You wouldn’t expect the namesake of Santa Claus to come from a sandy beach town on the Turkish Mediterranean coast- but it’s true… St. Nicholas, the 4th-century Byzantine bishop, was born here. St. Nick himself may have had a hearty laugh if he knew that most children today place him in the frigid North Pole, while in reality he probably spent many a sunny day admiring, maybe even tanning on Patara’s fabulous 9 kilometer (5.6 miles) stretch of golden sand, one of Turkey’s finest beaches. Back then, it probably housed more loggerhead turtles, now endangered, and fewer tourists, though development is carefully managed, allowing the area to retain its natural splendor.