Gocek. The Port Gocek Marina is the scenic ultimate in yacht marinas and the place the TGE calls home. It is situated up against pined slopes of a national forest in the NW corner of the Gulf of Fethiye. Both the marina and Gocek Town are thirty minutes from Dalaman International Airport. Gocek Town itself has a unique charm as an emerging tourist destination and yacht haven. From Gocek we take guests by car to ancient Tlos and Saklikent, or to ancient Cadyanda, and from there up into the foothills of the Taurus Mountains to lunch on fresh trout. In Gocek Town, and because we make our home here, we are able to introduce guests to reputable carpet, craft-art, and other merchants.

Tomb Bay (Taskaya). Six miles from Gocek, Tomb Bay is delightful for dining, swimming, or boat drive-by below Carian and Lycian rock tombs (porticoed temple and pigeon-hole tombs). The ancient city of Crya is still evident among the olive trees and oleander, while its Lycian acropolis is a short climb above a seaside restaurant. Lycians, Herodotus asserted, were Cretans driven from Crete by Minos of Knossos. Carians, he believed, were native to Asia Minor.

Cleopatra's Bay (Manastir). Three miles from Tomb Bay. Another exquisite setting with thick pine right down to the water's edge. Monastery ruins half submerged attract the curious. Also called Ruin Bay, a 45-minute hike takes you to ancient Lydae. Off the beaten path and rarely visited, Lydae features mausolea, temple walls, cisterns, Corinthian columns and inscribed tablets from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Cleopatra, by the way, was here twice, once in 46 BC and once again in 32 BC with Marc Antony. He, Antony, was en route to Actium. She, Cleopatra, was enroute to a seven-month gala at Samos. Recep, the sometime restaurateur, bends any bendable ear while pouring cold beer or hot tea.

Wall Bay (Manastir). A quarter-mile from Cleopatra's Bay. Pine trees and crystal-clear water. Swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking. Enough said except that Yuksel and Mehmet, the local restaurateurs, are not only fine cooks but offer an after-dinner camaraderie that cannot be duplicated. Neither can be their breakfast the following morning. The wall giving the bay its name crosses the Lydae peninsula and formed the defensive perimeter on the land side for both Lydae and its satellite Arymaxa.

Gemiler (St. Nicholas) Island. Fifteen miles from Wall Bay. Once home to Lycian and Byzantine pirates, the remains of an entire village are there to be explored, from pirate-ship parking to covered passage to temple (see mosaics uncovered in 1999) and basilica. A wonderful place to swim and snorkel, and an equally wonderful place to take in a hilltop sunset with a bottle of wine. Ali Tuna, the seafood restaurateur at nearby Cold Water Bay, is a genial host who entertains with campfire and music.

Olu Deniz. Two miles from Gemiler, Olu Deniz (meaning Dead Sea) is the most photographed and picture-postcarded of any beach in the Eastern Mediterranean. Photos are best taken during a 30-minute paraglide down from Baba Dag (Father Mountain). The lagoon at Olu Deniz in 67 BC harbored the Roman galleys of Pompey the Great, there to eject Lycian pirates from Gemiler. The nearby ghost-town of Kaya was emptied by the Turkish-Greek population swap of 1923.

Butterfly Valley. Two miles from Olu Deniz and inaccessible except by sea, this striking spot is backed by almost sheer mountain from which water falls. Even the beach is bounded left and right by vertical rock promoting a unique privacy.

Sarsala Bay. Sixteen miles from Butterfly Valley, Sarsala is yet another striking pine-surrounded bay in which to swim and kayak. It is also a convenient starting point for a 45-minute hike to ancient Lissa, notable mostly for inscribed walls dating from the 3rd century BC rule of two of Cleopatra's Ptolemy forebears. The restaurant here is above average.

Fethiye. Ten miles from Sarsala, Fethiye is ancient Telmessos and site of several of the finer rock tombs in Lycia, some featuring Ionic porticoes. There is also a hilltop fortress built by the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem and a Roman theater undergoing re-excavation. Covered markets and lots of other shopping, particularly on Tuesdays. An excellent restaurant offering a splendid hors d'oeuvre of artichoke heart and tuna, as well as another featuring fine Turkish cuisine. Bougainvillea abounds. And a truly exhilarating sail in and out of port.