İstanbul's hip beach club scene
Kicking back in Kilyos

Of course there's always the Bosporus, that wonderful stretch of water that meanders out from the Galata Bridge to the Black Sea and at least gives us a glimpse of something cooler, but one of the great things about İstanbul is that you're never really that far away from the seaside, either, be it at Şile, Riva and Ağva on the Asian side of the Bosporus, or at Kilyos on the European side.

There has been a settlement of some sort at Kilyos at least since the days of the ancient Greeks, when it appears to have been called Kilia, a rare instance of an İstanbul city name that has survived virtually unchanged over the centuries. Not much is known about the early settlement although it seems to have had a port and a lifeguard service, with boats on hand to rescue those who got into trouble on the frequently rough Black Sea. At the same time, though, it is thought that some of the locals earned a living as wreckers -- people who deliberately lured ships onto the rocks so that they could rush down and scavenge whatever they could from the remains.

There's not a great deal left of ancient Kilyos. Whereas the castle at Şile stands proud in the harbor, the one at Kilyos lurks to one side and takes some hunting out. More obvious, however, are three strange tower-like structures which are called suterazisi (water balances) and which were apparently used to control the flow of water from the reservoirs in the nearby Beograd Forest. The towers date back to Ottoman times, and there are other examples to be seen dotted about İstanbul itself, including at the Sultanahmet end of Divan Yolu.

Today's Kilyos lives entirely for tourism, and mainly for the short summer season, too, which means that you can come here in winter and find virtually everything boarded up. The small town is the focal point for a string of sandy beaches of varying quality (the town's official name is Kumköy -- “Sandy Village”), some of them private, others only available to those prepared to pay a fee to get their tan. In the center of the small town you will find a cluster of conventional, if somewhat old-fashioned, hotels overlooking the harbor and public beaches. Surprisingly, the harbor is not especially inviting, not least because the centerpiece of every view is the remains of a ship that ran aground in 2003 and has been slowly rusting in full view of sunbathers ever since. There's fine talk of removing it -- but then there was fine talk of removing it some years ago, too.

As for the hotels, don't come here expecting boutique flash and originality. Instead you'll be reminded of what Turkey has always done best -- small, family-run two and three-star places that set themselves high standards in terms of welcome, cleanliness and good food. Prices inevitably reflect a captive market -- you'll pay perhaps 30 per cent more here than you would for the same thing outside İstanbul.

But of course most people don't come to Kilyos to stay in a hotel, it being far too close to home for that to be a necessity. Instead what has happened here is much the same as what has happened at Çeşme, near İzmir, and that is the development of a string of private beach clubs that offer the comfort and facilities of hotels but for the benefit of day-trippers. The best known of these is Solar Beach, a kilometer-long swathe of sand that plays host to outdoor concerts and festivals throughout the summer. It's a family-friendly kind of place with a Kids' Club, where parents in need of a break can leave their children, and with a full range of facilities for water sports, whether your tastes run to the conventional (windsurfing, jet skiing) or the more upstart (banana boats, inner tubing). Even on land you won't be able to escape the pressure to be up and doing, whether it's playing beach volleyball, kicking a football around or just plain battling it out with a kite. It goes without saying that there's a full range of bars and restaurants as well as summer-only shops where you can offload any leftover lira before heading home again. Bear in mind that the waters of the Black Sea can be treacherous, and it's only wise to swim in sight of a lifeguard.

It's a similar, if somewhat smaller, scene at Nonstop Beach, whose name says it all for how quiet you should expect to find the sands. Things are rather different at the more discreet Dalia Beach and Uzunya Beach Club, a little further out at Demirciköy, where small rocky bays are backed with greenery and large fish-and-meze restaurants perch just above the water. For sheer exclusivity, though, you can hardly beat BURC Beach back in Kilyos proper. This belongs to Boğaziçi (Bosporus) University and is open to current and past students and staff and their guests only.

Although Kilyos is hardly unspoilt, it is relatively cut off since the coast road stops dead at Rumeli Feneri and to reach it you have to divert inland from Sarıyer, bypassing more surviving forest than you might expect. If you're up for a beach club but don't fancy Kilyos itself, it's worth knowing that Golden Beach offers much the same attractions but closer to Rumeli Feneri. Named after a lighthouse that has been standing on the site since at least the 16th century, Rumeli Feneri also makes a good place for a brief diversion on the way home since it has the remains of a fine castle perched on the headland. From this you will be able to look out on the twin rocks -- Kocataş (“Great Stone”) and Körtaş (“Blind Stone”) –- which the Ottomans called “the Bloody Rocks” but which were to the ancient Greeks the Symplegades, fearsome things capable of generating a huge noise and then moving towards each other so that they could stop ships passing into the Black Sea from the Bosporus. Those who know their ancient Greek mythology will need no reminding that Jason and the Argonauts were able to pass through the Symplegades on their way to find the Golden Fleece in Colchis after they were advised to send a pigeon through ahead of them as a diversionary tactic.

From Rumeli Feneri the coast road heads back south towards Sarıyer, passing the turnoff to Garipçe, as cute a little fishing harbor as you will find on this side of the Bosporus, with the remains of its own castle dating back to the late 18th century. Both places have wonderful unfussy fish restaurants where the big city will seem much further away than it really is.

Expect to pay between TL 15 and TL 25 to use the private beaches midweek, and between TL 30 and TL 35 at weekends.

WHERE TO STAY:

Erzurumlu Hotel, Kilyos:..........0212-201 1003

Kale Otel, Kilyos:....................0212-201 1818

Yuva Otel, Kilyos:....................0212-201 1043

HOW TO GET THERE

Frequent dolmuşes run from Sarıyer to Kilyos -- just walk up the high street to find them. There are also buses from Sarıyer to Rumeli Feneri and Garipçe. If you prefer to drive, expect long tailbacks at weekends.