Datca and Knidos

A 70 Kilometre Peninsula Between The Aegean And The Mediterranean, With The Dorian City Of Knidos And Its Two Harbours At The Tip; Knidos Is On The UNESCO Tentative List · Datca, Mugla

The Datca peninsula runs seventy kilometres west into the sea between the Aegean and the Mediterranean, narrow enough in places to see water on both sides from the road, and planted almost end to end with almonds and thyme. At the very tip, where the two seas meet, sit the ruins of Knidos - a Dorian city with two harbours, one on each side of the point, built so that ships could always find shelter whichever way the wind blew. It had the most famous statue in the ancient world, Praxiteles' Aphrodite, which people sailed here specifically to see and which has been lost since antiquity; the round temple platform it stood on is still there. The rest of the peninsula is quieter than anywhere comparable in Mugla: Old Datca of stone houses in the hills, small bays, almond honey, and a wind that blows most afternoons. The road to Knidos is slow and worth it, and the point where the two seas meet is visible as a line in the water.

Datca Merkez ve Yazikoy, Knidos Oren Yeri, Datca, Datca, Mugla, Turkiye

The peninsula is lived on year round with a heavy summer season; many restaurants and hotels close from November to March. Knidos at the tip is a ticketed archaeological site with daytime hours and an earlier winter close - it is 35 km of slow winding road from Datca town, so leave time. Seasonal ferries connect Bodrum and the Greek islands.

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