Lycia

The Lycian land is isolated by the Taurus Mountains to the north, making the area very distinctive in character. Rivers flowing from springs in these mountains have created fertile valleys with alluvial deltas.

At the southwest corner of the Turkish Riviera lies one of the most beautiful and unspoilt areas of the Mediterranean. This region was known in antiquity as Lycia.

The mountains of Lycia are covered with the typical maquis and are dotted with wild olive and carob trees on the slopes, whereas oak, pine and cedar forests can be found on the higher grounds. Cedars as old as 2.000 years can also be found in the region.
Lycia has a typically Mediterranean climate, with hot dry summers and warm wet winters. The sea temperature rarely drops below 16oC, allowing eight to nine months of bathing every year.

The region, and Kalkan in particular, displays one of the world's lowest temperature differentials between not only day and night, but also summer and winter. This temperature climate is the reason for a year-round agricultural season, with an average of 300 days of sun per year.




Lycians first appeared in history around B.C. 1400, eventually founding the Lycian Confederation, a semi-autonomous state under the Roman Empire, in B.C. 200. While the Lycian Confederation began to lose importance in around 600 A.D., she had already left the world a colourful heritage, which is still worth exploring in the dozens of city and town ruins on the peninsula