Photo: Harry Luff · CC BY-SA 2.0
From a fishing harbour to one of the Mediterranean’s most graceful towns
Kalkan sits on the slope where the Taurus Mountains meet the sea, on the coast between Fethiye and Kaş. The town flows downhill to its old harbour.
Welcome to Kalkan
Kalkan is a small harbour town in the Kaş district of Antalya, on the coast between Fethiye and Kaş. It spreads around a horseshoe bay where the Akdağ mountains meet the sea. Whitewashed stone houses step down the hill to the harbour, and the lanes are lined with bougainvillea, jasmine and olive trees.
The old centre, Köyiçi, has been a protected urban conservation site since 1982. Today Kalkan is known for boutique hotels, sea-view villas, rooftop restaurants and a calm, cared-for atmosphere far from mass tourism. About 4,000 people live here year-round, several times that in summer.
- Location
- Kaş district, Antalya
- Population (2022)
- 3.926
- Protection
- Conservation site, 1982
- Nearest airport
- Dalaman, ~1 h 20 min
“Kalkan is the place where the stars appear closest to the earth.”— Words attributed to Herodotus at the Kalkan Sky Festival (source unverified)
Kalkan’s history
From a fishing landing to a protected town: five hundred years of Kalkan.
- Antiquity
In the middle of Lycia
Kalkan lies inside ancient Lycia, yet no Lycian-era finds are recorded in the town itself. In antiquity the bay was used as a shelter and water source rather than a harbour.
- 1513
On Piri Reis’s chart
Piri Reis records the bay as “Ilkı Kara” in his Kitab-ı Bahriye. Greeks called it Kalamaki, the name the town went by until the 1920s.
- 1811–1881
Through travellers’ eyes
In 1840 Charles Fellows describes a “small village”. By 1881 Benndorf counts about 60 houses and 300 people, with street life lasting late into the night.
- 1890–1924
A Greek trading harbour
In the late Ottoman period Kalkan is a busy, Greek-majority landing. Grain, sesame, goat hair, timber, resin, sponge and acorns ship to İzmir, the islands, Cyprus and as far as Trieste and Odessa. Merchants from Kastellorizo build stores here; the population passes 1,000.
- 1897
From church to mosque
The Greek Orthodox church is completed in 1897, the date on its bell. After the exchange it becomes a mosque: today’s Mustafa Kocakaya Mosque at the western end of Atatürk Caddesi.
Photo: afanc Manchester (Flickr) · CC BY 2.0 - 1923–1924
The population exchange
With the Greek–Turkish population exchange the Greek community leaves Kalkan. Many settle on the coast south of Athens and found a new Kalamaki there. The town’s trade gradually passes to Turkish merchants.
- 1920–1950
Stone houses, timber bays
Most houses you see in the old town date from this time: two-storey stone houses with timber bands, tiled roofs and wooden upper-floor bays. Greek master builders from Kastellorizo and Rhodes worked in Kalkan until the mid-20th century.
Photo: Wusel007 · CC BY-SA 3.0 - 1928–1970
Municipality, school and port
A municipality is set up in 1928, and in 1938 a two-storey primary school serving 17 villages is built. Kalkan stays the area’s only port until the 1970s; as roads improve, sea trade fades.
Photo: Volker Höhfeld · CC BY-SA 4.0 - 1960–1980
Yachtsmen and first tourists
Yachtsmen discover Kalkan first; the first visitors arrive in the 1970s and tourism grows quickly from the 1980s. The municipality is re-established in 1974.
- 1982
Under protection
On 6 February 1982 the old centre, Köyiçi, is declared an urban conservation site. About 7 hectares hold some 40 registered buildings; in the old houses, even windows need permission to change.
- 2000–2014
Villas and the British
In the 2000s villas cover the hillsides and a large British community settles. The first beach club opens in 2006; in 2011, 96% of visitors come from the UK. Fast building also brings debate about protecting the old fabric. In 2014 Kalkan loses its town status and becomes a neighbourhood of Kaş.
Neighbourhoods
Investing in Kalkan
Sea-view villas, strong summer rental demand and limited land make Kalkan attractive to investors. Foreigners can buy property in Türkiye under set rules, and a purchase of US$400,000 or more can support a citizenship application. Since 2024 short-term rentals need a Ministry of Culture and Tourism permit. We help investors with areas, purchase and rental.