Sogut Bay

Söğüt is a small bay village strung along the hillside above a sheltered inlet on the Bozburun Peninsula, south of Marmaris. Its position gives boats calm, well-protected water even when the wider Aegean is blowing hard, which is one reason the bay has long been a stop on cruises heading toward the Greek islands of Symi, Tilos, and Rhodes. Pine and carob trees cover the steep hillsides above the water, giving the anchorage a quiet, rural character quite different from busy Marmaris town.

Along the shore, a handful of small jetties belonging to family-run restaurants let boats moor directly in front of tables serving fresh, locally caught fish -- a routine that makes Söğüt as much a dining stop as an anchorage. The seabed close to shore is stony rather than sandy in places, so swimmers tend to use the wooden piers, while the deeper northeast and southeast corners of the bay offer better spots for snorkelling.

Söğüt should not be confused with the nearby village of Karacasöğüt, a separate bay closer to Marmaris; the Bozburun Peninsula's Söğüt is best reached during a Marmaris gulet cruise that continues on toward Bozburun itself.