The Island of Şövalye
Ten minutes across the water from the port of Fethiye lies the sleepy island of Şövalye. Şövalye is an entirely pedestrianised island with shady walkways through scented pine forests. No traffic means no roads: you cross the land by tracks, beaten or otherwise. A leisurely walk from end to end takes 45 minutes or so, along a coastline dotted with sand and shingle coves and overlooked by private residences. In the crystal-clear water you can make out the ruins of earlier settlements dating back to late Roman times.
Inland, hidden amid the pine and carob trees, are the remains of a crusader castle, built by the Knights of St John after they crossed over from nearby Rhodes. Legend has it that the island became a base in the Middle Ages for renegade knights-turned-pirates.
You can circumnavigate Şövalye by canoe in about an hour or swim in two. The experience is just unique – paddling or swimming over submerged houses, an old city wall, churches and a Roman cistern that was converted to a chapel during the Byzantine period. Elsewhere, old olive-oil pots and amphorae can be seen scattered across the seabed.