The Mediterranean Region - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 170

★
Medraft, Ye@ilbahçe Mah. Portakal
Çiçegi Bulvarı, Hüseyin Kuzu,
Antalya. b [phone];
www.medraft.com.

Köprülü Canyon

The walkway is wide enough for
a buggy though. Families, both
local and visitors, will spend the
whole day here. There's a picnic
spot and several little restaurants
for refreshments.

Köprülü Canyon, not far from
Antalya, offers the chance for
older children to enjoy white-
water rafting and kayaking. The
rapids are not too challenging and
it's a great place to try the sports if
you've never done it before. A few
companies offer excursions
through the canyon, including
Medraft , who also offer cycling
adventures and jeep safaris. The
immediate area has picnic areas
and restaurants with menus suit-
able for tots through to teenagers.
You can smell the aroma from
barbecued food for miles.
Saklikent Gorge

For Active Families
Antalya Kaleiçi Marina and
Leisure Centre
The Antalya Kaleiçi Marina and
Leisure Centre, Yat Limani, Antalya.
b + 90 242 327 76 79.
Offering fun for all the family, the
Antalya Kaleiçi Marina and
Leisure Centre is a bustling hive of
activity most days. There are sail-
ing lessons, dinghy races and the
chance to hop on board a full-size
yacht and try your hand at
manoeuvring it in the coastal
waters. If anyone isn't keen on sail-
ing, the award-winning marina
has lots of souvenir shops, fashion
shops and friendly little cafes to
while away some time too. The
area is popular in the evening
when restaurants open their doors
to families keen to enjoy the ambi-
ence created by the lapping of the
water, the old city walls being gen-
tly lit and the occasional street
entertainer. Many restaurants have
special menus created with chil-
dren in mind, offering burgers and
fish finger style meals with shakes
and ice creams, or if your children
are a little more adventurous why
not try a Turkish meze. Lots of lit-
tle dishes of local delicacies are
brought to your table - it's a great
way for the family to taste local
cuisine and if they don't like it
they can move on to another dish.

★★
Located around 25km from Fethiye.

Widely considered one of the
'must see' places in southern
Turkey, although not necessarily
suitable for very young children,
the Saklikent Gorge will astound
mums, dads and older children
without any shadow of a doubt.
Icy waters have cut a narrow,
exceptionally deep gorge, in fact
around 300m deep, into the
mountainside high above
Fethiye over thousands of years,
with the result being a wonder-
ful place to explore. The authori-
ties have constructed a walkway
so it's possible to walk its 18km
length in safety but, with a fairly
flimsy handrail to protect against
falling into the waters, it is
advisable to hold firmly on to
the hand of lively youngsters.

170