We have already considered almost the entire land of a thousand wonders – the province of Antalya. Virtually walked along the embankments of new Belek and ancient Alanya, walked around the streets and quarters of the Old City in Antalya, as well as new districts such as Konyaalti and Dosemealti, saw the advantages of pragmatic Kepez and dynamic Muratpaşa. What have we missed? That’s right – Kemer!

If you look for the right word that best describes Kemer, it is undoubtedly “miraculous”. The city itself, which until recently was a village, has miraculously transformed into one of the most comfortable tourist centers in Turkey. Not least thanks to Russian-speaking tourists from post-Soviet countries. But not only. Then you will learn about all the wonders of this city and district, and we will start from the very beginning – with its intriguing history.

The story of Kemer: how “Cinderella” became the “Princess of the South”

Today, Kemer is a district and a city, divided into 11 microdistricts, stretching 40 km from the provincial capital – Antalya. Compared to Antalya, it really looks small. But it will seem so if you do not find out the history of Kemer, full of drama, ups and downs. Suffice it to say that not so long ago it was practically an abandoned and forgotten village on a cliff, which had a connection with the rest of the country only by sea. How did it become a place of “pilgrimage” for tourists from all over Europe? Let us trace this miraculous transformation.

And we will start from the very beginning – from its foundation. True, there is a problem here, since the exact date is unknown. It is only clear that it was founded by immigrants from the island of Rhodes in ancient times and called it Phaselis, the ruins of which today can be seen 12 km from the center of Kemer.

Moreover, it was founded precisely as a trading point where sea routes from Europe and Asia intersected. Later, the whole Lycian Empire grew up around these trade routes, which is even mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. This territory itself was interesting primarily for its warm climate and wooded mountains – this forest was used for the construction of ships, including combat ships.

The so-called “peoples of the sea”, who sailed from the territory of modern Kemer to pirate on the coast of ancient Egypt, were first mentioned in the 14th century BC. – That is, almost 3.5 thousand years ago. This makes Kemer one of the most ancient cities in Turkey. And there are plenty of these antiquities here even today – whoever went there to rest knows about it well. And if you haven’t traveled, I advise you to visit as part of our study tour.

Gradually, however, the glory of the city faded. The city was captured by the Persians, then the Greeks (everyone heard about Alexander the Great – he also visited here), then the Romans. Since money loves silence, for a trading city, any war is a loss. The remnants of the former prosperity were gone, along with the change of trade routes, which first moved to Antalya and then beyond Asia Minor during the Roman era.

The city did not cease to exist in the Middle Ages, but continued to fade away. The last surge of activity associated with historical Kemer occurred during the capture of Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks, who took the city in a long siege. Despite all the vicissitudes, they subjugated the city. But it turned out to be in such a bad condition that people practically left it in the 13th century, leaving something like a fishing village on the very shore. It was known under the name Eskiköy.

Moreover, no one was eager to live here, because mudslides periodically descended from the mountains. But in 1910, already at the end of its existence, the Ottoman Empire made a huge gift to the locals – it built a large-scale wall along the mountains that would protect the village from mudflows. This wall was called the “belt”, which translates as “kemer” – this gave the city its modern name. The Ottomans planned large-scale construction here, but the collapse of the empire buried these plans.

The poor but proud Kemer residents (with such a glorious and ancient past) had to wait for their finest hour in the 1960s, when a full-fledged highway would be led through the mountains. Before that, all communication with the rest of the country was only by sea. This transformed the village, which for the first time began to be considered not as a fishing or industrial port, but as a tourist center.

But Kemer reached its greatest prosperity and transformation into a full-fledged city, resort and district only in the 90s, after the collapse of the USSR. Our compatriots, who felt the wind of freedom, needed an inexpensive and not very distant, but at the same time very comfortable resort. We can say that Kemer has been forgotten by everyone and poor Russian-speaking tourists have found each other.

