From Dalyan, following the road takes you to the Iztuzu coast and the Dalyanağzı beach facilities, Radar Tower and Aşı Cove.Most of the road, which winds through pine trees and heads towards top of the mountains, is paved.At the each corner the beauty of the Dalyan delta is spread under your feet. When you reach the top of hill an incredible view awaits you. On one side is the delta, channels, the coast and the city of Dalyan up further the Köyceğiz region and even further are the Sandras Mountains, while the west beautiful coves meet up with high slopes and little further on is the coast of Sarigerme and Babaada. Those who continue further can reach the Aşı Cove, which is much loved by Blue cruise travelers. At these coves picnicking and swimming in off the beaten track areas is possible.

Alanya Dalyan dark and unruly

Would you like to stay alone? Away from other people, do you want to bask in the sea alone with nature? Dalyan sailed out to the East after the 45-minute journey is being made. Unemployed and the color of the crystal to reach the village by the sea . Docked yachts in a future Rebel villages.An ideal beach for snorkeling and diving for beginners and the village of new vaccines. Starting from scratch with the color of gray stone, the blue of the sea and sandy point. Discover this sheltered beach and certified scuba diving that can be done. Start on the beach with a depth of up to 20 metres from him and the Red mullet, bream, chub and caretta sometimes also can be seen .
 

Lake Sülüngür and the village of Çandır

After visiting the ancient city Caunos those wishing to do so could visit the ancient port of Caunos which is now Lake Sülüngür and the village of Çandır.At the wharf of Çandır there always are plenty of boats lined up to serve the needs of tourists. These boats also provide a floating taxi service to the yachts that anchor near Iztuzu. They take the yachts` passengers to Dalyan and the mud baths. On the wharf you would notice the hollow cavities in the rocks, they were used for lighting giant fires to serve as guiding lights for ships coming into the harbour of Caunos. From the harbour of Caunos it takes just 15 minutes to reach the village square. As one climbs up the hills it is possible to see the whole of the Dalyan delta and the Iztuzu coast with a birds` eye view.

Boat tours and Twilight tours

Boat tours originating from Dalyan or Aşı and Bacardi Coves in the direction of Dalaman, visit the coves in the Ekincik Gulf and especially Semizce Cove. Also on nights when there is a full moon there are twilight tours staged out from Dalyan. On tours from Dalyan the channels are visited and tourists come ashore at Iztuzu, where they can swim. The tours have lots of music and entertainment.Those who wishing to do so can let themselves go into the soft waters of the sea.
 

Dalyan-Ekincik

The starting point for walk is the wharf used by boats heading for the Dalyan rock tombs. Get across to the tombs by boat. The road would take you beside the ancient city of Caunos to the village of  Çandır. Ask the villagers for directions to the starting point of the track, which is clearly marked .By following the signs along the track you will reach Ekincik Cove and see many beautiful sights along the way.Your arrival at the cove is a sudden one, with it appearing directly under your feet. The walk from the village of Çandır to Ekincik cove takes about 2,5 to 3 hours.If you start your tour early in the morning,the weather is not going to disturb you. Also you can prefer boats for return trip.
 

Rafting in Dalaman River

The Dalaman River has become one of the Turkey`s most popular rafting spots in recent years. The stream has two different levels of difficulty. The upper part has a difficulty level of 3th grade and can only be undertaken with rafting boats. The lower part can be done by `river canoing` and is advised for the beginners.On this stage, which only has a level one difficulty rating,children can also join in. This might be the last year when one can raft or river canoe on Dalaman Stream as the building of a dam on the waterway is progressing rapidly. If you are interested you should hurry up.The lower rafting-canoeing trail of the Dalaman Stream starts at village of Demirli to White Bridge region and ends after a 12 km trip in Arpacik region.
 

The Ancient City of Kaunos(Caunos)

Caunos is situated on the western bank of the Dalyan (Calbis) River, which connects Lake Köycegiz to the Mediterranean. It lies within the present day boundaries of Candir Village which is opposite the town of Dalyan. Once a harbor city, the city of Caunus is today at quite a distance from the sea.



The city was founded upon a peninsula which extends towards the sea like a tongue, formed by the 152 m high acropolis hill and the 50 m high lesser acropolis to the southwest. During the Archaic and Early Classical Ages, the city was situated within the cavity between the fortification walls running over the ridges of the Acropolis and the lesser Acropolis and the fortification walls which extend behind the Fountain Building in the Agora.

The area occupied by the Stoa today must have been used for religious buildings from the beginning of the 5th century BC. The city obviously spread over the saddle connecting both the greater and the lesser acropolis to the Sivrihisar and Balýklar hills. This expansion occured, at the earliest during the Hecatomnid period. By then, the city of Caunus began to be built on terraces. In subsequent periods, while the earlier terraces were repaired, new larger terraces were also constructed. The natural flat areas upon which the Agora and the Stoa were built extends over a narrow band along the edge of the harbor.

