My friends know that whenever I step out to explore, abandoned places are always on my radar. In the summer of 2022, my friend and I decided to go to Kaş together as a last trip to end the summer. Her ex boyfriend had recently been to Kaş and informed her of this abandoned resort on the farthest edge of the Çukurbağ Peninsula. He sent the coordinates and the picture of where he entered and we went to look for it. Coincidentally, there are two beautiful public beaches along the way in this area so we decided we would sweat it out under the hot sun and explore the ruined hotel and hit the beach afterwards.
We took a minibus from the center of town and followed it to the point marked on maps. We exited the bus right in front of the gates and descended down the path to the hotel. Entrance was a very easy step down from the low brick wall lining of the path. Once we got on the cement path, we just followed it down to the center of the property.
As we curved around the pathways, the views of the sea were stunning. The day was so clear you could see the islands off the coast and pieces of the old resort’s recreational facilities. The facilities were fenced off from the main path, and they didn’t look easily accessible. However, we were just looking for a romp around this time capsule, not parkour practice, so we kept it to the path of least resistance.
When we came up to the entrance of the buildings there was one part to the left that seemed like it could have been some kind of restaurant on the terrace since right below it on the path was the bar. The windows were broken out with some minimal “art” sprayed on to a few walls. Part of the railing of the terrace was missing, giving me a little vertigo as I went to the edge.
The building to the right was a few stories with a central spiral staircase which could have been the lobby. Inside the ceiling of the top floor was a neat window with some cloud details surrounding it.
We ambled down the path that we could find towards the pool, paying close attention to thorny overgrowth and broken pieces of stairs. Along the way, we could see some pieces on the coastal side of the property and rooms with glass and wooden details as part of the building that continued down the cliff.
The next level of the property was the pool area. The swim up bar was an epic sight on that seaside cliff. On the edge of one side of the pool there was smaller circular pool which was probably the hot tub. The opposite end of the pool has another piece of pool, probably a kiddie pool, and a little bridge across to the edge of the cement terrace. From the other side of the pool, we could see the building in its glory and some cheeky fish art.
Past the pool was the outdoor bar area. Tables and pieces of the viny shaded area were still visible. At the far end, we could also see a basketball court with some more fishies.
By this time the sun was beating down on us angrily and our sweaty bodies begged us for the beach. We snapped our last photos with the view and started the climb back up the hill. On the way out we saw a boy with his father coming in to explore the site.
It was surreal to experience this empty place at the very edge of one of the most popular summer destinations in Turkey. I bet it’s only a matter of time before that piece of land is snatched up by the next developer, as it’s flanked with high end resorts on both sides. I’m grateful to have had easy access to this gorgeous modern ruin.
Brown Beyond Borders 