A Little DALYAN History
Because of Dalyans legendary ecosystem which has survived for millions of years it is now a protected conservation area.
Dalyan is a maze of channels which comprising of 1700 hectares of reed beds, and four lakes. The largest lake being 55km2 with a channel that links it to the Mediterranean Sea.
There are 18 species of fish, 5 of turtles, 13 of snakes, 18 of mammals and hundreds of bird species.
The famous and very rare Caretta Caretta Turtle (some reaching up to a staggering 200 kilos) has been in existence for 95 million years. It returns each year to lay its eggs on the protected Iztuzu Beach. For this reason the beach is closed to the public from 8pm-8am in the nesting season.
Sulundur Lake has a mysterious, silent, magical atmosphere; where in Caunos times people would sail into the lake and trade in salt, salted fish and slavery.
The ancient city of Caunos was a famous seaport city until 100BC. Archaeologists estimate that Caunos was built around 3000BC.
