Cilicia

The 3500m high Taurus mountains on the Cilician coast are divided by two valleys: the Cilician Gate in the east and the Göksu river valley in the west. The central Taurus karst landscape has many caves and underground rivers.
On the coast lemon trees, plums and bananas grow in the mild, frost-free Mediterranean climate. There are pine forests and carob trees above the macchie. Daffodils, anemones, orchids, asphodel and daphne flower from December to April.
Shortly before his legendary victory at Issos in 333 BC, Alexander the Great marched through the Cilician Gate. In Tarsus, Mark Anthony received Cleopatra; Cicero was Proconsul; St. Paul was born here. The kingdom of Lesser Armenia, which came into being in Byzantine times, was conquered first by the Seldjuks and later by the Crusaders. During a crusade in 1190 King Barbarossa drowned in the nearby Göksu river.
Amongst the population in the villages and mountains along the coast live the Yurük, a semi-nomadic people who travel up to the high pastures in the summer with their goats, sheep and camels.

Birding Goksu Delta

The great bird migration route between the Nile Delta and Asia Minor passes across the alluvium of the Goksu Delta at the Turkish Mediterranean coast. Marbled Duck, Bean Goose, Great Bustard and Greater Spotted Eagle spend the winter here. Lesser Pied Kingfisher and White-throated Kingfisher have their habitat at the Goksu river. The river delta is the only breeding area of Purple Swamphens in Turkey. Rare eastern species like the Great Sand Plover can often be seen.

Ornitour Goksu Delta

Our guesthouse Goksu Delta

is near the small harbour town of Tasucu on the sheltered Bay of Bogsak. The bay nestles between a peninsula with the picturesque Liman Castle to the east and a steep coastline with precipitous cliffs and green mountain forests to the west. Only a short distance from the shore lies a wide craggy island, so that the beach is well protected from all sides. The local taxi buses, with which one can reach all the towns along the coast between Tarsus and Antalya, stop behind the hotel. Our small hotel has 15 rooms, most of which have access to the garden and the seating area with a view of the sea. The large garden is surrounded by a wall; through the gate one has direct access to the sea.
Depending on the weather, breakfast and evening meals are served either outside or in the restaurant which has an open fireplace.

Cilicia – holiday extension

Our hotel is ideal for extending your holiday. You can choose between half-board (breakfast and evening buffet) or accommodation only.
Tasucu, Silifke, Mersin and Anamur or destinations such as the Mosaic of the Three Graces, the karst caves “Heaven and Hell” and the Maiden’s Fort are easily reached with the local taxi buses. The neighbouring village of Imamusagi or local ruined fortresses are easily reached on foot. Swimming from April to November.