Söğüt is a large village located on the slopes of Bozburun's hills. Symi Island stands right accross the village in the Aegean Sea. Since there is almost no wide flat area in the village, the settlement is a little disorganized. The population of Söğüt is a composition of Turkmens, who have come from Kazdağları, Burdur, Ankara, and Manisa. There are also Tahtacı Turkmens and Tatar minority families.[reference]

 

There are a lot of tea&coffee houses in the village square, which makes here always alive. People of Söğüt make their living through tourism, fishing, beekeeping and agriculture. Almond, thyme, sage, locust, and black fig farming is very common in the village.  

 

In terms of transportation, Söğüt is one of the distant spots of Marmaris. The distance from Marmaris is 40 kilometers (1 hour) from İçmeler-Turunç-Osmaniye-Bayır route, and 53 kilometers (1 hour) from Datça Road-Hisarönü-Orhaniye-Turgut-Bayır Village route. Similar to other village routes, both of these routes are winding. Although, the distance does not appear to be so distant on the map, the trip makes you feel tired in the summer heat.  

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Saranda Bay

The most touristic region of Söğüt Village is the Saranda Bay, which is 3 km away from the centre of the village. On the right side of the descending way to Saranda, stands the famous "Manzara Restaurant". Just like its name ('manzara' means 'view'), this restaurant has a spectacular view of the Aegean Sea, comprising small close by islands, and Symi on the background. Owing to its beautiful view and delicious sea food, the ‘Manzara' is a restaurant of choice both in summer and winter. If you are interested in the names of the islands in the sight, yandex maps application will show you (google maps app does not).

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As soon as you arrive to the beach of Saranda Bay, you'll see Ahtapotçu Mehmet Usta (Chief Mehmet of Octopus)on your right, and Denizkızı (Mermaid) Restaurant on your left. Both of these restaurants are successful in seafood, and naturally the prices are a bit high. There are also a few more restaurants in the bay, which has similar features as well.

 

Saranda  beach is covered with colored pebbles, which do not hurt your feet when you step on. But it's better to pay attention to sea urchins. There are sun loungers on piers and pier-like wooden platforms along the beach, for those who do not want to step on pebbles.

 

There are lots of pensions and apart hotels in Saranda Bay, many of which serve their customers the vegetables they have grown in their own gardens, and daily-fresh fish they have caught in the sea. According to us, among the accomodation places, 'Aşkım(My Love) Pansiyon' comes to the forefront. It is on the left side of the beach, and 200 meters away from Denizkızı Restaurant. It stands out for its dedicated owners(husband&wife), its professional service, the well decorated rooms, its beautiful garden with flowers, citrus trees, vegetables and hanging grapes, and its natural&delicious food. And one more thing, they do not accept children!

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Taşlıca Village

Taşlıca is the neighbor village to Söğüt. The word 'taşlıca' means something like ‘stoney’ in English. Taşlıca, most probably has taken that name from its steppe terrain. Distance between Söğüt and Taşlıca is about 5 kilometers. The road connecting the two villages is a bit narrow, but at least it's asphalt paved. In the first mile of the road, you can see the beautiful view of Saranda Bay. As you enter Taşlıca village, you get out of the boundaries of Söğüt. From that point on, all the places on the southern bank of Bozburun Peninsula are connected to Taşlıca.

 

There is a hill named Asar, 4 km away from Taşlıca. On and around that hill, there are remains of the ancient Phoinix city (one of the cities of Karia). Through the ancient pathway between Taşlıca and Phoinix, you can see a few ancient graves. In the mid of the path between Asar Hill and Taşlıca (in the pit) stands the agora of the city. And on the slope to the hill you can see the protected remnants of a single building, and the necropolis respectively. The city's acropolis is also located on Asar Hill as well. The view from the top of the hill is even more interesting than the remnants. The landscape is as follows: the Aegean Sea, Taşlıca Village, empty and demolished houses of the Sindilli Village (which was abandoned in the 1950s and moved to Taşlıca), and the Aziziye Quarter (about 6 km to the southwest). [reference]

