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Marmaris (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈmɑɾmɑɾis]) is a port city and tourist ...

Marmaris (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈmɑɾmɑɾis]) is a port city and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in Muğla Province, southwest Turkey, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera. Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. It is located between two intersecting sets of mountains by the sea, though following a construction boom in the 1980s, little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was until the late 20th century. In 2010, the city's population was 30,957,[3] and peaks at around 300,000 to 400,000 people during the tourist season. It is also a centre for sailing and diving, possessing two major and several smaller marinas. It is a popular wintering location for hundreds of cruising boaters, being also served by the nearby Dalaman Airport. Nimara Cave is a cave on Heaven Island near Marmaris.[10] Since ancient times, the cave was used as a place of worship. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, human presence in the cave (as well as the old city of Physkos, today called Marmaris), dates back to 3000 BC. However, excavations carried out by the Municipality of Marmaris in 2007 extended this period to almost 12,000 years back.[11] The research conducted in the cave has revealed the existence of a cult of Mother Goddess Leto, believed to be the mother of God Apollo and Goddess Artemis, in the ancient city of Physkos. The cave is located at the highest point of Heaven Island and was used as a place of worship by the ancient residents of the town of Nimara. The worshipping took place around the main rock that exists even today. This main rock is surrounded by stone altars in a semi-circle raised at about 30 cm from the ground. Offerings to the Mother Goddess Leto were placed on these elevated stones. The offerings were made in the form of cremations, glass beads, terracotta, and sculptures of Leto. The cave was also in use during the Roman period. Nimara Cave has been declared a protected area in 1999. It shelters trogloxene butterflies, identical to those living in Fethiye's Butterfly Valley (Turkish: Kelebekler Vadisi). The Marmaris peninsula is the westernmost habitat for Tulipa armena, which normally grows in Eastern Turkey, Iran, and Transcaucasia at much higher altitudes. The plants may have been introduced during the Ottoman period.