The Datça Peninsula

With northern beaches and a rugged southern coast of many bays, this largely deserted 90km-long peninsula is ideal cruising territory for Blue Voyagers from Bodrum and Marmaris. It is also a treat for botanists, as Ro FitzGerald discovered on a recent visit reported in [Cornucopia 44](/magazine/issues/classics-with-a-twist/). The peninsula was settled by Dorians, and Strabo believed its warm, dry climate would prolong life. The eastern approach is so narrow, with views over both the Gulf of Gökova and the Gulf of Hisarönü, that it is called *Balıkaşıran* (a place fish can jump across). The road runs through the pine forested mountains to the almond groves of Datça on the south coast, the main town of the peninsula. Ferries for Bodrum leave from Kömen 9km to the north. To the west, the road continues some 25km through wild countryside to the tip at ancient Knidos.