Old Foca is one of the most beautiful resorts of the Aegean with its houses, narrow streets, good fish restaurants and beautifull Caribbean blue sea.

There are actually two towns here: Eski Foça (Old Foça) and Yeni Foça (New Foça). Eski Foça is the larger of the two, seated beside two small bays and a fine small harbor that has been in use by skillful mariners since 600 BC. The construction project for a 300-boat capacity marina in Foça is recently tendered for international tourism. Foça is the site of one of three marine protected areas established in Turkey for the preservation of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, a heavily endangered species of sea mammals.

Today the mariners are mostly yachters, pleasure-boaters and windsurfers, both Turkish and foreign, as well as visitors who come in hopes of spotting one of the rare Mediterranean monk seals (fok) that gather on the small islands offshore.

The town of Foça is placed at about 69 km north by northwest of Izmir city center. The place also has a township named Yenifoça (the new foca), also along the shore and at a distance of 20 km from Foça proper. For this reason, Foça itself is locally often called as Eskifoça (the old Foça) in daily parlance. The ancient city of Phocaea is located between the two modern Foças.

Many parts of the place are under strict environmental protection, due to the value of the flora and the fauna, and the beauty of the small bays and coves, especially between Foça and Yenifoça.  New constructions are not permitted in many parts of the  places and Foça is set to preserve its unique characteristic as composed principally of old houses.

Famous stone houses; lined up along the road to the port and those at the opposite hore of the bay give Foça a totally different atmosphere. These houses are considered as a typical reflection of the Mediterranean Architecture. Also there are many fish restaurants on the road to the harbour. 

History shortcut :

Foça has surprisingly little to show for so much history: two small fortresses, Beskapilar and Diskale, dating from Byzantine, Genoese and Ottoman times; a few Hellenic ruins here and there; a monumental tomb 7 km east of the town center; a bit of aqueduct.

The first natives of Ancient Phokaia settling in the place of today’s old Foça are known as the immigrants who came from Phokis environs in Greece.

Phokaia which had two ports had grown in a short time and became one of the most important port cities of ancient periods. The city lost strength during the Persian rule in West Anatolia and could only join the Ionian Revolt in 500-494 BC with three ships. Afterwards the city maintained it’s free status, however the damage that the PersiansPhokaia never regained its original strength. A theater building, city wall remains dating back to 6th century BC and Kybele sacred area have been found in Foça. In the town, some of the archaeological monuments  have became from Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

How to go:

Transport to and from Foça is by car or frequent minibus to Izmir.
There’s also summer passenger ferry service to the Greek island of Lesbos (Mytileni).