Until the end of 1940s, Dalyan and the surroundng area was subject to malaria. The struggle with the mosquitoes during these years eradicated malaria in Dalyan. Dalyan suffered from malaria throughout its history. The reason why the people of Caunus had almost a "greenish complexion" enough to cause them to be described as "unhealty" was due to malaria. This pain and suffering is known from a story attributed to Stratonikos, a master of the harp during the Hellenistic Age: when Stratonikos saw the "green faced" people walking the streets of Caunus, he expressed his idea by remarking, "As are the generations of leaves, so are the generations of men". When the inhabitants of the city complained that they were insulted, he responded: "...how could I dare to call a city unhealthy, where even the dead men walk the streets?..."Strabon xiv, 651.3

Foundation story of Caunos

Do you like legends ? If you like, you will be upset, after hearing the legends that we will tell you.
The king of the Caria, Malletos, who is the son of Apollo had twices. The boy twice is given the name 'Caunos', and the name of the girl baby is 'Byblis'. The twice grew up together and they fell in love with eachother. Secret love reveal when they had a baby. The king was very raged and he expelled his son from the country.
After expulsion Caunos founded a city near the boundary of Lidya. The new city is opposite the town which called 'Dalyan' today.
What did happened to Byblis? This is the sad part of legend. The King humiliated Byblis and she didn`t bear the pain of leaving from her lover. She cried cried, her tear rivers dried. Eventually, she threw herself from a hill and died. According to legend, Dalyan Canals that remind labirents was formed by the tears of Byblis.



The Roman historian and poet Ovidius told the story differently.
Accoding to Azra Erhat who tell the story to us from Ovidus, legend about the foundation of Caunos is like this: Byblis fell in love with Caunos. Byblis wrote a letter to Caunos and told her feelings in her letter. Kaunos reaction was very dissappointing for her and he refused her with hate and anger. The Caunos didn`t want to see Byblis again and left the country with his friends. He came to Caunos and founded the city that called with his name.


As for Byblis, she wanted to die because of Caunos`s disappointing reaction to her love. She threw herself from a high hill but water fairies (Nympies) rescued her and reverted her to a river. The tears of Byblis formed the river and still that day, tears of her is splashing...
That is the sad foundation story of Caunos..
 

Sarıgerme

Sarıgerme,with its close proximity to Dalaman International Airport and with more and more modern accommodation facilities being built, has found itself as a center of tourism in a region fast becoming internationally popular. The interaction of pine trees and the coast of Sarigerme, with its fine sand against the backdrop of beautiful pine trees has continued for centuries. It is the site of the ancient city of Physilis. This city is now buried under the shifting sand.As a result of tourism development carried out before excavations and the construction of hotels in the region the history of Physilis is to remain under the sands of Sarigerme.
Sarigerme is the name given to the coast near the village Osmaniye,850 meters inland from shore. The name Sarigerme is linked to Saricay Stream that divides Osmaniye and the coast. Saricay was once used as the transportation route for timber that was brought from the forest to the sea. To prevent the timber from escaping into the sea, the stream`s outlet into the ocean was closed during times of timber transportation. It was called `germe` ,which means tightening or fencing.



The island of Babaada, situated right off the coast,is the place where boats and yachts plying between Marmaris and Gocek moor regularly. The sheltered side of Babaada looks directly to Sarigerme coast and is used for moor the boats and yachts. The other side of the island is rocky and suitable for diving. If you are confident it is possible to swim to the island and later climb to the top and have a bird`s eye view of the beautiful scenery surrounding you. Also you can take a long walks along the coast which is 7 km. Do not think that your feet would burn or get hurt due to the heat as the water comes up to your ankles and the fine sand makes the walk most comfortable , and has a massaging effect relaxing the muscles and also strengthening them.
 

Sarsila Cove

Most of the material needed to build the train station of Dalaman came by ship from France. These ships pulled into the sheltered and calm cove of Sarsala, which is 12 km away from Dalaman. The cove today is one of the most popular stop points of the boats and yachts on the Blue Cruise. The water of the cove is very clean, and where there is no construction pine trees grow down to the sea. The only drawback of the area was that it had a very bad road.However, now you can get there easily using any type of vehicle. To get there you take the road from the airport through the village of Kapikargin. Keeping to the forest  road you come to one of the branches of Dalaman Stream , the Tersakan Cayi, and arrive after passing by many sulphurous lakes that are linked to the sea. The trip is scenic and extremely pleasant. When you reach the top of the cove you come across a really wonderful panaromic view.