Turkeys M Hideaways Day 15
Turkeys M Hideaways
Day 15 - 04/21/06 Cruise to Ekincik Cove By Small Boat on the Dalyan River, Explore Lycian Ruins
There was a slight change of plans this morning; at 7:00AM we heard the engines start and the anchor being raised. We got up, showered with cold water, had breakfast at 8:00 and were ready for the day's adventure. We found out that we were sailing back into Gocek Bay because of a heavy storm at sea, and we could not sail to Ekincik Cove.
Meltem arranged for a mini van to pick us up and to take us inland to our destination. Our drive took about an hour to Dalyan to see the ancient ruins at Caunus. We traveled on a steep, winding road with switchbacks up to the top of the hills, then down to the fertile valley below. There were many green houses, fruit trees, with goats, sheep, and a few cattle grazing in the small fields. As we got closer to the little town of Dalyan we saw many storks and their nests of sticks on top of power poles and the pine trees.
We made our way through the town to the Dalyan River Resort where we boarded a river boat. Before the boat captain started the engine, Meltem gave us an overview of our morning's excursion. After a very short ride across the river, we got off the boat to hike to the ruins of Caunus.
This former harbor city is the ancient Lycian and Roman city; a beautiful ruin where we climbed around the temples, baths, agora and an ancient theater. During the Byzantine times it was a Christian city including a church. The surrounding citrus groves gave a sweet perfume to our walk and the ever present bees were constantly buzzing. I went to one of the near-by trees and picked 7 oranges for us, only to discover that these were the tangy, bitter and tart variety used for marmalade.
As we walked to the river, our boat had circled the area and met us on the other side of the hill at 12:00. The boat took us on a trip to the mouth of the river where the Dalyan River empties into the Aegean Sea through a maze of small channels lined with bamboo and cattails.
After traveling through the marsh land, now silted in from the once busy harbor, we arrived at Iztuzu Beach. This beach is famous for the Loggerhead Sea Turtles, who have nested here since the age of the dinosaurs.
We returned to our riverboat and rode back to have lunch at the Dalyan River Resort, a beautiful new resort village. After lunch we got back into the river boat for a few minutes and the motored upriver for a great view of the rock tombs on the hillsides. We had striking views along the way of Lycian temple tombs hugging a rock face. We left our riverboat at a dock in the town of Dalyan and then walked to our awaiting van and our trip back to Gocek Bay.
We had time to go back to the internet café to upload the journal from yesterday and check our mail one last time before we left the ship. The gulet was moored at the end of the pier so we were able to walk back to rejoin our friends. After a few minutes, the captain started off to find our cove for the evening.
We had time to read, rest a bit and take showers and then had our final night onboard and the farewell dinner with the captain and his crew.
Accommodations: Gulet - - - Meals: B, L, D
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