Once upon a time in Marmaris, somewhere in the southern coast of  Turkey , a fisherman and the daughter of a King fell in love. However, like all of us know, the love between a fisherman and a princess simply would not get the blessings of her father. Because of this, they would meet secretly at nights.

But the old King soon learnt about his daughter's nocturnal trysts. One night, he asked his soldiers to follow her. The soldiers returned and informed the King that every night the princess would leave the palace and go to a small bay out of town. She would signal to the fisherman at the other end of the bay by flashing a light and he would come to that light to find her.

The King then ordered his soldiers to set a trap. They followed the princess, caught her and flashed a light to entice the fisherman. The princess managed to escape from the soldiers and ran as fast as she could to warn her lover. She realised though that it would not be possible to reach the fisherman if she were to run along the beach, so she thought she would swim. A miracle happened. Wherever she stepped into the sea, the water turned into sand; and the sand turned back into water whenever the soldiers followed her.

But, as she was reaching her lover, a soldier's arrow meant for the fisherman struck her, killing her instantly. The people of Marmaris say that when the blood of the princess get mixed with the sea water, it changes the colour of the sand.