Phaselis, the Harbour Town Under the Pines

The road to Phaselis ends in a pine wood, and for a few minutes it is hard to say where the ruins begin. Then the trees open on a paved avenue lined with old stone, running straight toward a strip of blue. The sea sits at the end of the street like a door left open.

Phaselis was a trading port, founded by settlers from Rhodes on a headland with three natural harbours, and the geography still shows it. Today the harbours are the beaches. You swim in water that once held ships, with the stones of the old quay just below the surface and the pines coming down almost to the waterline.

A headland with a bay on each side

The ancient city sits on a small peninsula, with a bay on either side and a smaller harbour in the middle, all protected by low hills and thick pine. The three bays still shelter the water from the wind, which is why it is nearly always calm and the colour so even.

Each harbour has its own temper. The middle harbour, small and enclosed and once the city's military harbour, lies nearest the avenue, with a gentle beach and shallow water. The south harbour is the largest, with the most sand and the most people, and it is where the boats anchor. The north harbour is smaller and quieter, with pebbles underfoot.

Before the tour groups

By midday, tour groups arrive from the nearby resorts and the beaches fill. At eight in the morning you may have a harbour nearly to yourself, with a few early walkers and the hum of insects. The sun comes in low through the trees before ten, and the water is glassy.

Phaselis is a ticketed site with gate hours, not a wild cove. Check the closing time when you arrive and leave before the gate shuts.

A beach you share with the ruins

The pines come right down to the shore, which gives shade that is rare on this coast. In the afternoon the light filters through the branches and the whole site turns green and gold, with cicadas constant in the background.

Facilities are simple: toilets, a small café and little else. Bring water, sun protection and sandals for the rocks. A snorkel mask is worth packing here, since the water near the old stones is clear and there are fish around the quay.

Editor's picks

• Walk the avenue first.It is cooler and quieter before you swim, and it explains how the three harbours worked as one town.
• Swim in the middle harbour.It is the calmest of the three and the shallowest, and it sits closest to the old street.
• Bring a mask.The water by the quay is clear, and a few minutes with your face in it is better than any sign.
• Climb to the theatre.The view back over the bays gives you the shape of the place.
• Look at the aqueduct.Its arches stand beside the car park, and the line of the old channel runs back into the forest.
• Picnic by the south harbour.The bay is wide, the old stones make a natural seat, and there is room to spread out.
• Pair it with Çıralı.A morning at Phaselis, lunch down the coast and an evening at the Chimaera makes a full day. Walkers can add the trails in the Beydağları National Park.

Insider notes

Keep one eye on the closing time. A late swim is tempting, and the gate does not wait. Bring a small picnic if you can, since the café is basic and the best spots are away from it.

The best light is early. Before ten the pines throw long shadows, the water is flat and the ruins look the way they must have looked to sailors arriving from the sea. After lunch, drift back to the beach for a last swim and let the afternoon go slowly.

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How to get to Phaselis

Antalya is the closest airport, about an hour by road, near Tekirova. Dolmuşes run along the Kemer road, and a car gives you the early start. Flights from Europe and Istanbul are covered in Getting there.

You swim in a bay that sailors used two thousand years ago, and nothing in the view has been spoiled.