Dalyan, Turkiye

October 3-9, 2022

It’s Gone

It has been a long day, but it was about to get a lot longer. We’d already taken a ferry from Greece to Turkey that morning, a taxi from the Marmaris port to the Otogar (bus terminal), and a Dolmus (shared small bus-van) from Marmaris to Ortaca.  

The Bakery

We still had one more Dolmus to go to reach Dalyan, where we’d be staying the next week. But it was time for some lunch, so we exited our Dolmus and walked past the men sitting at tables, smoking, drinking tea, and playing tiles, to a small bakery with outdoor seating. 

Cheese Pies

I went in and ordered two cheese “pies” (pastry filled with cheese), a couple of cookies, a coke for Steve, and a soda water for myself. Our lunch totaled $1.74. 

As I returned to our table Steve was frantically looking for his iPhone. 

“I don’t know where my phone is!”, he cried out, as he patted himself all over manically, searching every pocket. He had that look of urgency combined with bewilderment. It’s not a good look. 

Gotta Try 

He suddenly darted back across the parking lot towards where our Dolmus had pulled in, leaving me and the cheese pies behind. 

After a long few minutes, he returned. I could see by his entire body language as he approached that he hadn’t found the phone. I didn’t even need to ask. 

Excuses

Now I feel the need to explain a bit of the circumstances of the day here to better explain our state of mind.  

Without going into too much detail, Steve woke up that morning to internal issues of a gastrointestinal variety. He was a little preoccupied holding things tight and together, if you get my meaning. 

I was also concerned about his condition, knowing what a long day of travel lay ahead.  I crossed my fingers that we’d make it to Dalyan today without any problems. 

So there’s that. 

Is Anyone in Charge Here?

We didn’t see any office nor anyone except a few lone bus drivers taking a smoke break. 

It wasn’t a large station, mostly a few Dolmus coming and going. There wasn’t anyone we could talk to. Our Dolmus was long gone. 

To Dalyan

Defeated, we took our last Dolmus of the day from Ortaca to Dalyan and walked the long, long way to our hotel. At least it seemed very long at the time.

We were in foul moods, dripping sweat in the blazing sun, carrying all our gear through the streets of Dalyan. 

I was the only one who could navigate to our hotel, since Steve had no phone. It was a new reality and I didn’t like it. 

I had time to think on our walk, and thought it’d be worth a try to have our hotel call the Ortaca bus terminal (if they have an office) to ask (in Turkish)  if anyone turned in an iPhone. I knew the odds were very slim.  

The Conversation 

“Hello”, I said to the man at our hotel, whose name I later found out is Sercan. “Do you speak English?”  

“Yes”, he said. 

Thank God, I thought. 

I quickly explained that Steve’s phone had been left on our Ortaca Dolmus. 

“Did you call it?”, he asked. 

“No”, I replied. 

“Do you have the Find My Phone app? 

“Why, yes”, I replied, with a growing recognition of our utter stupidity in handling the whole debacle. 

Holy crap. How could we be so dense?  Why didn’t we call the phone?  Why didn’t I use the location app?  

Sercan said, “Call it now. If someone answers in Turkish, I will talk”.

If someone answers in Turkish?  The odds seemed a good 99.9% that if someone actually answered, they’d be answering in Turkish. 

And that’s exactly what happened. I put the phone on speaker (not sure why, so I could follow the conversation?  Hahaha). 

Sercan hung up, looked at me, and said decisively, “Let’s go now. I have my private car and will take you back to Ortaca Otogar”.

 It took me a moment to understand. “You mean it’s there?”, I asked. 

“Yes, the Dolmus driver turned it in. The guys been waiting for you to call”. 

Ugh. Another blow.  Even the guy at the Otogar in Turkey knows you should just call the dang phone. 

The Why’s

Why didn’t we immediately call his missing phone using my phone, you ask? Why didn’t I look at the find my phone app to determine the missing phone’s location?  

I have no good answers to these questions.  

Chalk it up to our age, Steve’s condition, my preoccupation with Steve’s condition, being in a foreign country, shock, never having lost a phone before, too much second-hand smoke inhalation, or evil forces at work. We have no good excuse. 

Racing to Ortaca

I grabbed Steve, trying to quickly fill him in, as we followed Sercan out to his shiny & sleek, silver 4-door Audi parked out front. He whisked us all the way back to Ortaca, a 20 minute drive. 

Steve tried to give his iPhone rescuer a cash reward, but he wouldn’t accept it. The Turkish people are so very, very kind. And apparently, very honest too. 

We were floored that Sercan took more than an hour out of his day to help us, driving us all that way and back. It’s not like we were friends. We’d known each other for a total of one minute. 

A Happy Ending

Our day ended on such a high note. The phone was found and was soundly back in Steve’s pocket. We had a warm and fuzzy feeling about the Turkish people, their innate kindness, and how nothing is too much to help out a fellow human being. Nothing but a sincere thank you is expected in return. 

Steve’s issues had cleared up, we’d made it to Dalyan, we had all our belongings, and the sun was setting.

We were exhausted, but happy. It had been a good day. 

