Discover Foça: Coast, culture and cuisine

Foça brings together coastal scenery, a rich history and a distinctive food culture. You can focus your stay on historic sites, explore the surroundings from the water, or combine both with regional dishes. When choosing a holiday area, it helps to consider in advance whether you are mainly looking for culture, nature or experiences by the sea.

Castle, architectural history and culture

Foça Castle stands in the centre of Eski Foça. Its surviving sections are known as Kale Surları and Beş Kapılar; they were renovated during the Byzantine, Genoese and Ottoman periods. Beş Kapılar was once a boathouse and is now used as an open-air theatre. The theatre in the historic castle hosts festivals, concerts, theatre performances and international cinema days throughout the year—a distinctive cultural feature alongside the older buildings.

There are also two mosques within the castle: Fatih Mosque is on Eski Adliye Street. Kayalar Mosque has features of late Ottoman architecture; its construction date and builder are unknown. Two Ottoman-era hamams have also been preserved to this day in Foça’s Atatürk neighbourhood. The Hafız Süleyman Ağa Mescidi, also known locally as the Süleyman Ağa Mescidi, was built in 1548 by Hamzaoğlu Mustafa, the commander of Foça Castle.

Another historic site is the Kybele open-air temple, dated to 580 BC. Its five niches of different sizes contained statues and reliefs of the goddess Kybele. The Taş Ev is also nearby: this partially carved rock tomb is beside the road, about 10 km before Foça. Built under Persian influence in the Lycian-Lydian tradition, it dates to the 4th century BC. Foça’s traditional houses are generally divided into tower houses, houses in continuous rows and detached houses.

Coastal scenery and experiences on the water

Natural features in the surrounding area include the Siren Kayalıkları, volcanic rocks whose present form was shaped by centuries of erosion. Protected Mediterranean monk seals can be spotted on the rocks. In 1991, Foça was selected by Turkey’s national seal committee as a pilot region for the protection of these seals.

Sazlıca Plajı has a sandy beach with calm water in a sheltered inner bay. There is also a diving centre there. The bay is suitable for visitors with tents and caravans, and for barbecues and picnics. If you would like to focus your stay especially on the water and coast, you can take these activities into account when choosing the focus of your trip. Day trips by boat to the surrounding islands are also available in Foça; alternatively, you can rent a private boat.

Traditional cuisine and trip planning

Foça’s traditional cuisine includes grilled sardines, yoghurt fish, stuffed squid and stuffed fish, as well as fish soup and Balık Paçası. Lamb with artichoke and stuffed artichoke prepared with olive oil are also local dishes. Wild herbs such as Arapsaçı, fennel, Tarakotu or İğnelik, Turpotu, Radika, nettle and mallow grow nearby. They are used to make salads, meze and fillings for börek. This variety gives you a concrete idea of what makes up the area’s food culture.

Foça Castle in the centre of Eski Foça can be reached from İzmir by taking the İZBAN to Hatundere station and then the ESHOT bus on the Foça–Hatundere route. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Foça, you can plan your stay around whether historic buildings, the coast or regional cuisine should take centre stage. This way, your choice of destination stays connected to the experiences that interest you most.

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For the main travel overview: Izmir.