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Kırkkuyular

Kırkkuyular region is located on the way between Taşlıca Village and Serçe Cove. There is the abandoned Sindilli village, further ahead. This abandoned area is still being used for agriculture by the villagers. Kırkkuyular has taken its name from 40 cisterns built by the former inhabitants of the region. According to a myth, there is the 41st cistern full of gold in it, but it hasn't been found yet :) Groundwater is of great importance for the residents, because the water resources of the region are very scarce. Since there is no flowing water in the village, the villagers carry groundwater in very old fashioned ways, that is to say, they pull buckets from the wells, and load that water filled buckets onto donkeys. People do use this water for agriculture, animal husbandry and other daily necessities. The scene is authentic and photogenic, even trekking tours are organized to shoot photographs of the donkeys carrying water. But on the other hand, it is also tragic to carry water with donkeys still in the 21st century.

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Serçe Cove 

Serçe (Sparrow) Cove is located 8 km away from the village of Taşlıca. The route to the cove is a narrow gravel road. The cove has a 135 meters of entrance from the sea, and has two sections: 'Serçe Harbour' on the north, and 'Akça Harbor' on the south. The distance from the north edge to the south is 1 kilometer. Since Serçe Cove has a very narrow entrance, and is surrounded by high hills, it is a well sheltered harbor for yachts and other small boats. There's only one facility in the cove, namely "Captain Nemo's Farmrestaurant".

 

In 1977 a sponge fisherman discovered a 16 meters long shipwreck, loaded with amphoras at 32 meters (105 ft.) deep in the cove. Until a professional team had arrived for research, the amphoras inside the ship had been looted considerably. After the research conducted between 1977-79 by a team of Turkish and American scientists under the presidency of Prof. George F. Bass; it was found out that the ship belonged to 11th century (more precisely to 1025) and that there were 3 tons of sturdy and broken glassware inside. After analyzing the goods found in the ship, it came out that the ship belonged to the Muslims and that they had departed from a port in southern Syria. The artifacts found here, are the most important Islamic glass collection known, and are still exhibited in the Bodrum Underwater Museum.

 

Loryma Cove

Loryma Cove is located on the southernmost of the Bozburun Peninsula, being the most out of the way place in Marmaris. There is no access to the cove from the land, the only way is to walk from Taşlıca. Loryma is a cove, where the sea enters into the land about 1.5 kilometers. Since this cove has a natural protection against the winds and the waves, it is widely used by many yachts and boats as a berthing place for long. There are 3 wooden piers, and two restaurants namely "Sailor's House" and "Loryma" in the cove. The restaurants meet their electricity need with power generators.

 

On some maps this cove is called "Oplosiko". "Hoploteke" means a shipyard in Greek. It is said to be that there had been a shipyard in this cove in the past.[reference] In Turkish this cove is called Bozukkale, which means 'Ruined Castle'.

Remains of the ancient city of Loryma, which was founded in the 7th century BC, spread over a very wide area comprising this cove. The city was completely abandoned after the Arab invasion in the 7th century. The most important remnant arriving today is the harbor fortress, which is 120 meters long, 10 meters wide and is quite well preserved. The fortress, dominated by Rhodes and strategically important for the protection of the Rhodes Union, was abandoned over time. There is an acropolis in the upper part of the city that can be reached by a 1 hour walk. The acropolis is surrounded by walls, and there are remains of only one building inside with three major cisterns. It can be inferred from the acropolis that, this area was used for asylum at the moment of danger.

 

In the Byzantine era, Loryma was used as a naval base and weapons warehouse. Many houses and three churches were built here during that period of time, using ancient materials. That time the houses were carefully built on terraces on the slope. There's a sanctuary named as "Artemis Soteria” and is located on a flat ground on the west side of the city. The necropolis area, which extends to south, is adjacent to this sanctuary. On the south side of the necropolis, stands the sanctuary area of Apollon. It is also known from the epitaphs that there's an altar devoted to Zeus Atabyrios, the god of Rhodes. [reference]

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Kıran Lake

Kıran is a small lake near the ancient city of Loryma, with a diameter of 30 meters. It is filled with water in winter, and dries in summer. It is concluded from the remnants that, there is an ancient city connected to Rhodes near the lake. Since the lake is not easily accessible from land, it's more reasonable to go to Loryma Cove from the sea first, then hike for two hours to get there. There is no satisfactory information about the region, because no excavations have been made yet. [reference]

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