Kaş is a harbour town with a past that sits in plain sight. In the middle of the old town, carved into the rock above the road, is a Lycian tomb, a stone tomb cut like a house with columns and a pediment, some two thousand four hundred years old, and above the town on the hill there are more. The Lycians, a people of southwest Anatolia who spoke their own language and built their own cities, chose to bury their kings in high places so that eagles could carry their spirits away, or so the story goes. The Greek name of the town was Antiphellos, and there is a small Hellenistic theatre by the sea, which still looks over the water as it did in antiquity.
The town today is a laid-back, pretty place of about eight thousand people, with a small harbour, a bazaar of narrow lanes, bougainvillea and wooden balconies, and a good supply of bars and restaurants. Two kilometres offshore lies the Greek island of Kastellorizo, which Turks call Meis, so near that you can pick out the houses on its waterfront, and a daily ferry connects the two. Divers come for the wrecks, caves and clear water, and boat trips run to Kekova, where the ruins of a sunken Lycian city lie in the shallows.
The road in from Kalkan, along the D400, is one of the best in the country, with long curves above the sea, and the road onward toward Demre and Antalya climbs through pine forest and along cliffs. The surface is mostly good, though traffic can thicken in July and August. Wind is common in the afternoon, so keep a firm grip on the bars when the road runs along open stretches. Evenings are warm and the light is soft, a good time to ride.
Kaş has everything: fuel stations on the approach roads, supermarkets, cafes, bakeries and plenty of rooms. Fish restaurants on the harbour serve the day's catch with salad and bread, and a plate of mezes with a glass of rakı is the traditional way to spend the evening. Try the local yoghurt, which is thick and sharp. In the cooler months the town is quiet and charming, and you can have the roads almost to yourself. Mind the sudden rain showers that can turn the road slick.