Geyikli

Geyikli is a village on the Troad Peninsula of Southern Marmara, 50 km south of the regional hub of Çanakkale. With a population of 3284 in 2013, it's the largest of a string of little places on or near the coast. Most visitors simply pass through to reach its ferry port (İskelesi) for the island of Bozcaada. A beach strip of holiday homes and small hotels extends south from the port through Odunluk İskelesi (meaning "wood harbour", as it once exported acorns and charcoal) to Dalyan.

This area's best known sight is Troy, described separately. But other antiquities dot the area, the most extensive being Alexandria Troas near Dalyan.

Get in

In summer, buses run from Çanakkale via Geyikli to the ferry pier. At least two Metro Turizm buses come all the way from Istanbul, taking 7 hours. There's no winter service but you might find a dolmuş.

Buses coming north from Izmir stop at Ezine, where you should find a dolmuş to Geyikli. Ezine is a large town but lacks accommodation and other facilities, so if it's getting late, maybe best continue to Çanakkale and double back next morning.

By road follow D550 / E87 and look for signs for Bozcaada. From the north the turnoff is at Taştepe a few km south of Troy, from the south it's just before Ezine.

Gestaş Ferry sails from 🌍 Geyikli Harbour to Bozcaada 3 or 4 times a day, 40 min. It takes cars, and you'll need one on the island.

Get around

You need your own wheels to explore the scattered sights. The roads from Geyikli to the coast are fairly good. The road south to Alexandria Troas is narrow and potholed, but negotiable by a standard family car. Sporadic dolmuşes will be heading for Geyikli village centre, where you may have a lengthy wait, try hitching.

See
  • 🌍 Geyikli village is modern yet ramshackle. Most travellers don't stop on their way to the ferry port: good decision.
  • 🌍 Dalyan is the small resort at the south end of the beach strip. A little inlet at the south point was the harbour of Alexandria Troas. This included what is now the Pink Lagoon (Pembe Göl), cut off from the sea by shingle and coloured by its algae.
  • 🌍 Alexandria Troas is the overgrown remains of a Grecian city. Founded by Antigonus in 306 BCE, it may in its heyday have housed 100,000; it lasted into Roman times. Its importance stemmed from its constructed harbour, on a coast that lacked natural shelter, and where contrary winds might thwart a sailing ship's progress into the Dardanelles for weeks on end. Probably the silting of that harbour was the reason for abandoning the city. Much of its stone has been pilfered, and the site obscured by oaks and shrubs, but you can still make out the city walls. Research excavation only got going in 2003 and so far has unearthed a stadium.
  • 🌍 Bozcaada is the large inhabited island off Geyikli. A day-trip will be plenty, but you need a car.
  • 🌍 Kumkale is a village that was evacuated in 1915 when Allied troops landed. This was only a diversionary attack in the run-up to the Gallipoli campaign so it wasn't followed through, but Kumkale was only slowly reoccupied from 1928. The village is nondescript but along the lane north to the coast is a memorial to the battle, and "Ajax tomb", an artillery point.
  • 🌍 Troy is the legendary city just south of Kumkale, described on its own page.
  • 🌍 Orhaniye Bastion is a gunnery point on the coast. It would be a nice picnic spot but is trash-strewn.
  • 🌍 Yeniköy means "new village" and there about 70 places so-named in Turkey. This is the one in Ezine district of Çanakkale Province. It's a small port, with a couple of cafes but no accommodation. 1 km south is a beach, and "Achilles Tumulus", an ancient burial mount. 3 km inland, the shell of the Cezayirli Hasan Paşa Mansion redefines the word "dilapidated".
  • 🌍 Tavşan Adası means "Rabbit Island" - it's the small one seen west of Yeniköy. It's just farmland with no ferry link. Don't confuse with it with Tavşan Adası in the Princes' Islands off Istanbul.
  • 🌍 Akçakecili has a few ancient columns, remnants of a Greek village.
  • 🌍 Neandria is the scrappy remains of another ancient Greek city.
  • See Babakale for the Apollo Temple further south.

Do
  • Beaches are sandy either side of the ferry pier, and south through Odunluk to Dalyan.
  • The thermal baths at Alexander Troas have closed down.

Buy
  • Carrefour by the ferry pier is open daily 07:00-22:00.

Eat
  • Geyikli Askınlar is your best bet in Geyikli town. It dishes up the usual Turkish fare daily 06:00-22:00. Half a dozen similar places cluster around.
  • Yassas Greek Taverna, Sahil Cd 124 (300 m south of ferry pier), ☏ +90 552 387 2323. Daily 14:00-02:00. Cheerful place serving Med food until late. (updated Jan 2022)
  • Beach strip also has Özgül, Atolye 17 and Akana.
  • Dalyan has Dalyan Restoran, Kayıkhane, Osmanın Yeri and Kayik Hane.

Drink
  • Most cafes and restaurants serve beer, wine and rakı.
  • This area produces wine, mostly red. There are no vineyards open for visits.

Sleep

Connect

As of Jan 2022, there is a 4G signal in town and along the coast and approach roads from Turkcell and Vodafone; you might also manage a call with Türk Telekom. 5G has not yet reached this area.

Go next


Routes through Geyikli
Ends at (N / S) ←  N  S  → Alexandria Troas → Becomes (S)
END ← Bozcaada ←  W  E  → END


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