History of Kalkan
Kalkan,located on the lands between Antalya and Fethiye,where the lycian civilisation existed over 3,000 years ago,does not seem to have been a place of settlement in antiquity. İt's believed that Kalkan was settled by the merchants who came from the nearby island of Megistis about 150-200 years ago.Kalkan was a safe harbour for the sailors throughout history. For this reason, it kept it's reputation as a trading point for agricultural and forestry products,coming from Elmalı-Gömbe-Bezirgan regions The merchandise coming to the harbour was transported to the inlands(Elmalı-Xantost)by camels, Kalkan was a harbour where the trading of Meterials like coal,silk,ovie oil,wine,cotton,grain,sesame,flour,grape was big business...
İn 1923,following the Exchange period,some local people left Kalkan and the population decreased.Howewer,a steady flow of people coming from the villages araund,revitalised Kalkan, and after the 1970', with the opening of the Antalya road,maritimes trade came to an end Following the development of tourism,which brought lots of foreign nationals, some of whom eventually settled in Kalkan, various new sectors and branches of commerce developed....
Kalkan was and old greek fishing town until the 1920's , with the name of "Kalamaki" The former church of this town is now being used as a mosque, The old part of the town extending towards the surrounding mountains, is a conservation area and called "Köyiçi". The districts of Kalamar is in the west,Kömürlük and Kışla are in the east and Kızıltaş is at the north end of the town
Translated by: Omar's Kitchen