Explore St. Nicholas (Gemiler) Island on turkey sailing routes: early Christian churches and a 300-m processional corridor, sunset hikes, and calm coves. A favourite anchorage for blue cruise boats and gulet tours in turkey, with swims and watersports.
A signature stop on turkey sailing routes, St. Nicholas Island blends storybook scenery with early Christian heritage. Tradition holds that Saint Nicholas was first interred here in 326 AD; centuries later, amid pirate raids, his remains were transferred to Myra (Demre). Today the island is strewn with evocative ruins from the Lycian and Byzantine eras, set above luminous coves that invite a swim between walks.
Exploring ashore reveals five churches dated roughly to the 4th–7th centuries and a remarkable processional corridor—an arched passage running more than 300 meters up the ridge. Hike to the summit for a wide-angle sunset over the Mediterranean, then descend to your anchorage. There’s no road access to St. Nicholas, so visitors arrive by sea—most commonly on itineraries from Fethiye or Olympos. You’ll also hear it called Gemiler (literally “island of ships”), a name that fits the sheltered bay where many blue cruise boats tuck in for the night and where countless gulet tours in turkey pass through each season.
While the archaeology is compelling, the surrounding inlets are just as beloved: calm, clear water for an afternoon dip, paddle or snorkel, plus a full menu of watersports—banana and ringo rides, waterskiing, wakeboarding, even parasailing when conditions allow. Keep an ear out for the “gözleme boats” that drift by; these floating griddles serve up hot, made-to-order Turkish flatbreads—sweet with banana-Nutella or savoury with spinach and cheese—the perfect pick-me-up before you sail on.
