Datça Datça is a district of Muğla Province in south west Turkey and the center town of the district. The center is situated midway through the peninsula which carries the same name as the district and the town. Midway down the Datça Peninsula is a very narrow isthmus which separates the Aegean from the Mediterranean Sea. According to Herodotus, during the Persian invasions in 540 BC, the Knidians had sought to dig a canal at this spot as a defensive measure and in order to transform their territory into an island. But an oracle was consulted who reportedly said "If the gods had so willed, they would have made your land an island. Do not pierce the isthmus." Whereupon they surrendered to the Persians. The Datça Peninsula is a prized location for tourists visiting Turkey, especially by sea, because of the beauty of its many coves and larger bays which are favored ports of call for those undertaking the famous Blue Cruise along Turkeys scenic south west coast. Bluecruise sailboats - Turkish: gulets depart either from Bodrum, Marmaris, Göcek or from Datça itself for these tours. The road from Marmaris to Datça may still be a little bumpy in some parts and winds along a landscape that gradually but strikingly differs from that of the mainland. Apart from the traditional settlements there are also a dozen recently constructed vacation villages on the peninsula. The balance between preserving the natural way of life and the natural surroundings versus the investment in large-scale infrastructures for the tourism industry is an ongoing debate for the people of Datça, as it is for the entire region of south western Turkey. The inhabitants of the Datça peninsula have shown themselves clearly opposed to this kind of development and are in favor of developing the tourism potential of the region through family pensions and small hotels well integrated into the environment - while government in the past displayed an approach based on merely dollars and cents - Turkish: Liras and Kuruş.
Datça
