About Marmaris

Marmaris is a coastal town, a port city and a tourist destination on the southwest Mediterranean coast of Turkey, in the Mugla Province. Marmaris splits the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea along with a long and narrow peninsula.
Marmaris is one of the Turkey’s most popular holiday towns and largest resorts on the Aegean coast. With its surroundings, long coastline, outstanding landscape of pine-covered hills, isolated bays and inlets, wonderful beaches, ancient cities, marinas and every kind of attractions; Marmaris welcomes about 400,000 people during summer season.
Marmaris is a lovely resort that where swimming is possible in the secluded bays as well as in front of the hotels in the city centre. The sea is always crystal clear. Marmaris has long stretch of golden fine sandy beaches, small bays, coves and islands. Marmaris has 300 days of sunshine during the year.

History of Marmaris

It is not known for certain when Marmaris was founded. However, as Marmaris previously known as Physkos, was part of the Carian Empire in the 6th century BC before she was overrun by the Lydians. Another invasion by the Lydians in 334 BC led to the partition of the Roman Empire after the rule of Alexander the Great.

According to the historian Herodotus, the Carians coming from Crete, settled in the area which is now known as the province of Mugla. They also took over the town of Physkos with its natural harbor and used it as a military base and to enhance trade between Rhodes and the other Aegean Islands. The Carian civilization entered a dark period after 300 BC, coming under the reign of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Ionians, and Dorians successively. The Dorians colonized the Carian province and divided the region into 9 cities, two of which were Halicarnassos and Cnidos. These two cities later on became an active trade center and seaport of Anatolia specializing in handicrafts.
In 138 BC Attalos the 3rd, King of Pergamon, whose predecessors had ruled Caria for 90 years, ceded Physkos to Rome and the city was ruled from Rhodes by Roman generals. The city became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1425, and the castle was built in 1521 AD for use in a planned assault upon Rhodes. The Ottoman Sultan at the time, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman, changed the name of the town to Mimaras, which then became Marmaris according to historian Evliya Celebi.

Things to do in Marmaris

The town is located along the shores of a charming, highly enclosed bay and is large enough to give sightseeing and shopping opportunities to tourists. It is also a centre for sailing and diving, possessing two major and several smaller marinas, and a popular wintering location for hundreds of cruising boaters. If you like night life, there are many night clubs and bars located in the city centre, around the quay and in the ‘bar street’ area to appeal all tastes. The town is well known as a gateway to Rhodes Island of Greece. You can enjoy a day trip to Rhodes by fast catamarans.

How to reach Marmaris

Fastest way to reach Marmaris is by flights serving international Dalaman airport. Many direct flights are available from major airports in the World between April/May and October/November and less so between mid November and April.

Also there are many airlines that have direct flights to Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya and domestic airlines have regular flights to and from Dalaman.The flight from Istanbul to Dalaman Airport takes about an hour.

Coming from Greek Islands ; There are ferries between operated by ferry companies has daily trips between Rhodes and Marmaris throughout the summer. The same association also runs a hydrofoil during the summer months everyday.

For those visitors coming to Marmaris by road, the distances from the surrounding towns and cities are as follows:

Dalaman Airport : 94 km
Bodrum Airport : 130 km
Ä°zmir Airport : 246 km
Datca : 71 km
Fethiye : 125 km
Antalya Airport : 327 km