Cleopatra’s Bay: The ruins of Cleopatra’s Bath House, a popular anchorage for gulets
The south west corner of Gocek Bay, opposite the Wall Bay restaurant, is home to be what are claimed as the remains of Cleopatra’s Bath House. Until the purges of the late 1990’s there was a pretty restaurant here boasting one of the most rickety jetties in Turkey (and that’s saying something)!
The restaurant was run by Rajip, one of the great characters of the area, who can still be found operating round at 22 Fathom Cove. Equipped with only a single stone oven, he regularly served 80 plus diners, the only concession being that he cooked each dish in turn, so if you got lucky with your choice, the service was swift, but the less fortunate might wait an hour or more!
Cleopatra’s Bay: The ruins of Cleopatra’s Bath House (allegedly)! looking west
Alas, there were deemed to be too many restaurants in the bay and with question marks over it’s legality, the restaurant was flattened in a day by government officials, with Rajip fleeing to the hills, only to be captured later and sent for several years in jail.
All signs of the jetty have long gone but the ruins of the Bath House remain, a good spot for some snorkelling. Anchor west of the ruins (it’s rather deep to the east) with a line ashore, or moor up in Wall Bay and take your dinghy over.