As your plane circles down towards Dalaman, you realise that the view from your porthole has changed from sky blue to pine green. Then, as it straightens, you catch sight of many islands scattered around the innumerable bays of the Gulf of Fethiye, and you imagine yourself sailing before the wind amongst them. As you leave the plane, the salt smell in the air and the cool touch of the breeze tells of the presence of the sea close by. Filled with expectation you drive the 20 kilometres from Dalaman Airport to Göcek, the shadows cast by the pine woods alternating with brief glimpses of Göcek in the distance. If instead of entering the village, you continue on to Ýnlice, where the fragrance of the oriental sweet-gum trees (Liquidambar orientalis) pervades the air, you pass by a Lycian rock tomb at the edge of the road. There are many such tombs to be seen on the hillsides around Göcek, and while out exploring this region on the borders of Lycia and Caria, to know that you are treading the very same ground travelled by Strabo and Pliny in antiquity enhances the pleasure of such walk.

The region was also home to Icarus, who flew too near the sun on the wings invented by his father Daedalus, and fell to his death. Göcek is only one of many resorts on this beautiful stretch of coastline, but stands out as the starting point for the most remarkable yachting route in the Mediterranean, and for the scope of services available here for seamen and their weary boats. On the shore here you will encounter passionate afficionados of the sea, enchanted by the beauty of their voyage, yachtsmen busy overhauling and provisioning their boats, dry docks, and marinas where the boats wait impatiently to be out to sea again. In the streets, restaurants and bars you come across voyagers of every nationality. The villagsa relationship with sailors goes back thousands of years, to when the Lycian coastal town of Kalimche stood here. Today Göcek is a meeting place for yachts and passengers setting out and returning from the famous Blue Voyages around this spectacular indented coast. The Blue Voyage was 'invented' by a group of Turkish artists and writers in the 1960s,

Artist and poet Bedri Rahmi Eyüboglu painted his fish in 1974, and the cove was named after him. There are Lycian rock tombs on the hillside overlooking the cove, whose shores are thick with oleanders. Beyond this is Tasyaka and then Cleopatra. The half submerged ruins in Cleopatra's Cove are not in fact contemporary with the Egyptian queen, but a mixture of Carian and Byzantine. Tersane Island also has extensive ruins, mainly belonging to an old Greek village. The island is the largest of the group known as the Twelve Islands, and takes its name from the fact that it served as a naval arsenal for the Ottoman navy during World War I. Here you can sit beneath a goa'sa hair canopy and eat a lunch of gözleme, a speciality of the nomadic Yörük cuisine, consisting of thinly rolled pastry folded into envelopes containing cheese and other various fillings, and cooked on a griddle, accompanied by a refreshing drink of ayran made with yoghurt. For dinner, of course, a feast of Mediterranean seafood awaits you.

The larger of the two Yassica Islands is little more than a narrow sandbank, and resembles a playground with a shallow pool at one end that is perfect for young children. It is possible to walk through the sea to the smaller island. There are rides on bananas and rings for those in search of more exuberant entertainment. The coves and bays of the Gulf of Göcek, protected from the strong winds of the open sea beyond, are an ideal way to enjoy the sea at its most idyllic. Accommodation ranges from small charming guest houses to starred hotels, and the relaxed atmosphere of the village combined with the busy liveliness of the sophisticated marinas is sure to delight everyone.

* Faruk Üründül is a photographer and freelance writer