Kekova Island (Sunken City)

 

The namesake of the region, the island of Kekova is located in front of Kaleköy. Boats can pull alongside the Tersane Bay on the island. Here, the apsis of a church from the Byzantine period can be seen. The history of the island isn’t exactly known but it is full of ancient remains. Traces of the sunken city and straits can be seen under water while passing the site in a boat. Now officially declared as a national park, the area is under protection and diving is prohibited.
Kekova (Dolichiste in the Lykian language) is a small, rocky island off the coast of Kaleköy and Üçağız, near the Demre country of Antalya. Its name is given as “Kakava” in many records. The 4.5 Km2 Island is completely uninhabited. The island is accessible by boat. 

Following the Italian occupation, Turkey and Italy couldn’t reach an agreement for some time as to who had the right to the island. However, it was eventually given to Turkey in an agreement made in 1932. 

One can see submerged structures from an ancient Dolkishte city, which was destroyed by earthquakes in the 2nd Century AD. Kekova was rebuilt and developed during the Byzantine period, but its development came to a halt due to Arab invasions.
Kekova and its neighbouring regions were officially declared protected areas by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on June 18, 1990. Although all swimming and diving activities initially required special permission from the government, this ban was later revoked outside the areas in which the ancient submerged structures are found. 

7.4 km long and approximately 500 m wide, the island extends parallel to the villages of Kaleköy (Simena) and Uçağız (Teimiusa), giving its name to the entire area, which is known as the Kekova Region. Its highest point is 188 m, while the deepest part of the sea between the island and the mainland is 105 m. Thanks to its recent popularity, Kekova has become a commonly used name in the tourism and protectionism fields. Even the boat tours in the area have become known as “Kekova tours.” More importantly, the island and the archaeological and natural reserve areas around it are now called the “Kekova Protected Area”. 

Having the cleanest sea, not only in Antalya, but in the entire Mediterranean region, Kekova owes this cleanliness to its protected status. The fact that it is acclaimed for its pristine waters by foreign visitors is a source of pride for the Turkish Republic in international preservation circles. Unlike the two small ports opposite, Kekova has never been built up as a large urban centre, but rather the island has been used as a curtain protecting these two cities against the Mediterranean, as a haven for sailors and a base for ship building and repairing. Known as the “Sunken City”, the remains on the north western shores of the island are the most colourful part of Kekova, which has been used as a commercial and military base since the 5th century BC. Tersane Bay is a location where swimming is allowed and has the most archaeological remains, including a basilica apsis from the Byzantine period. The nearby area known as the sunken city contains settlement remains carved into stone and foundations of structures submerged in its waters. The fact that only the buildings in this area are underwater can potentially be explained by the occurrence of an earthquake; such an event may have caused this part of the island to incline towards the mainland.