Myth says sirens wrecked ships here. Today it’s one of the Mediterranean’s most tranquil seaside escapes

By Lisa Morrow, CNN

(CNN) — On hot summer nights, a long line forms near the waterfront of Eski Foça, a small town on Turkey’s Aegean coast.

Laughter and chatter fill the air as travelers wait for their turn to buy sakız dondurma, the local ice cream.

It’s a town shaped by thousands of years of history, conquered by dozens of civilizations, yet it still feels sheltered from the chaos of the modern world. One reason, says Oğuzhan Çakırefe, director of culture and social affairs for the Foça municipality, is that “unlike other cities in Turkey, construction hasn’t been allowed,” preserving its old fishing town vibe.

Whether in taverns, at sea or along the waterfront, “shared memories, shared sorrows and kinship,” form a bridge between the past and the future, he says.

To understand Eski Foça, it helps to look to its past. Also known as Phocaea in Greek, it was an important Ionian settlement. The Ionians, a Greek people who ruled the west coast of modern-day Turkey from the 9th to the 7th centuries BCE, formed a league of 12 cities along the Aegean coast. They developed a powerful naval fleet and established colonies as far away as Corsica before being conquered by the Persians, then Alexander the Great, the Genoese and finally the Ottomans in the 15th century.

Çakırefe says the Ottomans called the area Foçateyn, meaning “two Foças,” to distinguish between Eski (Old) Foça and Yeni (New) Foça, about 20 kilometers apart.

Ancient Greek writer Homer, in his epic poem about Odysseus, King of Ithaca, refers to a town alternately called Phaeacia, Faiakia or Scheria as the last destination in Odysseus’ epic 10-year journey.

Eski Foça, with its large natural bay, is ringed by the Foça Adalar — six uninhabited islands — and the Siren Kayalıkları, or Siren Rocks, a volcanic formation that many believe matches Homer’s description.

Orhan Boğaç, a second-generation boat captain who takes visitors on day trips to the rocks, is one of them.

“The largest island, Orak Island, is where the sirens sang,” he says.

“The sirens were a type of mermaid with the head of a woman and the body of a bird. According to legend, they sang seductively to lure passing sailors towards them, where a storm, whipped up by their wings, caused them to crash their ships into the rocks, sink and drown.”

Odysseus is said to have escaped by ordering his crew to tie him to the mast of his ship.

Today, day-trippers rely on Boğaç to steer close to the startlingly white Siren Rocks, their surfaces smoothed by wind and waves. When the wind whistles through the stone and the sea beats against the hull, some travelers swear they can still hear the sirens’ call.

Sirens or seals?

Whether Eski Foça was truly Odysseus’ final destination remains debated.

In contrast, the existence of Mediterranean seals in the waters off Eski Foça is not. The seals, known as foka in Turkish, lend their name to the town. They’re an endangered species only found on Turkish, Greek and north-western African coasts, and there is said to be a small population of them living on the Foça Islands. Humans aren’t allowed to set foot on the islands and boats don’t get too near.

Because the coastline is dotted with caves where the seals can shelter, sightings are rare, says Boğaç. Some locals even link them to legends from Celtic and Nordic folklore about creatures that shed their seal skins to become human.

Back on land, visitors can stroll along the bay, relax on the public beach or stop at one of the nearby beach clubs before exploring the town’s history. The Fatih Mosque, built in 1455 on the orders of Sultan Mehmet, conqueror of Constantinople, stands near the later-period Kayalar Mosque, an example of Ottoman architecture.

From turmoil to tourism

Until the early 20th century, Eski Foça had a mixed population and was, says Çakırefe, “a cosmopolitan port town, predominantly inhabited by Greeks, Turks, Levantines and a small number of Jewish families.” Residents lived side by side, supported by trade in grapes and alum, which was exported across the Ottoman Empire.

That changed with the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923, when Greeks born in Turkey and Turks born in Greece were forced to move according to ethnicity — something that Bogaç’s family experienced.

“I am the grandson of a family that came to Eski Foça from the village of Myrina on the Greek island of Lemnos in 1924 during the population exchange,” he says.

The next wave of newcomers arrived in the 1950s, when Club Med opened Turkey’s first vacation resort nearby. French tourists were later joined by visitors from Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, though in recent decades international tourism shifted toward Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Today, Eski Foça mostly attracts day-trippers from Izmir and Turkish visitors looking to enjoy some peace and quiet. On Sundays they gather to buy locally produced jams, olive oils and other foods at Yeryüzü Pazarı, a weekly market.

As the day cools, visitors wander streets lined with restored stone Greek houses, now home to boutiques and coffee shops. At sunset, tables fill at Kavala Bistro Wine Bar, set in a converted Greek home dating from 1881, before diners move on to seafood restaurants along the waterfront. An after-dinner stroll to Beş Kapılar Kale, a Genoese castle repaired by the Ottomans in the 17th century, ends the evening.

Legend of the black stone

Sometimes a day trip to Eski Foça turns into forever.

Çakırefe, now a longtime resident, was born in Turgutlu, in Manisa province, and trained as a classical musician, specializing in the ney, the Turkish flute.

“I came for two days,” he says. “But I have been living here for about 25 years, and my wife is also one of those who came for two days and stayed.”

He believes they didn’t leave because they stepped on a black stone, part of a local legend about two lovers from feuding families.

“The boy is sent to work in the city against his will, and the girl waits for him for months while sitting on a black stone, and finally dies in tears waiting for her lover,” he says.

“The people of Eski Foça are deeply moved by her story, and break the black stone into pieces and scatter them throughout the city, wishing whoever steps on them will never leave again, and that such pain of separation will never again be experienced.”

No one knows the exact location of the pieces of stone, but the legend lives on.

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