Akyaka and the Azmak River: Turkey’s Slow Town on the Gulf of Gökova
A crystal-clear river, wooden Ula-style houses and some of Turkey’s best kitesurfing
In short: Akyaka is a small seaside village in the Ula district of Muğla, where the Gulf of Gökova meets the pine-covered Sakar Mountains. It is a Cittaslow (slow town) since 2011, famous for its wooden Ula-style houses, the cold, crystal-clear Azmak river (also called Kadın Azmağı) and the afternoon wind that makes it a well-known kitesurfing spot. It lies about 25–30 km from Muğla city and about 60 km from Dalaman Airport.
Last checked: 10 November 2026.
A slow town with its own architecture
Akyaka became Turkey’s second Cittaslow, after Seferihisar, in 2011; the town limits traffic and noise to protect its calm. Its look comes from the poet and self-taught architect Nail Çakırhan (1910–2008), who built his own house here around 1970 in the style of the Ula houses of his childhood. The house won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983, and its style, with whitewashed walls, dark timber balconies, wide eaves and terracotta roofs, shaped the whole village.
The Azmak river
Right next to the village, the Azmak (Kadın Azmağı) is a short, spring-fed river so clear that you can see every stone on the bottom. Reeds line its banks, and kingfishers and turtles live here; it is protected as a first-degree natural site, and all hunting is banned. Small boats take visitors on short trips along the river, leaving from the Akyaka side.
Kitesurfing and the Gulf of Gökova
- The wind: thermal winds over the shallow bay pick up in the afternoon, which makes Akyaka one of Turkey’s best-known kitesurfing spots. The season runs roughly from late spring to early autumn.
- The kite beach: a long beach of about 3.5 km on the edge of the bay, with kite schools.
- Protected nature: Akyaka lies inside the Gökova Special Environmental Protection Area, declared in 1988. The area is one of Turkey’s most important habitats for the Eurasian otter.
- Boat trips: some boat trips from Akyaka visit the bays of the Gulf of Gökova; Sedir (Cleopatra) Island is usually reached from the Marmaris side. See Cleopatra Island.
- Idyma: the ruins of a 4th-century BC Carian settlement, with rock tombs, stand on the hill above the village.
Many visitors spend the morning on the calm river or in the village and keep the windy afternoons for watching, or joining, the kitesurfers.
Getting there
- By dolmuş: minibuses run from Muğla bus station (about 30 minutes) and regularly between Marmaris and Akyaka; Akyaka is on the Muğla–Marmaris road.
- By air: Dalaman Airport is about 60 km away, roughly an hour by car. See Dalaman Airport transfers.
- From Marmaris: around 30 km. See our Marmaris guide.
When to go
Our suggestion: spring and autumn are lovely for the river and for walking; summer is the season for swimming and for the strongest afternoon wind.
Sources we checked (November 2026): Go Türkiye: Akyaka · Dalaman Airport: Akyaka · Aga Khan Development Network: Nail Çakırhan Residence · DHA: Kadın Azmağı (Turkish) · Daily Sabah: Azmak creek · Hürriyet Daily News: kitesurfing in Akyaka · Ministry of Environment: Gökova protection area (Turkish, PDF)
Akyaka: questions
Where is Akyaka?
In the Ula district of Muğla, at the eastern end of the Gulf of Gökova, about 25–30 km from Muğla city and about 60 km from Dalaman Airport.
Is Akyaka good for kitesurfing?
Yes. Afternoon thermal winds over the shallow bay make it one of Turkey’s best-known kitesurfing spots, roughly from late spring to early autumn.
What is the Azmak?
A short, crystal-clear, spring-fed river next to Akyaka, protected as a natural site, where small boats take visitors on short trips.
Header photo: the Azmak river at Akyaka. Photo: Hamdigumus, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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