Datça promoted with new slogan promising peace, tranquility

MUĞLA 

Datça isn’t a place for hasty travelers, as a new slogan to promote the resort town in Turkey’s Aegean region promises tranquility and a stay that will give you a peace of mind. “If you are in a hurry, what are you doing in Datça?” its new slogan says. 

Datça is famous for its almond flowers, and the province in which it is located, Muğla, offers unforgettable vacation opportunities to domestic and foreign guests thanks to its tourism diversity, cultural assets and magnificent nature. 

Datça is one of the many havens in the province, which contribute to the region’s tourism with its sea, sand and sun, as well as traces of different civilizations. 

While Turkey is covered in snow this season, the Datça Peninsula welcomes visitors with its white almond flowers.

The old Datça neighborhood is the main settlement in the district. It is very popular among tourists who wander its historic streets and houses. 

The late famous poet Can Yücel’s house, where he lived until his death in 1999, is also in the old Datça, receiving many local visitors especially in the summers. 

Among the travel destinations of visitors in the region is the ancient city of Knidos, which was home to Sostratos, the architect of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The ancient city has a special location where the Aegean and Mediterranean reunite. 

Located some 35 kilometers from Datça, Knidos is known to have been a developed city in science, architecture and arts in its past. Celebrities particularly travelling in the Aegean and Mediterranean visit the ancient field.

Knidos has two ancient theaters with 20,000- and 5,000-person capacities. The small one is in the south, close to the commercial harbor. The stones and marbles of the big one in acropolis were taken abroad by vessels in the 19th century. The artifacts unearthed in excavations are displayed in a small museum in the ancient site. 

Datça protected place 

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Datça district governor Mesut Çoban said Datça is one of the first places in Anatolia that welcomes spring ever year, and that it offered many alternatives to visitors. 

Datça is a special environmental protection area (ÖÇK), said Çoban. “Datça has a temperate climate that doesn’t chill in the summer and doesn’t smother in winter. For this reason, Datça is a place where people who want to live away from stress can live and have a holiday.”

Stating that history and culture were intertwined in Datça, Çoban said, “The slogan ‘If you are in a hurry, what are you doing in Datça?’ is associated with peace and calmness in the district. This is not a place to come and visit in a hurry and leave as soon as possible. We want people to take a rest and be happy here.”

He also said that transportation to Datça had become easier with newly built roads. 

A tourism operator in Palamutbükü, Mehmet Tekbacak said that Datça was preferred for a dreamy holiday. He said he would live there until he dies. 

Stating that he had been dealing with tourism in Datça for 20 years, Tekbacak said that the new slogan in the entrance of his hotel was welcomed by visitors. 

“The biggest stress here is to the stress of silence. The emblem of Datça is a snail, Garavilla as locally known. This is a slow town. People come here to find peace. This is why we have this slogan and it is very successful. I think Datça is the most beautiful and peaceful spot in the Aegean and Mediterranean basin. It is under protection as a whole. The sun shines 365 days a year,” Tekbacak said.