Dalyan

De naam Dalyan en de rotsgraven

It is easy to think of Dalyan as just a hotel street. In fact, the town is built on water. Behind it is a large lake, in front a narrow river and reeds, and beyond that the sea. The name comes from there: dalyan means a fish trap built on water. Once a source of livelihood, today boats, villas and dinner parties are all located along the same water.

This corridor is the backbone of both the old port and the modern technologies. When you board the pier in the morning, before the crowds arrive, the water is still calm, the reeds on both sides, and the light is not yet harsh. As you walk a little further, the walls on the cliff emerge. People take out their phones, and they’re right. The Lycian style, the city of Karya — the character of the border area is a bit like that, two languages, two stones. The cemetery is your city; it’s not the “own rock” of the region.

Watching the tombs from the water is one thing, going to the theater at the site is another walk. You don’t have to cram both in the same afternoon, plus a horse ride. For us, one day is water and history, the next day is horses, and in between there’s İztuzu — that rhythm makes the place even more relaxing. Everything is beautiful, everything has a different tempo.

Dalyan is concentrated on one side; Çandır en Kaunos staan aan de andere kant. De boten liggen ook aan die kant. De kanaal is smal, de oversteek kort en de wandeling ongeveer driehonderd meter. Als je op de kaart klikt, verschijnt deze afbeelding automatisch. Als je uit de boot stapt en vraagt: “waar zijn de boten?”, dan is de antwoord: aan de andere kant van het water.

In the article about Kaunos, we take a closer look at the city. The canal crossing also explains how the farm was reached – the small waterway itself is also part of the day.