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Kas (Kaž - pronunced
"Kash" in Turkish) was one of the most important cities of
Lycia, and is
now a small resort with great historical interest. Kas's interesting town centre has a rocky waterfront, with
shallow and sandy beaches nearby. There are various watersports
opportunities available in Kas such
as canoeing, jet ski, diving and paragliding, cave diving,
where technical equipment are used to explore the deep and dark caves. For
those who love travelling on the water, the Blue voyage
tours, and other daily excursions on boats, can be made to the surrounding
islands and bays. Despite the tourist development of what was once a simple
fishing village, Kas still preserves its small and untouched town charm, with narrow
streets and small boutique shops.
Kas is one of the most
interesting spots for diving in Turkey. There is a diving school
offering diving courses. You can also check the port
 for
local divers offering cheaper diving courses. If you decide to try
diving in Kas you can expect to see a beautiful array of sea creatures
like octopus, fish and also wrecks of some ancient ships and possibly dolphins.
On the
Kekova Island located close to Kas, you can expect to see a
surprising variety of wrecks of ancient ships and magnificent bays, which over a period of time, earthquakes caused these
ancient cities to sink under the sea. The sea is so perfectly clear
that the details of this unique city elements such as the staircases or
the columns can be seen from the boat.
 Habesos, the ancient
name, is the earliest
known name of Kas, as proved from the archaeological findings.
But the name Antiphellos is far more familiar, and this was the harbour
of ancient Phellos. Excavations here have revealed a settlement dating
back to the 4th century BC, possibly earlier, although it reached its
height of importance during the
Roman and
Byzantine periods, when it was
a centre for Bishops. It had also been significant in the world of
sea-faring commerce, and during the Roman era wasespecially famous for
its exported sponges. It was attacked by Arabs, then added to the
territory of the Anatolian Seljuks, and took the name Andifli. After the
destruction of the Anatolian Seljuk state, the
Ottomans added it to its
lands. The name Kas means ‘eyebrow’, or ‘something curved’,describing
the shape of the town under the backdrop of 500m high cliffs behind.
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