Dalyan River, Turkey (Wednesday, July 9)

From Bodrum we sailed overnight to the delta of the Dalyan River on the Turkish coast. This shallow bay is a salt marsh down river from the modern town of Dalyan (a popular vacation spot), and the ancient Lycian city of Caunos. The beaches near the delta are a nesting preserve for sea turtles, and along the delta are salt marshes harboring turtles and birds.

We took a motorboat tour up the river to the ruins of ancient Caunos and to see the Lycian cliff tombs. Our group was mostly English speakers plus a German couple who had a second german-speaking tour guide. Unfortunately, the german-speaking tour guide really knew his stuff, whereas the english-speaking guide was, well, just a guide.

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Approach to the Dalyan River Delta


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Salt Marshes

The approach to the town of Dalyan up the Dalyan River is via a twisting maze of salt marshes that spread across the river delta. The reeds are home to turtles and birds. The ancient city of Caunos was an important sea port, but river silting over time has moved the shore out some 5 kilometers.


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The Ruins of Caunos

Caunos was one of the main centers of Lycian culture during Hellenic times, and was later a Roman then Byzantine port, before the steady load of silt from the Dalyan river rendered the harbor useless. The main features of the ruins are a Greek ampitheater from the 3rd century BC, Roman Baths from the 1st century AD, and a Christian Church dating from the 4th century AD.


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Lycian Cliff Tombs

Weathly member of Lycian society were buried in elaborate tombs carved into the cliffs above the river. Workmen were lowered from above to make the carvings. We saw these only from the river boats.


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Modern Dalyan

Modern Dalyan is located upriver from the delta, and is now a small vacation village, where Turks go to soak up the Aegean sun. On our trip back to the ship, we came across a couple of small turtles doing the same thing...


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Updated: 2003 Aug 8 [tabulizer v1.2]