The small town of Dalyan, around 80km from Marmaris, is set in the centre of a broad delta whose natural beauty is completely unspoilt, an area of true outstanding natural beauty and historic interest.
The Dalyan Channel is a natural conduit through which water circulates between the Mediterranean and Köyceğiz Lake, slowly meanders and forms a network of small lakes and waterways through reed beds rising up to 5m in height. With its mixture of both fresh and salt water, these wetlands have become home to vast numbers of fish and other water life, as well as the birds of many species which feed on them. Dividing the sea from the delta is the Iztuzu sandbar stretching for 5km east from the mouth of the channel.
With its fine crystal sand, shallow turquoise sea and abundant sunshine, Iztuzu beach is an ideal seaside spot and perfect for swimming for up to seven months of the year. It is this beach to which the endangered Mediterranean Caretta Caretta (loggerhead) turtle has returned year after year to lay its eggs since time immemorial and has now been declared a special protection area. Iztuzu beach was elected by German magazine Der Bild’s readers as The Most Beautiful Beach in the World year 2006.
Arguably the most famous place in Dalyan is the mud baths. The "beauty mud" not only cleanses and tones the skin but is said to remedy rheumatism and has anti-ageing properties. After allowing the mud to dry, it can be removed in a natural clear water sulphur pool, at temperatures of around 40 Celsius, leaving you refreshed and relaxed. The Sultaniye Thermal Baths are to the Southwest of Köycegiz Lake. The water at these baths was first used in Caunon times, then by the Byzantines, who rebuilt the accommodations. The ruins of the buildings from the period are submerged beneath the waters of the lake. It is not unusual to see the Turkish elderly make pilgrimages to the baths due to the water’s curative properties in case of neuralgia, rheumatism, skin problems and disorders of the liver, spleen and bowels.
The ancient city of Caunos stands midway along the channel facing Dalyan. Settlement here is believed to date from 3000BC by Caunos, the son of Miletos, and it later grew into a major port on the border between Lycia and Caria. Sprawling over a broad sloping site overlooking the sea and the delta, the principal monuments to be seen in Caunos are the Acropolis surrounded by city walls, a theatre, four temples, an agora, stoa, nymphain, baths, palestra, churches and a cistern. The imposing Lycian rock tombs with their facades curved into the form of temples were the last resting place of the kings of Caunos. The city had two harbours, one for military use and the other for merchants. Inscriptions discovered on the nymphain have been found to cite customs regulations and have thrown valuable light on the economic life of the city.