Turunç Bay: Hidden Gem Marina Destination on Turkey's Turquoise Coast

Dear readers, in this article we are going to Turunç, one of the Marmaris bays where green and blue maintain their harmonious unity.

Turunç has mild winters and sufficiently hot summer months. With this global warming effect, the temperature has really started to make itself evident in recent years.

Our recommendation; if possible, visit this bay, this town outside of July and August. The locals also point to this fact. It is under the influence of wind coming from the mountains, from the land. The town is affected by the heated air. This is the situation in summer except for a rare few southwesterlies.

Turunç had made all its preparations for mariners to stay.

8-10 bollards where we could comfortably moor, a healthy quay where we could get our electricity and water. Turunç municipality had everything.

After Turunç Municipality, which provided all these facilities, disappeared, the bollards began to vanish, and the quay began to suffer from daily boat invasion. Still, if we want to stay in this bay among high mountains, it is worth noting that our anchor can hold well, and the quay is comfortable from 16:30 until 11:00 the next day.

Let's say we anchored or moored, so what does Turunç have to offer. We can start by saying "nothing, nothing" about Turunç.

In fact, there's more than enough of whatever you're looking for. Unfortunately, this stems from our tourism mentality.

If someone does a successful, profitable business, another one comes next to them, then another one, because there's bread to be made.

But over time the bread crumbles and becomes useless to everyone. It's the curse of excessive businesses.

Turunç truly has all options in terms of shopping and food. Apart from a few large chain stores, a local market is set up on Mondays and you can find whatever you're looking for. This market is perhaps one of the best in Turunç.

This beautiful town among high mountains has road access, but it truly consists of exhausting bends. In recent years, the excessive construction that has drawn attention has started to gradually overwhelm Turunç.

In the town with a certain beach capacity, the sandy beach is now becoming insufficient.

The pier, built despite all the insistence of the local population, is damaging the beach. Due to this pier, the water movement within the bay carries away the beach sand, especially during winter months. When nobody took into account the authorities who conducted these studies and gave warnings at the time, insisting on having a pier anyway, this outcome emerged.

While the town consists of small houses, hotels and apartments, the large hotel built right in the middle has transformed charming Turunç into a Marmaris İçmeler-style settlement.

A problem we see in the Marmaris Region shows itself here as well; inadequate tree planting within the town.

While the mountains and hills are full of trees, in the town we created there are no trees, no shade. As a result; Nature offers it to us as a gift, we transform nature into the shape we want according to our interests, our accumulated knowledge and our tastes.

The natural disappears, the artificial, the dense shows its effect. Villages, charming towns are becoming concrete, turning into cities that we distance ourselves from greenery and escape from.

While doing our shooting in the town during the early, quiet hours of the morning, we see Abdülkerim Can, one of Turunç's old-timers, chatting with Sezgin Yetek, who settled here later and has lived in Turunç for many years. We also take our seat at the table and ask about Turunç.

They came here from the settlement areas up on top of the mountains, from the highlands, years ago.

ABDÜLKERİM CAN

"I was born in Osmaniye, this place was connected to there. There was no road to Marmaris. After 1986, forest road construction began and later it took its current form. Even now it's inadequate in my opinion.

We were a settlement of 15 households, we've become this.

We grew, we grew, we grew.

Development and growth had its good side, but its mistakes also emerged.

I've been a tradesman for 60 years, tourism spoiled our area a bit. There's an ugly competition. Beekeeping disappeared, agriculture is gone.

In my opinion, tourism here is also inadequate.

I'm sad, and it's regressing more and more."

Mr. Sezgin, who was chatting at the same table, came here years ago. He was engaged in trade.

He also witnessed the growth and development closely.

This duo we've encountered is also an example of Turunç's commercial profile.

The locals and newcomers make up Turunç's commercial profile.

SEZGİN YETEK

“I came to Turunç in 1987. This was a lovely, excellent village. Then it turned into a township, now it's become a neighborhood. These days, unfortunately, I'm searching for the Turunç of 30 years ago. Our township has experienced negative developments in terms of construction. Our parking problem is very big, it's not enough. Buildings constructed side by side create a breathing problem for the settlement.

The beach with sea water of Turunç that we saw in the 1970s no longer exists. Back then there were sand dunes on the beach.

From those dunes, we couldn't see the houses behind.

Now transported sand is brought to the beach and barely makes a beach. This sand disappears due to adverse weather conditions.

In the first years my wife and I came here, we did business here. Now we've declared our retirement. Global warming is really heating this place up.

The neighborhood is good, friendships are nice, days pass excellently.”

I'm descending the short slope and find myself in the tea garden under the trees. In my opinion, one of Turunç's most important and beautiful places.

