Kekova is a long island separated from mainland Turkey by a stretch of water known as Kekova Roads.  There are multiple well protected anchorages off Kekova Roads, two of which we have tried.  From Kas, it was an uneventful 3.5 hour trip to Üçagiz Limani, which has a relatively narrow entrance off Kekova Roads but then opens up to a huge fairly shallow bay.  We dropped the anchor in 12 feet of water and had a very comfortable night.  In the morning we took the dinghy ashore to the charming little fishing/farming village of Üçagiz, fortunately before all the busloads of tourists arrived for their gület day trips to see the nearby ruins.  We scrambled over the rocks on a very rough path east of the village to see an unbelievable number of Lycian sarcophagi (dated around 400-300 BC) that had been carved out of rock, most with their lids either askew or toppled.

Lycian Sarcophagi near Ucagiz. They were “littered” about all over the place!

We of course stopped for refreshment at the restaurant where we had left the dinghy under the watchful eye of the proprietor.  This involved trying their flat pancake with herbs and crumbeld cheese on top, as an early lunch – yum!, and lubricated with some Effes beer.

View of the castle above Kalecöy

On our second visit to this area (from Finike;~3 hours) we again anchored in Üçagiz Limani but this time east of the entrance so we could take the dinghy to Kalecöy, with its spectacular Byzantine castle above the village and harbour.  It was quite a hot climb up to the castle but well worthwhile.  Kalecöy sits on the ancient site of Simena, which was inhabited from the 4th century BC.  Perhaps the most impressive feature of the castle was the tiny theatre that was carved out of the rock.  The ancients were definitely hard working driven people  The views from the castle were spectacular (see below), which hopefully will give an impression of the area.

The small 300-seat theatre carved out of the rock within the castle walls at Kalecöy (ancient Simena)
Looking west showing the entrance to the anchorage off Üçagiz on the right and Kekova Roads on the left
Look closely and you may see several more sarcophagi east of Kalecöy (Simena). Kekova island (known for its sunken city) is on the far side of Kekova Roads.

We have yet to take a boat trip to see the sunken ruins off the northern coast of Kekova.  The ancient city sank during a series of severe earthquakes in the second century AD.

We have also anchored in the idyllic inlet Gökkaya Limani, at the eastern end of Kekova Roads. To enter, we passed south of the isand Ashil Adasi, that we later visited by dinghy to explore the cave pictured below.

We finally got the paddleboard out in the beautiful, peaceful anchorage of Gokkaya Limani.
Looking out from a cave near the entrance to Gokkaya Limmani where bats resided and the water was crystal clear