Dalyan is a town in

Muğla Province Muğla Province ( tr, , ) is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are ...

located between the districts of

Marmaris Marmaris () is a port city and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in Muğla Province, southwest Turkey, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera. Although Marmaris is known for its honey, its main source of income is internationa ...

and

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (). ...

on the south-west coast of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The town is an independent municipality, within the administrative district of Ortaca. Dalyan achieved international fame in 1987 when developers wanted to build a luxury hotel on the nearby

İztuzu Beach İztuzu Beach is a 4.5 km long beach near Dalyan, in the Ortaca district of the Province of Muğla in southwestern Turkey. The beach is a narrow spit of land, which forms a natural barrier between the fresh water delta of the Dalyan river ...

, a breeding ground for the endangered

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

species. The incident created major international storm when

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

championed the cause of

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

such as

June Haimoff June Haimoff (MBE) was an English environmentalist who lived in Dalyan in the Turkish province of Muğla. In the period from 1984–1988 she and fellow-environmentalists such as David Bellamy, Lily Venizelos, Günther Peter, Nergis Yazgan and ...

, Peter Günther, Nergis Yazgan,

Lily Venizelos Lily Venizelos ( gr, Λίλυ Βενιζέλου; born 10 April 1933) is a Greek conservationist. She founded the international NGO MEDASSET (MEDiterranean Association to Save the SEa Turtles) in 1988 and continues to serve as its president. For ...

and Keith Corbett. The development project was temporarily stopped after

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

called for a moratorium and in 1988 the beach and its hinterland were declared a protected area, viz.

Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area The Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area is a protected natural reserve in the Turkish province of Muğla. In June 1988 it was determined and declared the first protected area of its kind (''Özel Çevre Koruma Bölgesi'') of Tu ...

. Life in Dalyan revolves around the Dalyan Çayı River which flows past the town. The boats that ply up and down the river, navigating the maze of reeds, are the preferred means of transport to local sites.

Etymology

Dalyan means "

fishing weir A fishing weir, fish weir, fishgarth or kiddle is an obstruction placed in tidal waters, or wholly or partially across a river, to direct the passage of, or trap fish. A weir may be used to trap marine fish in the intertidal zone as the tide reced ...

" in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

. Bass, Mullet and Sea Bream swim upstream from the sea to

Köyceğiz Lake Köyceğiz is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. The town of Köyceğiz lies at the northern end of a lake of the same name ( Köyceğiz Lake) which is joined to the Mediterranean Sea by a natural channel cal ...

where another large town of the region,

Köyceğiz Köyceğiz is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. The town of Köyceğiz lies at the northern end of a lake of the same name (Köyceğiz Lake) which is joined to the Mediterranean Sea by a natural channel call ...

, is located. The fish spawn there, and when returning to the sea they are caught in the "dalyans". According to the turkish etymological dictionary Nisanyan Sözlük, dalyan (ta aliana) derives from the greek word aliia (αλιεία) which means fishing.

Economy

In addition to its attraction as a tourist destination, the region around Dalyan is a highly fertile and productive agricultural zone. Cotton used to be grown intensively, but has now largely been replaced by pomegranate. In the area around Köyceğiz many other fruits (citrus fruits) and vegetables are grown, which are all on display in the market on Saturdays, the day when villagers come from miles around to sell their products.

Tourism

Above the river's sheer cliffs are the weathered façades of

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

n tombs cut from rock, circa 400 BC (). The ruins of the ancient trading city of

Kaunos Kaunos (Carian: ''Kbid'';. Translator Chris Markham. Lycian: ''Khbide''; Ancient Greek: ; la, Caunus) was a city of ancient Caria and in Anatolia, a few kilometres west of the modern town of Dalyan, Muğla Province, Turkey. The Calbys riv ...

are a short boat trip across the river. The south of Dalyan on the Mediterranean coast, lies

, near the village of the same name is a popular area for sunbathing and swimming. There are regular boat and minibus (

dolmuş In Turkey and Northern Cyprus, dolmuş () are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities. Background Their name is derived from Turkish for "seemingly stuffed" referencing the fact that in days past these taxis were often filled t ...

) services to the beach. Visitors should be aware of the wooden stakes in the beach to mark nesting sites. The road route is particularly scenic, offering views of Sülüngür Lake. In 2008 İztuzu Beach was proclaimed winner in the category ''Best Open Space'' (Europe) by The Times because of the eco-friendly exploitation of the beach. In 2011 Dalyan and İztuzu Beach were proclaimed ''Best Beach Destination'' of Europe by Dutch holiday assessment website Zoover.

Conservation

The beach is well known for the ''Caretta caretta'' (

Loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

), an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

that has existed for about 45 million years. International animal protection organizations monitor and protect the turtles' nesting grounds in Turkey. The beach is closed between 20.00 and 8:00 hours during the period that the turtles lay their eggs and hatchlings go out to sea (May to October).

Notes

External links