Kaş

Although the Teke peninsula has been occupied since the Stone Age, it seems Kaş was founded by the Lycians, and its name in Lycian language was Habesos or Habesa. It was a member of the Lycian League, and its importance during this time is confirmed by the presence of one of the richest Lycian necropoleis. In the Hellenistic period and under the Roman Empire it served as the port of Phellus called Antiphellus (), the name by which it was known at that time. n tomb in the background , one of about 50 dive spots in the vicinity of Kaş The town suffered because of Arab incursions, then was annexed (under the name of Andifli) to the Anatolian Sultanate of Rum, led by the Seljuks. After the demise of the Seljuks, it came under the Ottomans. In 1923, because of the forcible exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War, population of Greek origin in the area left for Greece. In the early 1990s tourism started booming in Kaş, with visitors mainly from the UK and Germany. This growth of tourism brought an explosion in apartment building (often without license), which is seriously threatening the landscape and the environment. Particularly affected is the Çukurbağ Peninsula, west of the town, which now has luxury hotels built on it. == Geography ==

As the tenth most populous district of Antalya as of 2022, served by a Turkish ferry daily with the option of same day returns. {{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = yes | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Kaş (1991–2020) | Jan high C = 15.9 | Feb high C = 16.1 | Mar high C = 18.1 | Apr high C = 21.1 | May high C = 25.2 | Jun high C = 29.5 | Jul high C = 32.5 | Aug high C = 32.9 | Sep high C = 30.2 | Oct high C = 26.3 | Nov high C = 21.8 | Dec high C = 17.5 | year high C = 24.0 | Jan mean C = 12.2 | Feb mean C = 12.4 | Mar mean C = 14.2 | Apr mean C = 16.9 | May mean C = 21.0 | Jun mean C = 25.2 | Jul mean C = 28.3 | Aug mean C = 28.7 | Sep mean C = 25.9 | Oct mean C = 22.1 | Nov mean C = 17.7 | Dec mean C = 13.9 | year mean C = 19.9 | Jan low C = 9.2 | Feb low C = 9.9 | Mar low C = 11.4 | Apr low C = 14.0 | May low C = 17.9 | Jun low C = 22.1 | Jul low C = 25.1 | Aug low C = 25.7 | Sep low C = 23.0 | Oct low C = 19.6 | Nov low C = 15.1 | Dec low C = 11.0 | year low C = 17.0 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 179.07 | Feb precipitation mm = 122.84 | Mar precipitation mm = 74.81 | Apr precipitation mm = 40.61 | May precipitation mm = 15.83 | Jun precipitation mm = 2.54 | Jul precipitation mm = 0.89 | Aug precipitation mm = 0.15 | Sep precipitation mm = 14.7 | Oct precipitation mm = 74.12 | Nov precipitation mm = 111.31 | Dec precipitation mm = 197.27 | year precipitation mm = 834.14 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 11.3 | Feb precipitation days = 9.0 | Mar precipitation days = 6.3 | Apr precipitation days = 4.8 | May precipitation days = 2.4 | Jun precipitation days = 1.2 | Jul precipitation days = 1.0 | Aug precipitation days = 2.0 | Sep precipitation days = 1.8 | Oct precipitation days = 3.8 | Nov precipitation days = 5.8 | Dec precipitation days = 10.5 | year precipitation days = 59.9 | source = NOAA ==Composition==

There are 54 neighbourhoods in Kaş District: • Ağullu • Ahatlı • Aklar • Akörü • Bayındır • Beldibi • Belenli • Belkonak • Bezirgan • Boğazcık • Çamlıköy • Çamlıova • Çataloluk • Çavdır • Çayköy • Cemre • Çerler • Çeşmeköy • Çukurbağ • Dereköy • Dirgenler • Doğantaş • Gelemiş • Gökçeören • Gökçeyazı • Gömbe • Gürsu • Hacıoğlan • İkizce • İslamlar • Kalkan • Karadağ • Kasaba • Kemerköy • Kılıçlı • Kılıçlıyayla • Kınık • Kızılağaç • Merkez • Ortabağ • Ova • Palamutköy • Pınarbaşı • Sarıbelen • Sarılar • Sinneli • Sütleğen • Uğrar • Üzümlü • Yaylapalamut • Yeniköy • Yeşilbarak • Yeşilköy • Yuvacık == Tourism ==

The tourist industry is centered on the town of Kaş, but many other coastal towns and villages in the district have plenty of accommodation for visitors including Kalkan and Gelemiş. The district can be reached from both Antalya and Dalaman airports, as there is no airport in Kaş. Kaş itself is a town with its turquoise blue sea and narrow streets scented with jasmine flowers. Kaş has an annual arts festival, jazz concerts in the Hellenistic theatre and the Kiln Under the Sea arts collective have held underwater ceramics exhibitions here. Kaş is one of the leading spots for scuba diving in Turkey. Its visited by beginners as well as advanced divers. There are more than 15 dive centers and diving schools, mostly located at the local port. They offer guided diving trips to the 50 dive spots in the vicinity. Diving in Kaş offers an array of fish and other sea creatures like octopus and sea turtles. Besides the biological diversity, Kaş offers a vast variety of underwater cultural heritage. Among various wreck sites, six artificial wrecks are worth visiting. These wrecks are submerged to create artificial reefs and touristic diving spots. There are two historically important wreck sites, an airplane from World War II and a cargo ship from the 1950s sunk near the small islands in the extremities of Kaş. One last important diving spot is the "Kaş Archaeopark Site", an experimental archaeology project conducted by the Underwater Research Society (Sualtı Araştırmaları Derneği-SAD) in 2006. In this scientific project, an interpretative reconstruction of the Uluburun wreck and its cargo is placed underwater. Outdoor sport activities attract the more adventurous visitors of Kaş, especially small group holidays from Europe and independent travellers. Popular adventures include: • Sea Kayaking at Kekova • Mountainbiking the backcountry • Trekking the Lycian Way • Canyoning in the Kibris Canyon On Fridays, Greek visitors from Kastelorizo visit the markets of Kaş, including the central city market full local products and produce grown in the surrounding villages. == Demographics ==

The district has a population of 62,866 (2022). Other larger settlements are Kınık and Ova. n tomb in Kaş. == Places of interest ==

• The town of Kaş has a Hellenistic theatre and many other places of historical interest, as well as beaches, and a number of caves, some of them underwater. • For scuba divers there are several spots underwater, one of them being an underwater sculpture of a shark sculpted by Kemal Tufan and another being a submerged Douglas DC-3 plane. • Beaches worth visiting: Kaputaş Plajı, small Seyrekcakil Plaji or Belediyesi Halk Plajı • The ruins of the antique cities of Komba (in the village of Gömbe), Nisa, Kandyba, Phellos, Istlada, Apollonia, Isinda and Kyaenai. • A common excursion from Kaş is Kekova island in the neighbouring district of Demre. Here in the bays there are a number of wrecks of ancient ships and ancient cities sunk under the sea by earthquakes over the centuries. The sea is so clear that the details of city buildings such as staircases or columns can be seen from the boat. The area is also used for sea kayaking. In December 2006, Kaş was added to the specially protected Kekova marine area in order to preserve its rich biodiversity. == Panorama ==