Kekova
Private Sunken City Boat Trip from Ucagiz Village
Private Sunken City Boat Trip from Ucagiz Village
Our transfer vehicle from Kaş takes you from your hotel. You start your boat tour from Üçağız Village. After a pleasant day in the Kekova region all day, we bring it back to where you stay in Kaş.
How about a full-day trip where you can see the sunken city ruins of Kekova and swim in the cleanest and most beautiful bays of the region? After walking on the photogenic streets of Kaleköy, go to the castle and enjoy the view, enter the water sports you have never tried before, experience the sun to the full and indulge yourself with the comfort of our boat!
Ideal for amateur photographers, history lovers and anyone who is passionate about the sea, this tour is also very suitable for families.
After picking you up from your accommodation at 9.30, we go to Üçağız village where we will board the boat with a transfer of about 45 minutes. We sail at 10.30 am and go to the Aquarium Bay, which is our first stop. The bay, which is famous for its clear waters and deep blue sea, has a very rich underwater life.
Our next stop is Tersane Bay, located nearby. There is a church belonging to the Byzantine period on the bay beach, which was called by this name since the boat was built in the past. After a short swimming break here, we are heading towards the Sunken City.
The city, known as Dolikhiste during the Lycian period, was flooded after earthquakes in the 2nd century AD.
It is possible to see the remains, houses, walls, doors and stairs clearly under the water and above the water while passing by the boat slowly.
Afterwards, we move on to Gökkaya, one of the most beautiful bays in the region.
While our team prepares you a great meal consisting of chicken, salads and appetizers, those who wish can throw themselves into the waters, while those who are adventurous can participate in water sports organized in the bay at an additional fee.
If you think it can be a better place from here, you are wrong, there are Esmeralda and Korsan bays and then Kaleköy.
Kaleköy, built on the ancient city of Simena, can only be reached on foot or by sea.
In the free time we will give you here, you can go to the castle with wonderful views, take a photo of the Lycian tomb in the water, browse the gift shops or taste the homemade ice cream.
After boarding our boat, we take a look at the Teimeussa necropolis where dozens of ancient tombs are located by the sea and return to Üçağız. Here, we get on our vehicle waiting for us and return to Kas around 18.30.
Featured
- Boat Tour directly from Kekova with our air-conditioned transfer vehicles
- Delicious lunch prepared with tastes of Mediterranean cuisine
- Kekova Boat Tour exclusively for you
- Discover Simena, Kaleköy, Batıkşehir and more.
Map
OTHER INFO
INCLUDING:• Vehicle transfer between Kaş Üçağız
• Full day boat trip
• Lunch
• Equipment such as SUP, Canoe, Snorkel on the boat
• An experienced captain and friendly team
EXCLUDED:
• Beverages
• Simena castle entrance fee
• Travel insurance
• Gratuities
Kekova, its modern name supposedly derived from the Turkish words for ‘plains of thyme’, is an island just off the coast near the city of Demre. Today uninhabited, the north side of the island was once home to the ancient Lycian city of Dolchiste, which after being destroyed by and earthquake in the 2nd century BCE was rebuilt and thrived into the Byzantine Era. This now submerged area is what we know as the ‘sunken city of Kekova’. With seismic activity taking place throughout its history, the sea level has risen about three meters since the port was still operational in Byzantine times. With crystal clear waters, the foundations of harbor buildings, walls, tiles, amphorae and other ceramics can be viewed from a glass bottom boat or over the side. Ruined buildings can be seen on the shore with no streets, only steps leading down to the shore by the buildings sides. In addition to the ruins of Dolchiste, the region surrounding Kekova, which was designated as a specially protect area in 1990, harbors a total of four ancient cities as well as the villages of Kalekoy and Ucagiz.
With Dolchiste on the Northern side of the island, the site of the city of Aperlae is located just west of the island. The city was founded sometime between the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE and was inhabited for 1300 years until the Byzantine Empire’s decline and failure to keep the coast secure. The fact that the city was near a fault line caused a slow sinking of the land, and today some of Aperlae’s ruins are underwater. With no reliable source of fresh water and little arable land, their economy functioned almost entirely on the luxurious Tyrian purple dye which they extracted from a local type of shellfish. It’s said to have cost 20 times as much as gold. With all this affluence, the ruins of Aperlae are also extensive with four churches, numerous tombstones, and well-fortified city walls.
Across the water from Kekova Island is the village of Ucagiz, the site of the ancient port of Teimioussa. With most of its ruins belonging to the Classical Period, Teimioussa is home to the ruins of over 50 tomb scattered in and around the town. Other than one inscription revealing that the city was founded in the 4th century BCE, not much is known about Teimioussa. The sheltered port was important in ancient times as it is today, it’s modern day name, Ucagiz, meaning ‘three mouths’ and referring to the three exits from the bay to the open sea. Today the village of Ucagiz has managed to retain much of its original character with traditional stone houses and shops lining the quaint, narrow streets.
The modern-day village of nearby Kalekoy, built atop the ancient city of Simena, is only assessable by boat or on foot. Thought to have been founded around the same time as the other sites in the Kekova region, the ruins of Simena include numerous Lycian-type sarcophagi, public baths, a Roman wall, and a theatre which sat only 300 people. As the home to the smallest theatre in all of Lycia, Simena was a minor settlement, its harbor used as a temporary safe haven for boats on their way to the completely sheltered harbor of Teimioussa. The castle overlooking the village, which also happens to be its namesake (Kalekoy means castle village in Turkish), was constructed during the Middle Ages by the Byzantines. From the top of this castle you can look out over the stunning view of the sheltered blue bays of Kekova Region and try to imagine thousand year old ships arriving to trade their ancient wares. The region truly is steeped in fascinating history and teeming with ancient ruins and artifacts just waiting to be discovered.
