Dalyan, Kaunos & İztuzu

Ancient City

A miracle of nature and history: a channel winding through reeds, kings’ tombs cut into cliffs and İztuzu, nesting beach of the loggerhead turtle.

The Dalyan Channel, carrying the waters of Lake Köyceğiz to the Mediterranean, is a corridor of nature winding through reed beds. As you travel it by boat, the magnificent Kaunos rock tombs of the kings suddenly appear, carved into the sheer cliff on the far bank: cut in the form of temple façades in the 4th century BC, these Lycian-type tombs turn honey-gold in the evening sun and have become the symbol of the region.

The ancient city of Kaunos on the channel’s edge carries traces of both Carian and Lycian cultures; with its theatre, church, baths and harbour agora it was once an important port — but, just like Bafa, as alluvium filled the harbour the sea withdrew and the city was left inland. The channel meets the sea at İztuzu Beach: a long, narrow strip of sand with a freshwater lagoon on one side and open sea on the other, it is one of the Mediterranean’s most important nesting grounds for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). Its use is therefore strictly regulated; the DEKAMER turtle rescue centre here is a place of hope where injured turtles are treated. Dalyan is also famous for its sulphur mud baths and hot springs.