towards southwest, Bozburun Peninsula, has beautiful coves, pine covered mountains and villages. Especially interesting on this peninsula is Kızkumu (literally "Maiden's Sand"), a sandbar that shuts the entrance of a cove almost completely. It's located on the western shore of the peninsula, near Orhaniye village. Story has it that a young lady started to spill the sand she gathered into her skirt, while escaping foreigners on one shore of the cove, and also to meet her lover who was waiting at the opposite shore. But the sand hadn't lasted enough for the entire gap of the cove, so when her sand ran out, in order not to be caught by the foreigners chasing her, she committed a suicide by jumping into the water. Scientists have another explanation, though. Kızkumu's length is about 1 km, and the sand (or more like reddish finely grained pebbles) is only one ankle under the water surface all along the road, also its width is more than enough for 5 people to walk side by side, so you can easily walk on the top of it (as many other people do). Its ending point is signed by an easily-visible Ionian column, so don't worry.
On the other peninsula, stretching out to west, lies Datca, a pleasant town, and the ancient city of Knidos on its tip.
Akyaka about 20-25 min of driving in the north has a stony-but-beautiful beach, pine forests, and buildings that maintain a lovely local architecture.
Icmeler, Cennet Island, Gunnucek, Turunc, Kumlubuk, Turgut, Orhaniye, Hisaronu, Ciftlik, Sogut, Bozukkale, Bozburun, Gokova, and Dalyan are some of the popular coastal towns close to Marmaris.
North of Marmaris in the Gulf of Gökova, Sedir Adasi ("Cleopatra Island"), known in ancient times as Kedreae, features an amphitheater and some other Greek/Roman ruins shadowed by the silvery green olive trees. However, its biggest claim to fame is its Cleopatra Beach, with the golden sands virtually non-existant anywhere else in the Eastern Mediterranean, accompanied by milky turquoise waters of the cove. The legend has it that Marcus Antonius have this sand brought in from Egypt for honeymoon on the island with his lover, Cleopatra of Egypt, however experts conclude that this unique sodium bicarbonate-containing sand is actually consisting of dissolved seashells. The sands are under heavy protection and removing any quantity of sand from the beach is forbidden, so no towels or shoes are allowed in the beach and anyone entered the beach must have a shower before exiting. Sometimes bags are searched upon exiting, too. Frequent boats to island depart from the harbor near the highway north to Akyaka/Gökova/Muğla, about 10 km north of Marmaris (watch for brown Sedir Adasi signpost) after crossing the mountain pass just after leaving Marmaris behind. Boats cost YTL 10, return, and admission to the island is a further YTL 10. There is a small kiosk on the island with fairly priced drinks. Kiosk doesn't sell any alcohol but it's allowed to bring in from the mainland with you (as well as any other snacks and drinks). The beach closes at 07:00 pm and it's best to visit the island in the morning, as early as possible, because the beach gets overcrowded especially after 01:00 pm during the high season. | | Marmaris : Description | |
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Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s. Marmaris still retains its charm due to its exceptional location between two intersecting set of mountains by the sea. The town's population is 28,660 (2000) and is estimated to make a peak of 300,000 - 400,000 people during the tourism season. Marmaris' nightlife rivals anything on the Turkish coast.
It is also a major centre for sailing and diving, possessing two major and several smaller marinas. It is a popular wintering location for hundreds of cruising boaters. There are regular ferry services to the Greek island of Rhodes, and large cruise ships call at the port.
Climate
Marmaris has a Mediterranean Climate characterized by a hot and humid summer and cool, rainy winter. Showers and rain are very unlikely between May and October.
Summers are hot and humid, and temperatures can reach over 40°C sometimes during heat waves in July and August. October is still warm and bright, though with spells of rain, and many tourists prefer to visit in the early autumn, especially in September, because the temperatures are not as hot.
Winters are mild and wet. Winter is the rainy season, with major precipitation falling after November. The annual rainfall can reach to 1182 millimeters (46 inches). The rainfall is concentrated during scattered days in winter falling in heavy cloudbursts which cause flash floods sometimes in flood prone areas.
Get in
You can get flights to Dalaman, the nearest regional airport which is 100 km away from Marmaris. Coach transfers are 1 1/2 hours. Airport is served by many operators. Transfers are easily arranged on-line and there are frequent bus connections which correspond to the arrival of domestic flights provided by Havas costing YTL 25 single. Havas bus transfer times are detailed outside the airport terminal building. Tourists from the UK have to buy a Turkish multiple entry visa at the point of entry costing £10 (Bank of England notes only) which are valid for 180 days entry for visits of up to 90 days duration.
From Wikipedia/wikitravel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaris
http://wikitravel.org/en/Marmaris
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License | | Marmaris : History | |
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Although it is not certain when Marmaris was founded, in the 6th century BC the city was known as Physkos, and considered part of Caria.
According to the historian Herodotus, there was a castle in Marmaris since 3000 BC. During the Hellenistic Age, Caria was invaded by Alexander the Great and the castle was besieged. The 600 inhabitants of the town realised that they had no chance against the invading army and burned their valuables in the castle before escaping to the hills with their women and children. The invaders, well aware of the strategic value of the castle, repaired the destroyed sections to house a few hundred soldiers before the main army returned home.
The next important event during the history of Marmaris was almost two thousand years later, in the mid-fifteenth century, when the Ottoman Empire began to rise after the efforts of Sultan Mehmet II, who succeeded in conquering and uniting under one banner the various tribes and kingdoms of Anatolia. Some of his greatest difficulties came from the Knights of St. John, who occupied the Dodecanese Islands. Based in Rhodes, the Knights had fought for many years; they were able to withstand the onslaughts of Mehmet II until a succeeding and more powerful Sultan came on the scene.
Marmaris castle was rebuilt from scratch in 1522 by the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent when he had set out for his campaign on Rhodes, for which Marmaris served as a base. Since 1979, renovation work has been continuing at the castle, in order to restore it back to original condition. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, the castle was converted into a museum. There are seven galleries, of which the largest is being used as an exhibition hall and the courtyard is decorated with seasonal flowers. Built at the same time as the castle in the bazaar, there is also a small Ottoman caravanserai built by Süleyman's mother Ayşe Hafsa Sultan. | | Marmaris : More pictures | |
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