The city of Kaş is nestled about halfway between Fethiye and Antalya.  A popular vacation spot, it boasts a fantastic boardwalk of restaurants featuring authentic Turkish cuisine set against a stunning backdrop of the working harbour blending into the endless aqua ocean.  While certainly a tourist town, Kaş is typically visited by more Turkish vacationers than most of the traditional hotspots which ensures that it feels less changed to meet the perceived tastes of international visitors.  The prices are reasonable, the variety fantastic, and the scenery to die for – a truly spectacular spot to spend some time.

The whole town is filled with cues that this is a place that is not willing to change to meet the demands of tourists.  The signs remain mostly in Turkish, the hallmarks of tourists – motorbike rentals and trinket shops – remain few, and the people who live here just seem to be content to just keep on doing their thing.  One great example is the Friday market, a collection of locals hawking everything from a dizzying array of fresh produce to imitation designer clothing.  Following the patterns of the town itself, this market is geared towards local restauranteurs and mothers alike, whether buying supplies for their weekly specials or family dinners, you can find what you need here.

On the topic of food, I have to give a brief plug to my new favourite spot, the #1 rated restaurant (out of 129, as of July 2014), Zeytin.  I normally find that TripAdvisor is well suited to find the most expensive, pretentious, or popular restaurants but not always a good “local” favourite.  However, after reading the reviews, I decided to stop by Zeytin for lunch on my second day, and from my first meze, I knew I was in the right spot.  Zeytin is the restaurant you want to go to in Turkey – set on the boardwalk with a great view, required dress code is shorts and flipflops, and the meals are what you expect you might get in somebody’s home, if that somebody is a damn good cook.  Don’t ask questions, don’t order based on prices, and don’t consider other places, just go – thank me later.

It’s not just food that makes this place great though, the landscapes are equally staggering – the green mountains, the aqua water, the red roofs, the white boats – stunning, from every angle, day and night.  It’s shocking how gorgeous it is, words don’t even describe it.  No matter what angle you look at, what vista you shoot from, you are rewarded with stunning panoramas of inviting ocean dotted with islands as far as the eye can see.  And it’s not just Kaş either, Turkey has literally hundreds of kilometres of equally gorgeous and mostly unspoiled coast to explore by land or boat.

Life is a little different here, many of those who live here are not wealthy and do not live easy lives – this is a couple with their small baby carrying groceries high up into the mountains; yet people seem tremendously content.

Then again, if your backyard looked like this, wouldn’t you be content?

Kaş is the best city I have been to in Turkey and the one I can’t wait to come back to.  In fact, I skipped two other cities just to stay here longer – that must count for something!  Just like Zeytin, don’t ask questions, don’t worry about the price, and don’t consider other places, just come to Kaş – thank me later.