The Dalyan River runs in a southerly direction and empties in to the Aegean Sea along the southern coast of Turkey nearby the village of Eckincek. Cruising the southern coast of Turkey, called in yacht charter the Blue Voyage, is surely an enchanting cruise through pristine blue waters, along a lovely coastline through the remains of numerous ancient cultures.
A crewed yacht charter for your Blue Voyage often starts within the towns of Marmaris or Gocek. Either starting ports are very close for the mouth of the Dalyan River. Once boarded, it is really an easy cruise from either Marmaris or Gocek for the bay near Eckincek to anchor. Once within this location, make sure you put aside at the very least a morning or afternoon to perform the Dalyan River Trip.
The mouth in the Dalyan River is a fertile delta, where, after gradually silting up over many centuries, the mouth in the river has moved south into the Aegean Sea, and it is now packed with fingers of shallow water from the silt and reeds. The phrase Dalyan, in Turkish, means fishing weir. And indeed bass, mullet and sea bream make their way up this river through the Aegean Sea to spawn in Koycegiz Lake, located further upstream. After spawning, the fish swim back down the river for the sea. The Dalyan River is actively fished, with nets strung across various areas of the river. Fresh Dalyan River fish and crabs, if in season, are prime items on the menus of several a nearby restaurant located in the city of Dalyan alongside the river.
Over the mouth of the Dalyan River, is a long sandbar or beach. This entire area is actually a national conservation location for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, since this area has long been a nesting spot for these turtles. The beach is closed through the nesting season for egg laying and also the return of the numerous baby turtles, once hatched, over the sands and to the surf of the Aegean Sea.
The Dalyan River has become house to centuries of civilizations as well as their ruins can be observed alongside the river, making a trip up this river well worth the time. Because the mouth in the Dalyan River is very shallow, the river trip has to be produced in flat bottomed river boats brightly painted, with bench seats and gay awnings.
For that Dalyan River Trip, your yacht will anchor at Eckincek. A flat bottomed river boat and guide will motor alongside your yacht for boarding for a cruise towards the entrance from the river mouth. The trip starts with the spectacular beauty of pine trees lining the beaches around the entrance and the river winding inland around tall reed banks. While you pass on the sandbar and into the narrow, reed-clad channels, it feels like the African Queen revisited! This image is quickly dispelled because the river opens further on and soon the riverboat dock for the ancient town of Caunos makes view. Here is the first stop on the Dalyan River Trip. Your boat driver will dock and your guide will lead you up the road to the ruins in the ancient town of Caunos. The traditional town of Caunos once sat over a bay of the Aegean Sea, however with centuries of silting, what exactly is left in the city now sits inland on the side in the Dalyan River, with a fertile plain stretching before the ruins and out to the water.
Even people who’ve claimed little interest in piles of old rocks have emerged well and truly impressed using the sensation of history that emanates out of this place; the extent of the remaining ruins still creates a strong impression in the city which was once a lively and bustling seaport. The city was peopled through the Lycian, Greek and Roman cultures, that is reflected in the architecture. You can find even the remains of the Romanesque church and crenellated city walls ringing the surrounding mountain tops left coming from a later time period. On the Caunos site, visitors can walk freely through ruins of the identical buildings and streets built by these ancient civilizations. Your private guide will show you the historical past and ruins as you wander from the amphitheatre, the Roman Bath, Romanesque church, customs house and agora, and the Temple of Apollo.
After touring Caunos, come back to your river boat to carry on in the river for the city of Dalyan. As you cruise, turn to the left, and up on the hillside, the amazing Lycian cliff tombs can come into view. These complex carvings date from around 3rd & 4th centuries BC – this really is now most definitely a journey in to the ancient world, and one of many few places these tombs hcdsgv the Lycian Civilization still exist.
The tombs would be best seen out of your river boat, since they are up high in the cliff side. Centuries ago, these were ransacked, so that all that remains would be the incredible tomb fronts, and the wonder of how the tombs were carved and built.
Cap the trip using a stop riverside at one of many Dalyan fish restaurants, and dine on fresh caught Dalyan River fish beneath the Lycian tomb facades to get a once in a lifetime experience. After eating require a quick stroll through the city of Dalyan, complete with the typical rug merchants hawking their wares. Then back for the riverboat, down the Dalyan River, to the sea and back to your chartered yacht, to carry on your Blue Voyage over the southern coast of Turkey.