The Melek-Anne

We found a delicious, casual, and reasonably priced restaurant just a 5 minute walk down the street from our pansiyon, the Melek-Anne.  It’s riverfront, just like our hotel. All the hotels here are small, one or two stories maximum.

Just before leaving for dinner, there was a loud pounding noise outside our room. Actually, it seemed to envelope the entire room. We looked up in surprise. 

“That’s rain”, I said. 

Laundry Day

I opened the door to check, and the rain was coming down in droves. I glanced over at the triple drying line just outside our window, where half of Steve’s wardrobe was hanging, to “dry”. 

He always puts off his hand washing as long as possible, and had finally done his biggest load of the trip to date.

There hung his shirts and pants, flapping in the cool breeze, getting sprayed by the hard rain as it hit the patio with force and splattered upward. 

Dinner-time

As fast as the rain had started, it stopped. We took the opportunity to head over to the Melek-Anne, grabbing our tiny magenta travel umbrella, just in case. 

We chose an outdoor table on the deck, right along the river. There was no overhead cover, but the sky didn’t look too threatening and we figured we had at least enough time for our meal. At least we hoped so. 

Thunder & Lightning 

For a few minutes we watched the incredible light show as lightning flashed across the dark, night sky. 

“That’s far away,” Steve said decisively. 

It was serene on the deck as we watched the storm  far off in the distance. I kept trying to catch the lightning on video, without much luck. 

Not So Far Away, After All

Suddenly a huge raindrop hit my forearm. Without a moment’s hesitation, the sky opened up with deluge number two. 

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

But this time a huge wind gust accompanied the rain, whipping up everyone and everything on the Melek-Anne deck. It was like a huge wave of wind that came out of nowhere.  Everyone scurried into the glass enclosed section of the restaurant. It was move, or get swept-away, Mary Poppins style. 

Our food was arriving just as this all occurred, and, as I hopped up to make my move, I noticed our waiter.  He stood helplessly at the mid-point between the kitchen and our riverside table, balancing our platter of manti, shrimp, and bread, waiting to see where we’d land. 

His head pivoted from right to left as he watched our dance of ring-around-the-tables, as we dodged raindrops, the whipping wind, and other patrons who were also jumping to their feet. We landed safely at our new, indoor table with a great sigh of relief.  

On the Move

The entire restaurant was doing the same as we were, running to get out of the elements. 

Several families with toddlers had already been served. People jumped up and grabbed their plates of food and drinks. Toddlers were unceremoniously ripped from their high-chairs, as their parents whisked them to safety. 

Calm Returns

The huge and sudden burst of gale force winds was quickly over. The rain had stopped quickly too, although everything outside was drenched. We were happily eating our dinner, glad all the craziness was over. 

Just moments ago, the owner had been trying to aid people running for their lives, plates in hand. He walked by our table and gave us a quick smile and nod, glad that we had made it to safety just before the worst of it hit. 

A few courageous folks timidly ventured back outside, and a couple of new customers even showed up.

Not So Fast

Then, BOOM, out go the lights. We were sitting in absolute darkness. 

There’s always an awkward few seconds just after the lights go out where everyone’s brains are trying to make sense of what just happened. 

The Melek-Anne owner, who was well prepared, immediately walked by, like a man on a mission, holding a large, white gas lantern. It’s the kind of lantern we used for camping maybe 25 years ago. But it’s shedding a good amount of light and we are all grateful.  

Dalyan

The Brits

Dalyan is a town full of Brits. There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to Dalyan expats (who are all Brits).  As we walk through town, especially in the evening, every pub and cafe is filled to the brim with Brits in their late 50’s, 60’s, 70’s+, enjoying cocktail hour. 

But it’s not a party town. Everyone is cleared out after dinner and the town is quiet by 10 or so. 

People tend to come here year after year.  The few couples we have met have been coming for 25 years each. And yes, they were Brits.  

Do I Know You?

I entered a clothing store for a peek inside.

“Is this your first day in Dalyan?” the owner asks me.

“No, it’s my second. But this is my first time in town.” I say. 

“I thought so. I haven’t seen you before.” 

“Oh, do you know everyone town?”, I ask. 

“Well, yes, I do” he replied, to my great surprise.  

That’s Dalyan. It does seem that everyone knows everyone. And it’s such a welcoming feeling. The waiters and restaurant owners seem to know every couple and group that enter their establishment. They rush up, shaking hands and embracing. 

“So good to see you again”, both parties say. They often call each other by name. ?It’s such a friendly place. 

The River 

The Dalyan river is the heart of the town. Hundreds of boats, all proudly flying the Turkish flag, go up and down the river all day and into the evening.

There are the most basic water-taxi’s (Dolmus) boats that take patrons to the beach and back. Then there are the larger, luxury, all-day “excursion” boats, and everything in-between.

The water-taxi Dolmus we took to the beach and back were diesel “put-put” boats, nothing fancy, just functional.

As we sit on our hotel deck for tea-time each day, we see the excursion boats coming back to town, some blaring American classic rock n roll. Thankfully, they are few and far between, so the tranquility of Dalyan is mostly preserved.

