Turkish Aegean: Mecca for nature lovers

Aegean at it’s best! We snake along a zigzag road that brings us through forests, past brooks and up the mountain, while Turunç, a former fishing village on the eastern coast of the Bozburun Peninsula at the Turkish Aegean gets smaller and smaller. Those who come here look for peace and solitude, away from the noise of the access roads but just close enough to the surf to be woken by the sound of the sea.

On top there is the Viverde Hotel Loryma, 200 meters above sea level, surrounded by olive and pine trees, far secluded from the bustling port city of Marmaris. Waste separation, environmental protection, and sustainability – the love of nature can be seen even in the smallest things. Here, it doesn’t feel like a modern theme. No, here at the Turkish Aegean it feels real. Not without reason the hotels name “Viverde” is a neologism that can easily be translated in “to live green”.

Have a swim while looking at the Aegean sea

The Turkish Aegean – Live life more green!

The Turkish Aegean is pure nature. Nature that invites its visitors to hike, climb and drive through with nearly any kind of vehicle. Therefore, four special outdoor experiences are on offer: kayaking, hiking, canyoning and geocaching – a modern form of scavenger hunt, in which one is equipped with a GPS receiver and the coordinates of a “treasure” in order to find it. This way, strenuous hiking suddenly becomes child’s play, in the truest sense of the word.

A hike through nature is a must activity at the Turkish Aegean

This is too exhausting for you? Don’t worry, you can still spend your days with lots of other great things to do. De-stress with yoga, relax with an aloe vera mask or delight the most attentive hotel staff after a free language course with a few words of Turkish. A warm Günaydın (“Good morning”) is enough to conjure a smile on one or the other face.

Wake up with a view of the Aegean sea

Of course they have beaches here at the Aegean, but they are not so crowded as in Marmaris for example

The special Aegean Blue

The people in the Turkish Aegean live not only in the countryside, they use every opportunity to sail to the blue sea. No wonder that the region shows it’s most beautiful side from the water. Just book one of the many sailing yacht in the harbors of Turunç, İçmeler or one of the other little seaports of the Turkish Aegean and sail from bay to bay, past rugged mountain slopes, with pine and olive trees thickly forested hills and gently sloping, sandy beaches. Enjoy the crystal clear water and be surrounded by the endless blue of the Aegean Sea.

Sailing the Sea

Chances are good that with every meter you glide silently over the waters, your pulse will slow more and more down. Maybe it’s the lulling warmth of the Turkish Aegean sun or the pleasant fresh wind. Maybe it’s the endless expanse of the horizon, which slowers your breathing, or the smell of freshly grilled sea bream, that whets the appetite from afar.

Perfect venue: barbecue on the Aegean Sea

Two typical Aegean locals in one picture

Those who really want to relax, should not only go offline, but offshore. There are lots of great attractions and things to do along the Turkish Aegean, regardless of whether you simply want to sail from bay to bay, or have a special destination in mind.

Iztuzu beach, the turtle beach at the Turkish Aegean

Beach fans and animal lovers alike are attracted to the Iztuzu beach, better known as turtle beach. Turtles come to this nearly four-kilometer-long peninsula for many years, of course, only in the evenings, when the bathing crowds have set out on their way back to their resorts.

The fine sandy beach is a nature reserve since 1989 and since this year it officially belongs to the reptiles, at least from June to September from 6pm, when the domestic turtles ashore here on pilgrimage to store thousands of their eggs.

Those interested in history will neither be disappointed from the Turkish Aegean. Because at the edge of the winding delta of the Dalyan river, close to Kaunos, there is a very special visitor magnificent: the Lycian rock-cut tombs that rise high in the air over the reeds. Carved early as the fourth century BC by hand out of the rock, these are the relics of a bygone era and today they are no less impressive.

The Lycian rock-cut tombs overlooking the Aegean Sea

Taste nature

Nature has many faces in the this region of Turkey. You can even taste it! With each yogurt, each cheese and with 80% of the baked goods. All these qualities are homemade in the Viverde Hotel Loryma. Also the jams and the ice cream are self-made, the vegetables come straight out of the surrounding gardens. Not to forget all the products from the goats and cows in their own small farm. And, of course, they have their own olive grove here at the foot of the Taurus Mountains.

Olive trees – typical for the Turkish Aegean

Back to Nature at the Aegean

It is great to know, that a new type of travel and holiday has been developed here in recent years all around Marmaris at the Turkish Aegean, away from concrete structures, bar streets and other aesthetics of mass-tourism. But it is even better to experience this natural idyll not only with your own eyes, but also with your own body and on your own tongue.