Zeytinli Island

Zeytinli Island sits among the Twelve Islands of Gocek, in the Gulf of Fethiye on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. It is a small island wrapped in olive groves, and it is the only one in the group that remains in private hands. Yachts stop here for the shelter, the clear water and an Ottoman-era olive press that still stands above the shore.

The Olive Past of Zeytinli Island

The name comes from the olive trees that cover the island: "zeytin" is Turkish for olive, and the island is known locally as both Zeytinli Ada and Zeytin Adasi, or Olive Island. Those groves were not decorative. Under the Ottomans the island worked as a small centre of olive oil production, and the stone press building from that period survives near the landing.

The island is still privately owned and still farmed. Oil pressed from its own trees is sold on site, which makes it one of the few anchorages in the gulf where you can step ashore and buy something the island itself produced.

Landscape and Water

The island is low and green, ringed by olive trees and pine, with the pale limestone of the mainland behind it. The water inshore is shallow and clear over sand, and because the island lies inside the sheltered basin of the Gulf of Fethiye rather than on open coast, the sea here is usually flat. The whole area has been a Special Environmental Protection Area since 1988, which is why the shoreline has stayed largely undeveloped.

Anchoring at Zeytinli Island

The practical appeal of Zeytinli Island is that it gives you a choice of sides. When the wind is in the north, anchor off the south of the island; when it swings to the south, move round to the north. Either way you are in the lee. Depths of 10 to 15 metres suit most yachts, and the seabed is sand, which holds an anchor well.

It is a straightforward, unglamorous kind of stop, which is exactly why it appears on so many itineraries and why it is one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet charter from Gocek. The cruising season runs from April to October. August is the hottest month, with air temperatures that can reach 38 degrees Celsius and sea temperatures around 27 degrees.

Swimming and Diving

Swimming off the boat is the main activity, and the visibility makes the island worth a mask and snorkel. The rocky edges hold reef life: fish, crabs, shellfish and, occasionally, sea turtles, which are common along this stretch of coast. Ashore, the old press building and the surrounding groves take no more than an hour to walk.

Nearby Anchorages

Zeytinli Island is one stop among many in and around the Gulf of Fethiye. Within easy reach:

• Aga Limani: a pair of adjoining bays with room to drop anchor and take a line ashore.
• Bedri Rahmi (Tasyaka) Bay: named after the Turkish painter Bedri Rahmi Eyuboglu, who left a painted fish on a rock at the water's edge.
• Domuz Island: also called Prince Island, and named for the wild pigs that once lived on it.
• Gobun Bay: a narrow, quiet inlet south of Domuz Island, best after the day-tripper boats have left.
• Gemiler Island: further south, towards Oludeniz, with the ruins of a Byzantine settlement and its churches on the slopes.