Kekova and Simena

Specially Protected Environmental Area; A Lycian Settlement Partly Submerged By 2nd Century Earthquakes, With Swimming And Diving Over The Ruins Prohibited · Demre, Antalya

A series of earthquakes in the second century dropped part of a Lycian settlement into the sea along the north shore of Kekova island, and the water here is clear enough that you look straight down at foundations, staircases and doorways running out into the blue. Boats from Ucagiz and Kas idle along the shore above it, and swimming and diving over the ruins are banned outright to protect them, which is why they are still there to look at. Opposite, the village of Kalekoy - ancient Simena - has no road to it at all: you arrive by boat, walk up through the houses, and find a small Crusader-era castle on top with the smallest theatre in Lycia cut into the rock inside it. Lycian sarcophagi stand half-submerged just offshore. Sea kayaking over the sunken city out of Ucagiz has become the classic way to do it, and it is a genuinely good one. Kalekoy empties completely once the last day boats leave in the afternoon.

Kalekoy, Ucagiz Mahallesi, Demre, Demre, Antalya, Turkiye

Boats run from Ucagiz, Kas and Demre from roughly April to October and stop almost entirely in winter. The castle at Kalekoy keeps daytime hours and charges a small fee. There is no road to Kalekoy at any time of year. Sea conditions cancel trips at short notice, particularly outside high summer.

Kekova and Simena on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos