The Turkish Riviera, as it is billed, isn't just about beaches and fishing villages. The region also has ancient cities of Greek, Roman, Arab, Seljuk, Armenian, Crusader, and Byzantine origin. According to legend, Termessos, known as the Eagle's Nest and one of the region's most important sites, defied Alexander the Great. The Roman theater in Aspendos rivals the Colosseum. St. Paul came here spreading the Gospel to the Seven Churches of Asia, a fact the Turkish government is using to promote "faith tourism." Later, the might of Islam overcame the Byzantines, setting the foundation for a great Muslim empire.

Whether you come to Turkey in search of history or to lie on the beach along a perfect turquoise-colored sea, you can do both along its Mediterranean coas.

The Mediterranean coast has mild winters and hot summers; you can swim from late April into October. Most tourists visit between April and the end of October. July and August are the busiest months (and the hottest). April through June and September and October offer more temperate weather, smaller crowds, and somewhat lower hotel prices.

The modern Turkish Mediterranean still contains much of its ancient counterpart. Unspoiled fishing villages, among them Üçagiz on Kekova Sound, share the shoreline with busy resort towns such as Marmaris and Antalya. The coast's bustling bazaars are stocked with bright, baggy trousers; piles of halvah (a tasty candy made from sesame seeds); and jams made of eggplant, rose, and other exotic ingredients. Though tourism has developed considerably here in recent years and big tour buses are an everyday sight now, it has not yet gotten to the point where restaurants are serving mainly fish-and-chips or where the locals think of you only in terms of the trinkets you might buy (though you will find some who do). Here if you ask a young man directions to the main highway, he is still apt to jump onto his motorcycle and lead you to it.

St. Paul was born on Turkey's Mediterranean Coast and preached on its shores; Mark Antony gave a piece of it to Cleopatra; Hittites, Lycians, Lydians, Romans, Greeks, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans, and many other peoples have come and gone from this region. Even today this coast, which merges with the the country's Aegean Coast to the west and borders Syria to the east, offers something for everyone: upscale resorts with all the modern conveniences; tiny hamlets where virgin forest is separated from the sea by strips of unspoiled beach; and, above all, the knowledge that to walk the Mediterranean shore is to walk hand in hand with history.

The following are the normal daily temperature ranges for the Mediterranean Coast:

January 43-59°F (6-15°C); February 45-61°F (7-16°C); March 47-65°F (8-18°C); April 52-70°F (11-21°C); May 61-79°F (16-26°C); June 67-86°F (19-30°C); July 74-94°F (23-34°C); August 72-92°F (22-33°C); September 67-88°F (19-31°C); October 59-81°F (15-27°C); November 52-72°F (11-22°C); December 47-63°F (8-17°C).