Akyaka is situated in the province of Muğla, in the southwest of Turkey, at the eastern end of the Gökova gulf, between Marmaris, Muğla and Bodrum. The number of inhabitants amounts in the winter to approximatly 1500, in the summer it almost doubles.

It's delightful position at the end of the Gökova gulf, bordered in the north by the almost 1000m high Sakartepe, in the south by the wetlands of the Gökova plain ("heaven's plain") with it's multitude of species, particularly water birds, takes the visitor into it's spell.

Being a settlement even in antique times - there are plenty, though not very important remains- the village of Akyaka lead an existence as a fishing village, off the roads, with a little of agriculture. 
In the 1970's Akyaka was "discovered ".

A meager tourism developed, consisting mainly of locals and some "refugees" of the big Cities, seeking unspoiled nature and the refreshening summer climate with a constantly blowing seabreeze. Slowly Akyaka developed into a summer residence for wealthy holiday guests from Istanbul,   Ankara and Izmir.

The tourist boom, beginning in Turkey in the 80's and persisting until today, did not ignore Akyaka. Still most of Akyaka's visitors being turkish, the number of european tourists is increasing. 

The main attraction for most of the visitors is the natural beauty of Akyaka, with a multitude of species in the wetlands, among those the nearly extincted European Fishotter(lutra lutra), during the wintermonths different types of herons, flamingos, even migrating pelicans can be observed with some luck. Since some years paragliding from the height of the Sakartepe, the "local mountain" of Akyaka, down to the plain became quite fashionable. The launch site is sufficient, but not easy for beginners. 

The fish restaurants on the bank of the crystalclear " Kadın Azmak"('Woman river`) where freshly caught fish is perfectly prepared and served, are very well known by gourmets throughout turkey. 

History

Much of the Gökova plain had been unproductive for centuries, until the later half of the 20th century, and was covered with marshlands ridden with malaria. The inhabitants abandoned their settlements and fields entirely during the months of active malaria and moved to highland plateaus (yayla). The arable land available was usually owned by large landowners from the district center of Ula. An organized program to combat malaria, one of the priorities of the young Turkish Republic of the 1920s, was enacted under a specific law in 1926, in the frame of which ownership titles were awarded to individuals or groups of people on the basis of the swampland they drained, and were quite successful in the transformation of Akyaka region, especially through the local projects lasting from 1925 to 1940. In the following decades, conversion of fields for cash crops, particularly tobacco, dominated the local economy and this until the 1970s when the first steps in the tourism industry were taken. Akyaka became quite cosmopolitan in recent years.

Safe altitude considerations governed the choice for settlements of the ancients as well. Gökova town, inland from Akyaka was the location of the historic city of Idyma, some of whose remains reaching back at least to the 4th century BC, when it was founded as a Carian city, are still visible. Idyma urban zone may have extended as large as the area between the immediate east of Akyaka well beyond the village of Kozlukuyu, a dependent neighborhood of the town of Gökova, 3 km away. The acropolis, city walls 200 meters in length and around fifty rock tombs are located along the steep climb (sea level to 400 meters) of Kucuk Sakar at Kozlukuyu. The Acropolis was explored by the French archaeologist Louis Robert in 1937.

In 546 BC, the Persian armies under the command of Harpagos conquered the area, but the Carian customs and the religion remained unchanged. Delian League took over between 484 and 405 BC and Idyma is mentioned in the tax lists for the years 453-452 BC, the earliest written document on the city. The same reports mention a local sovereign by the name of Paktyes, whose descendants may have founded a dynasty which governed Idyma and to whose members the rock tombs could be attributable. A mint city, Idyma produced its own coins, one side of which was marked with the name Idimion, and the other side with the head of a Pan, hinting at a shepherd's cult.

From 167 BC to at least the 2nd century AD, Idyma, together with the entire region south of Muğla (Mobolla) was part of the Rhodes's mainland possessions (Peræa Rhodiorum). A Byzantine castle worth restoring also stands on the slopes of Sakar and an underground tunnel leads to the bank of the stream of Azmakdere or Kadın Azmak, possibly named Idymus in ancient times.

Because of the extent of the ancient site, in terms both of its area and longevity, some of its archaeological finds are associated with Akyaka, while many with Gökova and particularly Kozlukuyu.

Azmak Stream

Azmak is the name in short of a short but deep stream which joins the sea in Akyaka and formed by springs extending about two miles from East to West. Its depth allows boats to ascend it for a considerable distance and the richness of its underwater fauna made it a favorite spot for daily boat tours around Akyaka and for scuba diving.

The water is cold and slightly salty due its level course with the sea across the plain, but watercress and celery thrive in Azmak and restaurants along its course make the stream a symbol and an important point of attraction for Akyaka region.

The word "azmak", sometimes used to describe a river, means "running wild" in Turkish, in a reference to the stream's strong, rather than violent, current, especially in winter.

Akyaka's azmak is also referred to under the fuller name of "Kadın Azmak", qualifying it with female attributes and distinguishing it from azmak of Akçapınar at the opposite side of the same plain, or from namesakes in Gallipoli Peninsula or Bulgaria.

Kitesurf