Ölüdeniz Parasailing

The small vacation town of Ölüdeniz located in MuÄŸla Province, along the south-west coast of Turkey facing the Aegean Sea. The name Ölüdeniz means ‘dead sea’ or ‘calm sea’, and derives from a Turkish legend dating back to Medieval times. The legend goes that when many Greek-bound Syrian and Egyptian ships passed by taking on board with them fresh water, one of the handsome sons of an old captain went to retrieve drinking water, and on his way, fell in love with a beautiful girl named Belcekiz. However, the boy had to return to his father’s ship, but unknowingly, the ship had already sailed away. Belcekiz then watched for the young boy to return and retrieve water. Every time he came back, the passionate couple would make love.

One day, when the father and son were in the area, a storm came through. The son told his father that he knew of a place to take shelter, however, the father assumed the son’s suggestion came from his desire to see his lover and that he didn’t care whether the ship sank or not. As the storm grew stronger, with the ship ready to crash into the rocks, the father took his oar and hit his son, knocking him into the sea. Soon after, the cove became incredibly still, and the father realized that his son was right after all. Unfortunately, it was too late, and his son was found dead upon the rocks. Belcekiz, seeing the boy dead, committed suicide in a passionate rage by jumping onto the rocks herself. Since then, on the place she jumped from was named as Belcekiz and the place the boy died were named as Oludeniz (Dead Sea).

Today, Ölüdeniz is one of the most popular beach resorts in all of Turkey, and arguably one of the most photographed beaches on the Mediterranean. With a secluded sandy bay on a blue lagoon, it truly captures the essence of a Mediterranean experience. The lagoon itself is a national nature reserve, to which construction in the area is strictly forbidden. It’s famous for the beach’s turquoise colors, and has been rated among the top 5 beaches in the world by several tourism journals. The resort also boasts paragliding as one of its most popular activities, and due to its magnificent view of the beach and Babadag Mountain in the backdrop, has been touted as one of the best places in the world to paraglide.