Dalyan

Dalyan sits on the river channel between the vast Köycegiz Lake and the Mediterranean Sea. Access to the beach is by "water boat" an idyllic 30 min. journey past the spectacular 4th century Rock Tombs,or by a 20 min.bus ride to the other end of the beach   The village is in the centre of a broad delta at the head of which lies the 7 km. long sandbar called Iztuzu beach. The endangered Loggerhead Turtle has returned here for hundreds of years to lay its eggs.

The ruins of the ancient harbour town of Caunos are easily accessible and well worth exploring.It dates from 3000 BC and among the ruins is a 5000-seat theatre.Above the harbour are the 4th century BC Tombs which are like small Greek Temples carved into the rock.
            

Up river you can visit the mud baths or hot springs and have the ‘pleasure’ of covering yourself with sulphurous mud  reputed to be good for skin and general health.Afterwards you can dive off the boat into the cooling Dalyan river for a quick swim before heading for the beach. You can also rent a boat and spend the day cruising around the lake.

The Dalyan area has now been designated a nature reserve by the Turkish government. Dalyan's wide beach is a sanctuary for the loggerhead sea turtle and some 120 species of birds. Colonies of storks are just one of the hundreds of species of birds that frequent the Dalyan delta throughout the year

As Dalyan means "fishery" in Turkish, fishing comprises a large sector in the local economy. Grey mullet spawn in Lake Koycegiz, their progress downriver providing the villagers of Dalyan with an important food source.