Bodrum to Dalyan
This article has been submitted by Carol Abel.
Although my parents have visited Turkey on several occasions they had never been to the Dalyan Delta so we decided to rectify this gap in their experience (they are 88 and 90!).
We left Yalikavak just after 11am and drove up through the mountains to Yatağan, Muğla and then down to the coast. Unfortunately there were roadworks most of the way along the road through the mountains toYatağan and it is not a particularly scenic route either; the lignite mines are a real blot on the landscape. The ruins of the old city of Stratonikea are up here, which we haven't yet visited. Friends of ours are going to be staying in Icmeler in July so we thought we would make a detour via Marmaris and go and have a look at the place. The scenery was pretty fantastic, reminiscent of Norwegian fjiords, as we drove down to Marmaris and we managed to find our way through it to Icmeler without too much difficulty. We parked the car and walked about 20m down to the promenade and into the nearest bar/café and ordered lunch. It was a pleasant enough looking place but even at the end of May the beach was a pretty solid mass of bodies.
We left Icmeler at 3pm and drove to Dalyan, managing to miss the first turn-off to Dalyan (a very small sign indicates Dalyan and Iztuzu beach) and arrived at the quirkily named Sandy Brown hotel (http://www.dalyanhotelsandybrown.com/) about 4.30pm where we were given a warm welcome again by Astrid (French) and Kamil (Turkish) and were introduced to their two and a half month old baby, Max. The Sandy Brown hotel only has 12 rooms each with an ensuite toilet and shower. If you aren't used to sleeping under just a “pike” ask, when making your reservation, for a top sheet. It has a garden full of bougainvillea plants and a good sized swimming pool. We opted to go for dinner at the Golbaşı restaurant where we had gone last time. The restaurant operates a shuttle service and will pick you up and return you to your hotel, which was very welcome after the drive. It is situated at the edge of the reed beds and you can feed the ducks and terrapins with bread. We had a good meal and Dad bravely ordered chilli salad (Antep esme) for his starter. I ordered the stuffed mushrooms – almost a meal in their own right as there were 4 large ones. My husband had the Armenian liver starter again followed by quails. I had the shrimp casserole and Dad ordered the fish casserole but it was much too much for him. Mum sensibly opted for grilled fish.
Next morning we had a late breakfast in the courtyard and were just finishing when Ramazan arrived to collect us for the boat trip which Kamil had organised for us. This time Ramazan's wife came along to cook lunch for us. We started by sailing down towards the beach, stopping en route to photograph the tombs cut high into the rock face and then by the reed beds to catch some crabs.
We were lucky and caught 25 crabs in little over half an hour. Ramazan killed some of them and cleaned them prior to cooking them on the barbecue at the back of the boat. We then headed towards the beach where the four of us went on to the beach and had a drink while he started the cooking. I ran over the (very) hot sand to dip my toes in the sea and to take a couple of pictures of the beach. Iztuzu beach is very long and once you have left all the visitors behind is unspoilt. It was breeding season for the turtles while we were there so part of the beach was roped off. Although you can walk across the actual breeding area you can't sunbathe there. 
You can also access the beach by car from the other end. An hour later we returned to the boat, pushed off and anchored in the middle of the inlet for lunch which consisted of grilled chicken and köfte, salad, chips, rice, and a tomato and onion casserole with what looked like fried eggs on top (excellent). Meantime the crabs were cooking.
We sailed over to one of the small boats where the owners were trying to keep the attention of the turtles and were lucky enough to see a couple of the caretta (loggerhead) turtles at quite close range. Feeling comfortably full and slightly sleepy after lunch we headed upstream towards the mud baths and the lake. By this time the crabs were cooked and Ramazan showed us how to eat them. Hot off the grill, they were absolutely delicious. We threw all the bits of chicken skin that we had used as bait over the back of the boat and were followed by a cloud of gulls for a while. Mum, Dad and I went to have a quick peep at the mud baths which are always popular with visitors although we didn't partake. For the last part of the trip we headed up to the lake for a closer look at the terrapins. When Ramazan cut the motor on the boat and let it drift through the reed beds all you could hear was the croaking of frogs and the discordant calls of the reed buntings. We caught sight of several herons flying overhead.
We arrived back at the dock about 3pm and went into town for a cuppa before driving home. We took the other route out of Dalyan, which we had hoped to find on the way in. This was a picturesque route but the state of the road left much to be desired. It took us through Eskikoy and very fertile, well-irrigated, farmland. The drive back to Bodrum took 3 hours to get as far as Metro.
Dalyan has expanded enormously since we first visited the area about 20 years ago and the village seems to have lost none of its charm – except for the mosquitoes which are voracious, be warned! Many pansiyons have sprung up along the river's edge and there seems to be no shortage of places to stay or eat. We didn't go into the village in the evening on this visit or on previous visits so it's difficult to say what the night life might be like. We assume there is some as we saw advertising for live music in a couple of the bars. Dalyan would make a good base for a few days while exploring the area, possibly by bike as it's very flat. The ruins of Caunos can be reached by boat and then a short walk. Göcek, a bit further down the coast, has a thriving marina.