Turkey 2025 – Shilli-Fully Travels

Elmalı is a centre for archaeological excavations, most of which relate to the Bronze Age. The area is well known for Tumuli, ancient burial mounds called Hoyuks in Turkey. Many have been robbed, but finds are still being discovered. The Elmalı museum has a selection of finds with the oldest going back to 5,000 BC. In addition there are displays of Lycian tombs.

The major attraction is part of the “treasure of the century” or Elmalı Hoard. It was discovered by looters in 1984 and smuggled out of the country and consisted of 1,900 silver coins. The coins originated from across Greece and Lycia in the 5th Century BC. It is believed they were collected together at the time of the Persian invasion. The Hoard is particularly important because it includes 14 decadrachma (10 drachma) coins and prior to 1984 only 13 has been found. Much of the hoard ended up in the hands of an American collector. In 1999, after out of court agreement 1,700 coins were returned to Turkey. Most are displayed at the Antalya museum but a small selection can be seen in Elmalı.

We were the only visitors when we went to the museum; just us and a security guard. No need for a ticket and no gift shop.

Elmalı is a small town with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated on a small plateau at an altitude of about 1,100 metres 110 km west of Antalya and a 90 minute drive from Kalkan. Although inhabited much earlier, the area became an important centre during the Bronze Age between 3,000 and 2,000 BC.

Today, it is an agricultural centre with the main crop being apples; the Turkish for apple is elma. International and domestic tourism is minimal. When we looked around and had lunch, we didn’t see any other tourists. We were grateful for our smattering of Turkish. Although only 90 minutes from Kalkan it felt a world away – a “proper” place, with prices to reflect!

We stayed on a vineyard, a few miles from Elmalı, which was first planted in 1998 and has been selling wines since 2008. It grows many varieties, some well known such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Malbec as well as some indigenous grapes like Acikara, which means black spice.