Akyaka & Azmak River

Natural Wonder / Scenery

At the head of the Gulf of Gökova, a Cittaslow “slow city” with its own timber architecture and the ice-clear Azmak River.

Set at the very head of the Gulf of Gökova, where pine-clad mountains meet the sea, Akyaka is a member of the international Cittaslow (“slow city”) network and guards that identity carefully. Its signature is the traditional timber houses with carved bay windows revived by the architect Nail Çakırhan; this distinctive architecture gives Akyaka a character found in no other coastal town.

At the town’s heart flows the Azmak River, fed by underground springs. On a boat trip along this short but extraordinarily clear waterway, the underwater plants, needle-fish and the sweetgum (liquidambar) trees on the banks appear with almost aquarium clarity, and the water stays at nearly the same temperature summer and winter. Akyaka Beach and its famously windy shore make it one of the world’s leading windsurf and kitesurf centres, while paragliders launching from Sakartepe glide over the gulf. For hikers, the trails of Gökova and stages of the Carian Way lie right alongside. For anyone who wants to slow down, cool off in clear water and eat good fish, Akyaka is a matchless break.