DALYAN: I HOPE TOURISM DOESN'T DESTROY ITS AUTHENTICITY
8. 1 2013
My brother Mehmet came to my hotel in Mugla around 9:30 and we took off for our true vacation. Having become the expert of the area, I impress him with the Sakar Overlook Terrace, I can’t believe I have been to a place he hasn’t been yet! I had Turkish coffee only along with delicious vistas on this very place two days ago. Today, in this crisp morning breeze, we enjoy a delicious breakfast together, looking down at the spectacular Gokova Bay from the highest hill surrounding it. The view today is quite different than it was two days ago. It seems like the bay is steaming, the entire scene covered with a light veil of mist. I am just a bit disappointed that Mehmet can't see the full details of the bay and the mountains around it, but I can also appreciate that the current scene is much more lyrical and somewhat surreal.
Iztuzu Beach Ordinance in Dalyan
Once we are satisfied both visually and gastronomically, we get on our way to Dalyan, an ancient Lycian city, famous with its 8 km long beach, where two kinds of sea turtles breed, the famous being carreta carettas, and finally with its king tombs. As a result of strong collaboration between the German Greenpeace organization and Turkish environmentalists to protect one of the very few breeding grounds on earth for these creatures, a legendary success materialized starting from the 1970s, when tourism was booming in Turkey and sure enough, hotel industry had its eyes on exploiting this pristine beach to fill their pockets till they would burst. Courageous and dedicated environmentalists of multiple nations resisted this huge appetite and eventually prevented the construction sites take over the breeding grounds of caretta carettas. To date, the Dalyan-Iztuzu beach is open to public from 8 am to 8 pm and no more. Lovely local boats carry loads of people from Dalyan down the fresh waterways piercing the marshland between Dalyan and the Mediterranean, 8 kms downstream, to the beach with a promise of taking all of them back home to Dalyan before dusk. From that point on, the beach is left to caretta carettas and their cousins, every evening till after dawn to enjoy the nature as they know it.
The pine trees and the sea providing an unforgettable beach experience in Iztuzu
The king tombs carved into the hillsides to the west of the water looking down on the waterway, in fact will be right across from Kano Hotel where we will be staying for three nights, rise uphill, as if they guard the city and its marshland and waterways. At night, the tombs are lit from below in a very artistic way that almost takes me on a journey through time with lots of imaginary scenes and figures of Lycian days filling my fantasies. The tombs are only at the entrance of an ancient city hiding behind and on top of the hills downstream to the west of the water. Once I had visited the city itself and climbed all the way to the top of the fortress, won't do it this time. This visit will involve lots of relaxation, reunification with the Mediterranean and the Aegean, and discovering where my borther is at this stage of his life.
King tombs right across from the deck of our hotel
We arrive at Kano around 1 pm and are met by Hasan Bey (Mr. Hasan), who is Kaya Bey's partner; together they co-manage this tiny hotel with only ten rooms, which are all booked way ahead of time especially during this high season. Hasan and his wife Canan have an 11 month-old daughter. Their story is interesting: They came to Dalyan to vacation last November and decided to stay, which led to his taking over the management of Hotel Kano with Kaya Bey. We will meet Kaya Bey and his partner after midnight when we return to the hotel from our tour of the city. Around 1 am, they go into their "chicken coup" as he calls it on the small boat tied to the "dock" in front of the hotel. I am sure I will learn more about them tomorrow.
I will be disappointed early in the evening when we walk through the main street to find out Dalyan acquired a "downtown" since my last visit, be it 2 blocks long and wide and how crowded this pretentious four blocks are: Very unlike Dalyan of my memories. I will be even infuriated after dinner around 10 pm to discover, the 3-4 bars around the little square are capable of creating an enormous audio-visual pollution, imitating Bodrum and Marmaris. I will try to calm down my nerves by trying to feel thankful that this pollution reaches across only 2-3 blocks beyond the square, no more. Our hotel, Kano, certainly is a safe haven close to the east end of town right by the water and right across from the king tombs. The solitude and serenity the tombs and their residents have been enjoying for couple of millennia is almost contagious. When I stepped onto the little deck, it feels like I am in a different time and space, which is true. Kano in Dalyan is a special place for sure. As soon as we are invited to the courtyard by Hasan Bey, I order Turkish coffee and Mehmet a glass of sparkling water. It's been more than ten years since I haven't come to this place, last time was with my mother, when she was in good state of health. I recall how much she had enjoyed being here, especially when my class mate Can and his family were running the hotel, it was both vacation and socializing with her peers without my strict father around. She was happy, so was I, seeing her smile almost like a little girl.
Iztuzu Beach with the blinding reflection of the sun
Once we are established at our hotel room, we change into our swimming suits and head toward Iztuzu end of Dalyan beach by car. As soon as we check into the recreation area and spread our beach spread underneath one of the pine trees within ten yards of the water, I ask my brother to go swim, knowing he wouldn't swim as long as I'd like to swim. He takes the offer and returns in 15 minutes chuckling about how the water was at least 30 degrees Celsius. I am skeptical, but he is right! When I let myself into the water, it feels like lukewarm bath water. Once I reach the depth I’d like to be in, I start my regular breast strokes and head toward the exit of the cove, as i always do, in these secluded Aegean beaches and coves. Slowly, trying not to cause a ripple, enjoying every single soft movement of my arms, hands, legs, and feet, occasionally putting my head under the water to cool off a bit more. I've always felt, I am evidence that human kind came from water, I feel such unity with salt water once I disappear in it. With the silent confidence I receive (certainly he is not aware of that) from a gentleman, who is swimming in the same direction as I am, 50 yards away from me, I dare going out a bit further than I usually would while swimming alone. After a while, I notice, he is swimming back to the shore, I decide to be sensible and turn my face back to the beach as well. I am now able to see the face of a huge boulder at the east end of the cove from the seaside, the ragged, wild face, I wish I had had a camera with me...
The boulder from the seaside has much more grandieur
I get scolded by my poor brother of course, when I return to our shade under the tree. I didn’t realize I was gone for so long: it had been 45 minutes, it looks like he was able to follow me throughout. I feel a bit embarrassed, the next swim is not vertical/out, but rather parallel to the shore line after swimming out to a comfortable depth and distance... Every time I come out of water, I am hungry like a beast: We devour the fresh figs brought from Aydin, Turkey, that we had bought from a roadside vendor in the morning on the way to Dalyan. After the last swim, we both take a nap for a while on our spread under the light breeze coming from the sea. When I wake up, I find the sun quite a bit down in the sky, very close to the horizon. We leave with the comfort that nobody will be able to watch the sunset on this piece of land but the carretta carettas, thanks to courageous environmentalists of Turkey and Europe.
Notice the evil eye on the wall
After washing up at our comfortable and clean but small hotel room, we start looking for a place to eat. After touring the “entire” city (8-10 blocks altogether), we find a restaurant run by a husband and wife, who had moved from Mardin, out of all places, a southeastern city in the Kurdish section of Turkey. Mehmet and I agree in the end that we made a good choice since their food is great, fresh, and generous served with such hospitality. We take a long walk through town after dinner and rediscover the authentic parts of town and make plans on where we may eat the following two evenings. Our choices are certainly places that are frequented by the locals, places that are at a distance from the touristic quarter. I am looking forward to learning more about the stories of people that we will meet tomorrow and the day after.
 |
| Sunset in Dalyan |
No comments:
Post a Comment