Since then, Kemer has changed a lot, as have the incomes of tourists. Today it is no longer a “resort for the poor”, although hotels and economy-class accommodation can still be found here. In terms of comfort, Kemer is already trying to compete with Alanya and even Antalya. That with a permanent population of only 20 thousand inhabitants, this can only cause surprise – the wrong weight category.

However, Kemer residents manage to compete better and better, because there is one of the most interesting price / quality ratios for recreation. The huge demand for holidays here also provoked an increase in real estate prices – a record + 57.6% per year, when compared to the summer of 2021 with the same period in 2020. The dynamics are higher only in Dosemealti, and a similar one in Konyaalti, which we talked about earlier. These are the most elite districts of Antalya, to which Kemer, as we see, is already stepping on its heels.

Now we can say with confidence that the transformation of “Cinderella” into “Princess of the South” has already happened. Kemer has regained the brilliance and glory lost thousands of years ago, albeit in a very different role. But, nevertheless, the resort has not yet grown to the “Queen of the South” of Antalya. However, Kemer does not need this, because he has his own success story and his own character, which was formed, among other things, under the influence of our compatriots.

Despite the fact that the resort is still the most Russian-speaking, Kemer has already been chosen by residents of the EU, as well as, interestingly, by the Scandinavians – there are more and more of them every year. And the pedantic inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries, perhaps, are best able to assess the quality of service and count money. If they vote for Kemer with their feet, coming here en masse, then this is a very good sign – first of all for a real estate investor, because all these solvent tourists will have to live somewhere …

Modern Kemer: life and leisure

Before proceeding to the review of real estate, it is necessary to at least briefly describe how life is here today, where people go shopping, where they study, dine, play sports and, of course, relax. I must say right away that Kemer has all this in sufficient quantities, given the size of the population.

At the same time, we must not forget that it is a completely resort town with a very obvious seasonality – even more obvious than in Antalya or Alanya. In summer and spring, the population here increases several times. But in winter, many cafes and retail outlets simply close, in anticipation of the next tourist season. However, the tourist season here is long – 9 months.

While the season is in full swing, hundreds, if not thousands, of different entertainments are waiting for vacationers here. Most of the entertainment here is concentrated within the coastal recreation areas and at hotels. And there are dozens of hotels of different sizes and “stardom” here. However, there are also free municipal beaches – that’s right, there are a lot of them.

Why a lot? Because Kemer is no longer a city, but a district that is divided into 11 microdistricts. Each neighborhood was previously an independent village with its own infrastructure (including beach), albeit not very developed. After being incorporated into the city, this infrastructure did not disappear, but only became better and more comfortable. That’s why it happened that in every seaside neighborhood of Kemer there are quite large public beaches.

The 11 neighborhoods of Kemer look like this: Arslanbucak, Beycik, Çamyuva, Göynük (Göynük, Kiriş, Kuzdere, Merkez, Ovacik, Tekirova, Ulupınar, and the newest Yeni (from the tour. “yeni” is translated as “new”). Coastal and, accordingly, tourist of them are the villages of Chamyuva, Kirish, Goynuk and Tekirova. It is also impossible not to mention Beldibi – it has the status of a city and a separate municipality in the Kemer region.

In them, the same legendary free public beaches are located. It is only necessary to take into account that even on a free beach, the use of umbrellas and sun loungers will have to pay. So, in Beldibi, which is interesting for its proximity to Antalya (only 30 km along a straight highway), there is a large public beach Beldibi Halk Plajı, the same is in Çamyuva and Goinük. In other villages, municipal beaches are simpler.

Directly in Old Kemer (now it is the center of the city and district) there is a public beach “Moonlight”. This is a sand and pebble beach located in a cozy bay. Along it there are many cafes, restaurants and other establishments for recreation. Nearby there is a dolphinarium, a water park, an amusement park and just a park – the one that is green and with gazebos. That is, there is everything you need for a family holiday.

Among the countless public and paid beaches of Kemer, Olympos can also be distinguished. This is a very picturesque seaside corner, where a gentle sand and pebble beach descends to the purest water.

