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Unlike my previous blogs where I’ve kept a detailed daily record this one is more of a summary: hopefully less text and more photos (
muffled cheering from the back of the class). However, owing to some inclement seasonal weather here in Dalyan i.e. UK type weather, there’s not even much in the way of photos. The story to date is therefore as follows:
May 1
st: Monarch Airlines ZB908 Birmingham to Dalaman a fast (four and a bit hours) and comfortable flight to be met by my brother Pete and his wife Margaret, plus the rep from the car hire company. A swift transit to the Villa Limon in Dalyan, where we had stayed last year (see Travelblog Turkey Tour 2013), and a good night’s sleep ready to enjoy the Turquoise Coast aka Lycia the Land of Light.
Friday May 2nd: so much for the poetic descriptions. A cool, windy and overcast day with no incentive for walking, sightseeing or anything touristy, so we did what we do at home which was
We came for this
Villa Limon 6th Mayto stock up on necessities from the local supermarket.
Saturday May 3
rd: much better weather so we headed off to the ancient site of Kaunos across the Dalyan River courtesy of the Dalyan Women’s Co-operative who have a monopoly of the rowboat ferry service across the river. Our captain/rower/crew was a lady named Mina who had rowed us across last year but unaccountably she couldn’t recall that happy event. It was a nice walk in the sun to the ruins at Kaunos, stopping on the way for pomegranate juice for Jane and fresh orange for Jenks. Leaving Jane to contemplate the view from the theatre I climbed the 500 ft /152m citadel hill to enjoy the fabulous views over Dalyan and the river estuary. After descending I persuaded Jane to join me in climbing to the top of the smaller Heraklion fortress which in ancient times, and before the surrounding areas were silted up, would have been a cape jutting into the sea. More stunning views, exactly what we had come back here to enjoy: and the warm weather of course. After retracing our steps to the ferry and the rather intimidating Mina (I was afraid to ask if
I could photograph her in case she objected and threw me overboard) we crossed back to Dalyan and drove down to the seashore and the magnificent beach of Iztuzu where we enjoyed a good long walk along the sand.
Sunday May 4th: more adverse weather so little to do except read and go into town for lunch.
Monday May 5th: more of the same but this time we went with Pete and Margaret into the nearby town of Ortaca to deal with a parking ticket that I’d been given, and which fortunately turned out to be a warning only and not a penalty.
Tuesday May 6th: good weather at last and to make the most of the clear skies we went for a walk up a mountain overlooking Iztuzu beach to a communications tower at the summit which had the most spectacular views over the beach and surrounding areas. After spending some time savouring the views we went back down the mountain and had a really nice lunch in the sun alongside a lake near the town. In the evening we had a most enjoyable BBQ dinner with Pete and Margaret at their
house in the hills overlooking the estuary.
Wednesday May 7
th another nice day so we took off to explore a village along the coast from Dalyan called Ekincik (pronounced Ekinjik). This involved a 45 mile drive around Lake Koycegiz up river from Dalyan, then along some narrow pot-holed roads until we came to the mountains where the road suddenly improved and it was smooth driving all the way to Ekincik. Despite the spectacular drive the destination was not very impressive: a small bay with a dark sand beach, a small marina and a single café, so we headed back to the mud baths on Lake Koycegiz in the hope of lunch. However, the mud baths seemed far more run down and seedy than we recalled from our visit the previous year so we headed off to a hotel a bit further along the lake shore which was strongly recommended by the author of the Dalyan section of our Lonely Planet guide; only to find that this was still closed. So there was no option but to head back all the way round the lake to Dalyan even though the town was just across the river from the still closed
Dalyan River estuary
Iztuzu Beach in the distance hotel–no vehicular ferry.
Thursday May 8th, this time a boat trip on the water taxi down river to Iztuzu beach and a long walk to the other end of the beach where we caught a bus back to town. In the evening we went out to dinner in town with Pete and Margaret: very convivial and enjoyable.
Friday May 9
th: more poor weather which prevented any sightseeing or walking so we headed into town for lunch at our favourite restaurant/café – a limited menu but what was available was excellent. Then in the early evening we took Pete and Margaret to Dalaman Airport for their flight back to UK.
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