İçmeler
İçmeler is a popular Turkish holiday resort situated 8 kilometres southwest of Marmaris. It is also a municipality of its own. İçmeler bay is located on the Datcha peninsula. The town is surrounded on three sides by pine forests. Hiking on the mountains is very popular, and provides fantastic views of the region.
İçmeler | |
|---|---|
 Hotels along İçmeler beach | |
 Location of İçmeler within Turkey. | |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Region | Aegean |
| Province | Muğla |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 48x xx |
| Area code(s) | (0090)+ 252 |
| Licence plate | 48 |
| Website | www.icmeler.bel.tr www.marmaris.gov.tr |
Pronounced in English approximately like /eech-mell-er/, the town has developed rapidly over the last 15 years, with accommodation and other tourist facilities mushrooming across the formerly sleepy fishermen's and sponge divers' village. As a side to the increasing tourism, this resort in the Turkish Riviera is seeing an increasing amount of watersports facilities, such as scuba diving and waterskiing.
The town developed on the back of tourists seeking a quieter alternative to the overdeveloped city of Marmaris.
Nightlife is rather scarce in İçmeler. Restaurants and pubs usually feature live music, shows and acts until around midnight. After this time, the only entertainment available is generally the nightclubs. Many tourists enjoy the variation in entertainment, starting in the restaurants in the early evening, moving onto the pubs and mini-discos until midnight and then followed by the nightclubs anywhere up to 4am.
Directly across the bay from İçmeler is the busy port of Marmaris, which also gives its name to the region. Marmara (historically merme) is the name for marble, which Turkey has in abundance.
Whilst loved by tourists for the shopping (especially fake designer brands and watches), prices in İçmeler have increased in recent years. However, the town continues to compare favourably with the neighbouring resort of Marmaris, and is especially favourable when compared to the Eurozone.