The water here is really the cleanest, because crystal clear mountain streams descend into the sea. The downside is that mountain streams make the water cool. However, for hot Kemer, cool water is rather a plus. Interestingly, this beach is public – that is, free. And it is located near the ancient city of Olympus, which can be seen from the name of the resort area. This means that here you can relax not only near the water, but there will also be a reason to go to the mountains, look at the relics of ancient times.

The center of Kemer has everything you need for shopping and leisure, both with and without children. By the way, one of the unofficial symbols of the city are grenades (which are fruits, not those that explode). That’s why there are so many pomegranate products on sale – juices, sauces, wine and even pomegranate tea. This is a very popular category of souvenirs, which is also offered at hotels. And there is a huge abundance of hotels in Kemer – both in the town itself and in the villages of the district of the same name. To describe all of them, you will need another article.

Transport here is not as well developed as in Antalya, but this is not required, given the number of inhabitants. Car rental is very popular – thanks to the developed road infrastructure by car, you can quickly and easily get not only to another part of Kemer, but also to Antalya. The route leads directly to the airport.

Kemer has a public hospital and a polyclinic, as well as two private clinics. If you have a residence permit, then you can apply for public health insurance and visits to municipal medical institutions, which is much cheaper, and often more reliable, than in private ones. I have already written about the peculiarities of Turkish medicine and the cost of a state policy for foreigners – look for it in the blog!

There are about a dozen educational institutions in Kemer and nearby villages, including kindergartens, schools, etc. An interesting detail is that public schools are concentrated in the city itself, and large private ones are taken out of the city and represent entire educational suburban complexes – colleges according to the Western model. In the center of Kemer, there is only Işık Çocuk Evi kindergarten from private institutions.

Real estate in Kemer: premium in everything

Despite the fact that Kemer began its journey in the field of tourism as an economy class beach, today it is increasingly moving into the category of comfort and even premium. Especially when it comes to housing. The fact is that the most popular here are the so-called. “Beach houses” that wealthy Turks and foreigners use for summer holidays. These are private villas of different levels of comfort.

As befits villas on the beach, their prices are high – from 300 thousand euros and above. At the same time, the price dynamics are simply impressive – an increase of more than 50% per year. The demand for suburban housing in Turkey in general and in Kemer in particular breaks all records during the pandemic and quarantine. Everyone strives to self-isolate in the most comfortable conditions outside crowded cities, and Kemer here looks perhaps the most attractive, given the small number of residents.

Villas here are sold both ready-made and in the form of a plot of land, where you can build something at your discretion. However, in Kemer, in most locations, there are rather strict restrictions on construction – no more than two floors, and the building itself cannot occupy more than 20% of the land. Thus, the elitism of local villages is emphasized, because the smaller the footage and height of buildings, the more expensive each individual meter of real estate will be.

There are also ordinary apartments in the format of 1 + 1, 2 + 1, etc. In the center of Kemer there are such offers, but there are not very many of them, because they are quickly acquired. Demand affects prices, which in the center of Kemer are at or even slightly higher than the average in Konyaalti. Cheaper housing is available in villages remote from the sea, which are gradually increasingly ennobling and equipping.

In general, in Kemer it is a small town with a great demand for premium and comfortable real estate. The high price is due, among other things, to the fact that this property is easy to monetize during the tourist season, renting it out for short-term rent to tourists. Since there is not very much housing here, and there are more and more tourists every year, renting is becoming more and more financially attractive.

Inference

Kemer is a success story that goes back to ancient times. His “resurrection” after a period of complete desolation – isn’t it a miracle? But not only for its rich history, Kemer can be called miraculous. Today it is a comfortable and magnificent resort, open to all comers.

Real estate here is available mainly to wealthy people who are ready to invest heavily in their own vacation in private villas. Or in earnings on short-term rentals, which promises very bright prospects, given the record themes of rising housing prices.

Antalya province is the land of a thousand wonders and Kemer is undoubtedly one of them. If you want to buy a villa or apartment here, then contact me directly or one of our specialists, and we will make you a part of this oriental fairy tale – and with the best price/quality ratio.

Always yours, Tatiana Güneş