Sailing Region of Marmaris

Welcome to Frankonia-Yachtcharter in Marmaris

According to local legend, the name of the city means "four hanged architects", which stems from the period when the city's mighty castle was constructed. At that time in 1522, Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent had just defeated Rhodes and ordered his four architects to build a castle so large that it could actually be seen from Rhodes. However, the finished product was a rather small castle which annoyed the Sultan so much that upon returning from an expedition to Rhodes and seeing the castle he shouted "Mimar äs!" which means hang the architects. There are, however, no guarantees as to the authenticity of this story.

In 1958 an earthquake almost completely destroyed Marmaris. However, one of the few historical buildings to survive practically unscathed was the fortification known as Marmaris Kalesi. Surrounding the castle and grouped in tight alleyways are the timbered buildings of the old town, which are all listed buildings, thus protected by law.

Marmaris is on the Turksih Aegean Sea on the Bozburun Peninsula. To the north of the city is the Gulf of Gökova, and the Mediterranean to the south. To the west lies the Datça peninsula and to the east lies the region of Köycegiz with its lake of the same name. In the vicinity there are resorts such as Bodrum or Fethive. Eight kilometres west of Marmaris is Icmeler, which was originally a small place, but has been vastly transformed over the last 20 years into a tourist resort. The entire shoreline consists of hotels, from high-class five-star establishments to those at the lower end of the market.