The deep shade under the tall trees makes you forget the heat even for a moment.

Especially if there's a breeze, bring on the teas. A family has operated this place for many years. This is the place of children, parents, daughters-in-law, and grandmothers over a hundred years old who gather thyme from the mountains.

Currently, Tayfun Çelik is running the business. Of course, his father, mother, wife, children, and relatives are also part of the service team. Some make lemonade, some make gözleme, some water the garden, some sweep. They're really like bees. Actually, Turunç businesses are generally like this.

TAYFUN ÇELİK

"I was born in Turunç in 1980. Our garden started operating 30 years ago in 1988. We started the business with 10 tables and 40 chairs.

We were doing beekeeping and farming at that time.

My father first opened this place as a small tea house. Our resources were limited. We grew over time, now we have 220 chairs, we've become a large garden.

We experience our busiest days during holidays.

In terms of earnings, in terms of crowds.

We run this place as a family. We work together with my mother Ayşe, my sister Nermin, and my wife Sibel. We're also open during winter months, but our main season is between April and November. We're open from 08:00 in the morning to 24:00 in the evening during summer months.

This year, the situation would be very bad without domestic tourists. Foreign tourists have decreased to almost none. It used to be half foreign, half domestic. Now only Turks are bringing life to this place.

There are daily visitors from apartments, summer houses, Marmaris and İçmeler.

We used to be able to drink our tap water, it was so clean, now it's not possible.

A parking problem has emerged, causing unpleasantness because of this. There's hardly any beach left. The living and service capacity has been exceeded by far."

I'm passing from Arzu Tea Garden to the pier, to the sailors. Rows of small boats, daily tour boats, a few yachts moored.

During the day between 11:00-16:30, daily tour boats departing from Marmaris give their customers a break here. They walk around Turunç and return to their boats at departure time. This year, the decrease in density compared to previous years is notable.

After the daily boats set sail, the town's boats gradually moor.

Each has taken their guests to different locations. After mooring his boat, we go to Captain Çetin.

Çetin Zeybek has been doing this job in Turunç for years.

ÇETİN ZEYBEK

"I'm 42 years old, born and raised here. In our childhood there was no tourism. Previously we were doing vineyard, garden and livestock work.

In the last 25 years, tourism has livened up. 25 years ago when there were one or two restaurants here, a few apartments, guesthouses, now we even have five-star hotels.

Back then, small boats could be counted on one hand, now we have large multi-deck boats, they don't fit in the piers.

I also started doing the boat business.

From time to time we seek the old, because we've forgotten our essence, frankly.

Previously I had a 24-meter boat that carried a hundred people on daily tours. Now I have a small 12-person gulet.

I provide better quality service to fewer customers.

From here I make daily tours to Kadırga Bay, Manastır, Sarı Mersin bays.

Over time, life in Turunç became easier but the slice of the pie got smaller. Too many residences were built. There are too many businesses, the coast isn't enough for this population.

After the pier was built, the water circulation inside the bay changed. The sea is taking away the beach sand. Tourism movement can't start in May and June because beach arrangement works are still being done.

The closure of the municipality here, our connection to the center was bad, service became distant.

Our sea is still excellent compared to most places.

For those who want to come here, if they don't like crowds, I don't recommend July and August. May-June and September-October are our best months."

I leave the pier and go to a restaurant operator.

Evening preparations have long since started at Ali Çelik's place. I had seen Ali during those famous beach arrangement works at the beginning of the season. On top of a shovel, on top of a tractor, he was conducting the beach arrangement works.

ALİ ÇELİK

“I'm a native-born Turunç resident. Previously, in the early founding years of Turunç, I worked as an Operator, in tractor work.

I've been running a restaurant and motel for 13 years.

There have been many changes between the Turunç of our birth and today's Turunç.

Everywhere is filled with construction. We can regain that beautiful Turunç. Years ago, meetings were held, we were after how to advance Turunç further. Now we've become crowded and selfishness has come to the forefront.

There's only a disrespectful ambition to make money.

Problems aren't being discussed, solution proposals have disappeared.  We've started thinking about ourselves first, not Turunç.

We've been experiencing the beach problem for 15 years. But there's no solution.

In April-May we're also dealing with this problem. Trucks are unloading sand in front of the facilities. Construction machinery is doing grading.

Last July was one-fifth as productive as previous years, imagine.

Everyone's a restaurateur, there's no specialization distinction.

Everyone does everything. Everyone makes the same thing, the same food.

We should gather around a table and make positive decisions to develop Turunç like 15-20 years ago.”

Yes, we traveled around Turunç, had conversations, took footage. Of course, we also learned lessons.

Thinking that we need to learn more about construction, we are weighing anchor.

Stay healthy.