A Dalliance in Dalyan

The Wife and I had anticipated that The Kids would give us the 1000-year stare after two straight days of hard-core ruin exploration.  While The Boy at least showed some appreciation for the artistry and history that could be extrapolated from the ruins of Ephesus, Aphrodisias, and Hierapolis, The Girl was more interested in the feral cats that roamed the sites.  Therefore, we decided to fit in a relaxing day of fun and enjoyment at the beach.  Since the southwestern coast of Turkey was once dominated by the ancient Lycians, The Wife and I also wanted to slip in a bit of learning for The Kids as well.

After looking at several options including Antalya and Fethiye, we decided upon the town of Dalyan because it seemed like it would be quainter.  Unlike these other cities, there are no large beach-side resorts nearby.  This happened because back in the 1980’s nature conservationist had successfully blocked the construction of hotels on the nearby Iztuzu Beach, the breeding grounds for loggerhead turtles.  There is even a turtle rescue center that was established on the beach to rescue and return these injured reptiles back to the sea.

We left the Hotel Hal-Tur about mid-morning for the 3.5 hour drive to Dalyan.  Since we were passing Denizli again, we stopped off at the TAC Outlet store located right off the main road.  TAC is a local Turkish brand that sells home furnishings and textiles such as towels.  Right away we knew that these weren't going to be tourist prices as everything was listed in Turkish Liras and the friendly salesman spoke zero English.   We perused through some of their own name-brand merchandise as well as some stuff from Pierre Cardin.  We ended up buying a very nice (but not top-of-the-line quality) set of two bath and two hand towels for $29.

The outlet didn't show up on our Google maps.  We only noticed it because of the huge "TAC" sign.

Once back in our car, the highway to Dalyan took us through some steep, winding roads up and down the sides of a mountain range.  A good set of brakes was essential for this route.  The many twists and turns did not help The Boy's stomach.  Although he became very nauseous, he was able to hold everything in.  Dozing off on this stretch of road would prove fatal as this cliff-side road lacked any guardrails.  Therefore, I popped open one of the Red Bulls to keep me wired.  Eventually, we reached a small road that took us into Dalyan.

We reserved a suite at the Crescent Hotel, outside the busier main street of the town.  

We stayed in the two-bedroom rooftop apartment.

I hit my head more than once on the sloped roofs.

 

We had plenty of room in the lounge to spread out and relax.

As usual for Turkey, the bathrooms
were a tight fit for the four of us.

Our stay in Dalyan was not long enough to take advantage of the kitchenette.

The view from the balcony of our 3rd floor apartment showed the beautiful grounds of the hotel.

Several comfortable hammocks were set up on the lawn.

The Girl discovered that she is
way too old to use the baby swing.

Several trees with huge lemons, oranges, and mulberries provided shade for these areas.

This bed and breakfast is run by a friendly English-speaking woman and her husband.  With her blonde hair, and Aryan features, I was surprised to learn that she was indeed Turkish.  She explained that her grandparents actually came from Greece relocated to Izmir during the Turkish-Greek swap in the early 1900’s.  She also explained that she and her husband opened the hotel here back in 1987 with a tremendous amount of success.  They have a steady stream of Western European tourists, many of whom have stayed with them repeatedly year after year.

We had a light lunch at the hotel.  Almost nothing on the menu was Turkish at all.  It was all geared to the many tourists from England.  Hence the food wasn't very good.  At least the service was nice.  We decided right then that we would not be having dinner at the hotel.

Lunch was served outside in the beautiful backyard.

Spaghetti with tomato sauce.

I'm pretty sure these fish sticks were from frozen.

The only Turkish option on the lunch menu was manti, the meat-stuffed pasta served with yogurt.

After lunch, we spent much of the afternoon relaxing in some chaise lounges by the pool 

Around 5 PM, we explored the main commercial center of Dalyan.  The town is pretty small, and the drive from our hotel was only five minutes.  Right away, we could see that this whole area was a mecca for British tourists.  The number of English people seemed to outnumber the Turks.  

This was about as far as our car could take us.  The rest of the town was better seen on foot.

Like other towns in Turkey, a statue has been
erected to honor Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 

A street parallel to the harbor was lined with boat owners
who peddled identical tours to anybody who passed by.

After leaving the harbor area, we walked down a pedestrian-only avenue.

The Girl was ecstatic to find a cafe that
sold gummi bear flavored ice cream.

The street was lined with al fresco restaurants, bars, and knick-knack stores that all seemed like carbon copies of one another.  There were several knock-off items for sale including beats headphones, designer T-shirts, and shoes.  The Wife did find one interesting boutique store called the Arteast Unique Art Gallery.  She purchased a nice peshtemal, a towel traditionally used in the Turkish baths.

Based on a storekeeper's recommendation, we reserved a table at a nearby restaurant called Saki.

They don't open until 7 PM, so we had about an hour to wait before we could eat.  Therefore, we hung  around the docks watching the boats and their crews in action.  

The locals transported supplies to the opposite bank in small rowboats.

While we waited, several dogs docilely loitered around the docks with us.  Unlike most of the other packs of wild dogs in Turkey, these were owned by the people who ran the Saki restaurant.  The Girl fell in love with one of these canines named Gofrey. 