There’s a rush hour in the morning, then again in the late afternoon, as boats jockey for position heading to and from excursions and the beach full of tourists.

In addition to the river, there are beautiful parks, cobblestone streets, tons of restaurants, ice cream shops, cute clothing and artsy stores, and more. It’s very low-key and feels like a beach town. 

The Beach

Fact is, the beach isn’t far. The water Dolmus winds through the hills and thick reeds, ending at the six kilometer long Dalyan Iztuzu (Turtle) Beach. The one-way ride takes about 30 minutes from our hotel.  The cost is a very reasonable 60 lira, or $3, round trip each. 

One huge advantage to staying at a river front hotel, like ours, is the water Dolmus pull right up to the pier and pick you up, then drop you right back on your doorstep on the return ride. 

What could be better than that?

Kaunos 

No small town in Turkey would be complete without some cool ancient ruins nearby. 

Lucky for us, we shared a lunch table at the beach with a couple from Oxford, England, who had been to Dalyan many times. They highly recommended we go check out the ruins of the ancient city of Kaunos, high on a hill on the other side of the Dalyan River. 

Row Your Boat

Our lunch companion tried to describe where to catch the small row-boats that ferry you across the river, but it was difficult. There’s no neon sign, in fact, there’s no sign at all. You have to walk along the shore looking for a woman standing on the other side, signal to her, and hope you’re at the right place. If you’ve come to a “proper park” (said the British woman), you’ve gone too far.

These women need a good marketing team. At least get a sign at the row-boat pick-up point. Pleeeease.

Pomegranates

Luck was with us and we found the rowboats fairly easily. Once across the river, we walked 2 kilometers up the hill and explored the ruins, passing pomegranate orchards along the way.

It never gets old (so far) to walk into an ancient amphitheater, and to explore the amazing cities of the past. It’s really quite humbling. 

On the way back to the row-boats we bought a fresh pomegranate smoothie at a booth along the road. Our salesman was a Turkish 30-something man in a huge Mexican sombrero with beautiful, light blue (think Paul Newman) eyes. He had vacationed in Cancun a few years ago, which is where he bought his hat.  

I wouldn’t have thought selling pomegranate smoothies would be so lucrative. I’m happy to have supported him as he saves for his next vacation. 

Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Turtles are a big deal here in Dalyan.

Caretta caretta, the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, is the oldest reptile species which began to live in the sea instead of land. The oldest fossil of caretta carettas known dates back 150 million years ago.

Dalyan is one of the few breeding grounds left for this endangered species of turtle. The nesting grounds on Iztuzu (Turtle) Beach are closely monitored by international conservation groups and the Turkish government.

The Loggerhead Turtles can live to be 70 to 80 years old. The females reach breeding maturity at about age 35. They weigh around 250 pounds and are about 3 feet long. They primarily eat crabs, lobsters, and jellyfish.

The Turtle Sighting

Steve and I were so excited that we were lucky enough to see five Loggerhead turtles in the wild during our stay in Dalyan.

The first sighting was at the beach pier. We were sitting in the water-taxi waiting for it to fill up with enough passengers to set-off for town. Steve spotted the turtle out in the river and quietly pointed out its general direction to me.

I had my eyes laser focused on the river, waiting….waiting….and then I saw it’s big head pop out for a breath! And I gasped. Very loudly. So loudly, in fact, that the others that were also waiting in the water-taxi quickly turned to look at me, as if something horrific had just happened.

Yes, it was rather embarrassing, but, with everyone’s eyes on me, I simply said, “I just saw a turtle“.

Yeah, ok lady.

Since then we’ve seen at least four more off our hotel deck. It’s exciting every time.

Sea Turtle Research, Rescue & Rehabilitation Center

The Dekamer Center, founded in 2008, was established in Turkey to help save injured turtles in collaboration with many environmental agencies, the city of Dalyan, and Pamukkale University.

Their motto, on the front of their pamphlet is “Sea Turtles and Tourists Can Be Together“.

Turtle specialists and volunteers maintain the Turtle Hospital-Refuge Center at the far end of the Iztuzu Beach. We visited one day and saw the great work they are doing saving these amazing creatures that are hurt or traumatized.

The entire area has been an Environmentally Protected area since 1988.

Lycian Tombs

The sheer cliffs that can be seen from the river are host to ancient Lycian Tombs carved in 4th century B.C. Excursion boats motor down the river and stop across from our hotel, set anchor for a while so paying customers can get a good look, then move on.

We felt very lucky to have a nice view of the tombs from our hotel waterfront.

WINS & LOSSES

Roughin It

Just a bottom sheet. That’s all they give you here in Dalyan. That, and two thin white waffle blankets, that are like #80 grit sandpaper.  The blankets are neatly folded into small rectangles down where our feet lie. 

And I won’t even mention the toilet paper. It really toughens you up.  I think we are quite spoiled at home. Yes, indeed. 

Easy Does It

After our less than auspicious start here, I must say Dalyan is certainly easy. 

It’s easy to relax, easy to enjoy getting to the beach, easy to get some sun, easy to walk into town, easy to navigate, and easy to enjoy. 

Next Up: Kalkan, Turkiye