Emel Sayin Bay

Before it took its current name, Emel Sayın Bay was known as Bencik Bay, marking the narrowest point of the Datça Peninsula, where only a thin strip of land separates the Gulf of Gökova from the Hisarönü Gulf. According to the historian Herodotus, when the Persian commander Harpagus advanced into the region in the mid-6th century BC, the people of nearby Knidos tried to cut a canal across this isthmus to turn the peninsula into a defensible island, but abandoned the work after consulting the Oracle of Delphi, who advised them not to interfere with what nature had left open.

The bay was later renamed for Emel Sayın, one of Turkey's best-known folk singers, who anchored here regularly with her own boat and became linked with Datça's annual Almond Blossom Festival. Locals came to associate the cove with her so strongly that the older name, Bencik, gradually gave way to hers.

Sheltered by pine-covered slopes and cliffs on either side, the bay's calm, clear water has made it a classic stop on a Turkey blue cruise itinerary for gulets sailing between the Gulf of Gökova and Datça.