Ovacik

About Ovacik

Ölüdeniz is a beach resort in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, famous for its “Blue Lagoon”. It was a tiny place until the 1990s, then Turkish tourism was boosted by direct flights from Europe, and the upgrade of Dalaman Airport put this stretch of coast within a one-hour coach transfer. It was relentlessly marketed, and the Ölüdeniz (Dead Sea) of the flat calm lagoon was re-branded as “blue lagoon”, and came to mean the entire resort strip. This has sprawled inland from the beach village of Belceğiz through Hisarönü and Ovacık, and in 2022 the combined resident population was 6132. This population burgeons during the Mediterranean hot, dry summers. Winters are mild with occasional heavy rainstorms (see Lycia climate chart) and many businesses close up.

Wikivoyage / Wikimedia Commons