Alanya until a little over ten years ago, Alanya was just another sleepy coastal town with no more than handful of flyblown hotels to its name. The days its one of the Mediterranean coast’s major resorts , a booming and popular place which has expanded along its sandy beaches. Careful manegament has ensured that the town renains relatively unscathed by the tourism development , but nonetheless Alanya relies heavily on the often fragile support of its foreign vistors.

Most visitors enter the town from the west an approach that reveals Alanya at its best , the road passing through verdant banana plantations on the outskirts and sudenly revealing a rock promontory , topped by a castle rearing out of the Mediterranean. Little is known about Alanya’s early history although its thought that the town was founded by Greek colonists , who named it Kalonoros or “beautiful mountain”.

Back down at sea level , apart from the hotels and restaurants , modern Alanya has very little to offer. On the western side of the promontory , The Alanya Museum is filled with local archeological and ethnological ephemera , including find from and photos of several small Pamphylian sites in the region. Most unusual is an inscription in Phoenician sixth century BC, a sort of halfway house between cuneiform writing and the alphabet as the Greeks developed it.

Alanya’s beaches are extensive , stretching from the town centre for a good 3km west and 8km east . The sand is not the finest and little effort is made to keep the beaches clean , so its well worth heading out of town 23km on the Side road to Incekum (fine sand) a three-kilometre strech backed by pine forests which does live up to its name , even though it has been voraciously gobbled up by big hotel complexes in the last few years.

Behind the wooded coastal strip villa developments have sprung-up on agricultural land. Golf  aside facilities and shopping are very poor in the immediate area at present the area is a property hot-spot with over 35 new developments. Despite rapidly rising prices not all properties represent value for Money , so it is important to hop around and compare.

Bodrum is one of Turkey’s most established and cosmopolitan resorts. Originally a fishing village in the shadow of a magnificent Crusader castle , Bodrum’s history stretches back 2,000 years , to when it was the capital of the tyrant Mausolus and home to his tomb , one of the ‘ Seven Wonders of the World ‘ more recently , Bodrum was a bohemian retreat for Turkish artists and intellectuals. In the last two decades it has grown massively ,attracting European holiday-makers ,domestic tourists and also the elite of Turkish society. Renowned for its nightlife , the town also boasts good restaurants and a museum in the restored Castle of St John. Local healthcare is excellent with several private hospitals. Shopping is also good with a choice of supermarkets and a weekly market. There is a large marina and a dock for cruise-liners is under construction. A golf course is planned for an area near the town’s airport.

Beyond the town , the Bodrum peninsular is ringed by a series of smaller , quite distinct resorts , Bodrum is very popular with foreign and Turkish buyers and there is an excellent choice of property. Villas and apartments with views of the castle are available , with prices from 85,000 for a two-bedroom apartment or from 200,000 for a four-bedroom villa. Elsewhere a two-bedroom apartment is 60,000 – 75,000 , but don’t expect a view.
Gümbet several kilometers west is favaured by British package tourists . Prices are similar to Bodrum but many areas are noisy in the season and most local businesses shut in winter.
Turgutreis beaches is excellent , Yalikavak , Gumbet beaches hotels and bars are good.           

Marmaris sits on a slumming bay protected by steep pine-forested mountains. Sultan Süleyman the magnificent built the town’s tiny castle before invading Rhodes in 1522 but little else remains of the quiet fishing village of yesteryear Modern Marmaris is a large toqn and one of Turkey’s main resorts, receiving over a million visitors each year. It boasts excellent services entertainment and shopping as well as several large marinas including the 750-berth netsel marina one of the largest in the eastern Mediterranean . Marmaris is surrounded by beautiful countryside with plenty of options for excursions . Although the baches in the town aren’t good the nearby suburb of  Icmeler has a stretch of sandy beach with water sports and other activities in season. Icmeler’s promenade is backed by large hotels , behind which ara a grid of touristy shops , restaurants , villas and small apartment. In Contrast to other parts of town the area is near with good roads , carefully kept communal gardens and a well-developed infrastructure.

There is very little new land available for development in Marmaris. Prices look set to continue rising in the face of strong demand from both domestic and foreign buyers. The town centre is dominated from by re-sale apartments mostly over 5 years old. Close to the main concentration of restaurants shopping and nightlife basic two-bedroom apartments start from 35,000. The tiny old stone houses around the castle range from 75,000 to over 125,000 depending on location and condition.
 The suburb of Armutalan is popular with wealthy Turks and counts a former Turkish president Kenan evren as one of its seasonal residents. The area has villas and new complexes with prices for a three-bedroom apartments from 65,000 – 75,000 or a new four-bedroom house with a pool from 140,000. The new suburb of Beldibi has cheaper property and good transport links to the centre.
Prices in Icmeler are higher due to strong foreign and domestic demand. Expect to pay from 150,000 for a new four-bedroom villa over 95,000.

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