For the next hour, The Girl followed the little dog around trying to befriend it.

Once the restaurant opened, the tables filled up fast with English tourists.  There is no menu to order from.  All of the meze dishes are lined up in a counter window and diners just point to the ones they want.  We also had their home-made ginger lemonade.  But the best drink was a refreshing Ottoman beverage.  

The top three shelves were mezes, the lower shelf was full of raw meat to be cooked on order.

Their homemade ginger lemonade was good, but the
tamarind juice with 40 spices was their best beverage.

Vegetable croquettes

Beet croquettes

Peppers stuffed with meat

Filo dough with seaweed

Artichoke with broad beans

Lamb with eggplant and béchamel sauce

The food was delicious.  Saki was worth the hour-long wait.

*****

May 29, 2015

The rainy weather from Pamukkale followed us.  Overnight, the area was hit by some big thunderstorms.  The sun was out that morning, but more storm clouds in the distance threatened our plans for the day.

After researching the main attractions in Dalyan, we decided that we wanted to visit Iztuzu Beach, the Sea Turtle Rescue Center, and the mud baths.  Unfortunately, none of the information on the Internet explained how this could be done independently.  The owner of the Crescent Hotel recommended Kardak Tours.  Despite our disdain for group tours, we decided that their classic 3-In-1 tour option would be the easiest way to see these sights.  The total for the four of us came to 110 TL ($41). 

As bad as the lunch at the hotel was the day before, the breakfast was the complete opposite.  Most of the offerings were the usual fare that we had seen at other hotels—olives, cheeses, cereal, boiled eggs, etc.  However, what really made their breakfast special were the homemade jams.  Using the fruits that were grown in their backyard, they made delicious preserves from mulberries, orange rinds, pomegranate seeds, etc.  We devoured so many pieces of toast just so we could eat them with those jams.  

Pickup for our Kardak tour was at 10:30 AM at our hotel.  Right away, we received a bad omen.  A compact car already full with four people pulled up to take us to the docks.  Apparently, their bus had broken down and this was the only ride available.  With The Boy sitting in my lap in the front, and The Girl sitting on The Wife’s lap in the back, we made the short ride to board our boat.  We were joined by 3 other families—all British tourists with children ranging from toddlers to young adults.

The tour manager explained that our trip would include a 1.5 hour visit to Iztuzu Beach, lunch, a trip to the mud bath and sulfur springs, a swim in Lake Koycegiz, and optional time at Kaunos, a nearby Lycian civilization ruin.  He then turned us over to our friendly captain who spoke no English.

Our boat was a couple rungs below the S.S. Minnow.  It did allow for a nice breeze.

The boat churned through the waterway for a 30 to 45 minute journey to reach Iztuzu Beach.  Although the temperature was in the 70's, the strong winds made it feel much colder.  The sun did help, but The Wife and The Girl had to wrap themselves up in their towels to stay warm.

Along the way, the captain slowed the boat down so that we could take photographs of
the Lycian tombs that were built prominently on the face of a cliff overlooking the river.

As we neared the beach, local fishermen took orders for steamed blue crabs at 10 TL ($4) per plate.

We eventually arrived at the docks located on the western side of Iztuzu Beach.  The Wife was dismayed to learn that the Sea Turtle Rescue Center was on the eastern side which is mainly accessible by car.  We would have to walk four kilometers there and back in order to see any turtles.  Since that was not practical with our time constraints, The Kids decided to just play in the cold water.  The Wife was very annoyed because she felt that the Kardak Tours brochure was misrepresenting.

If you squint really hard and use a magnifying glass, you may just see the Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

Several islands off the coast could be visited by signing up for other tour options.

Most people were too cheap to pay the extra 5 TL to use the beach chairs and umbrellas.

Although it wasn't the prettiest color, the sand was soft, with no rocks or shells.

It was still pretty cold and windy, so very few people ended up in the water when we first arrived.  Part of the area was cordoned off as that is the locations where the loggerhead turtles nest.  We didn't see any of them around.  It’s a pretty easy beach for kids.  The slope going into the water is very gradual—an adult can easily stand up in the surf at least 20-30 yards into the water.  Aside from the umbrellas and chairs, a concession stand, and bathrooms, there is nothing else on the beach.

After about an hour, the storm clouds and thunder started to appear.  We hurried back to the boat just as the heavy rains started coming down.  I was just beginning to feel sorry for those people who were stuck in the rain when I realized our predicament was no better.  Unlike some of the other company’s boats that had retractable rain flaps covering their sides, our boat was open to the elements.  The strong wind blew the cold rain into the boat.  Really that didn't matter because the biggest problem was that our crappy roof leaked in about fifty places.  Continuous streams of water drenched the passengers on our vessel.  This unfortunate situation made The Wife even more upset about being on this tour.

All of the passengers huddled in the center aisle of the boat to minimize their chances of being soaked.

The Kids and I still managed to eat our tasty blue crabs, turned soggy by the rainwater.

After 45 minutes of being cold and wet on the boat, we docked at Kardak’s restaurant on the opposite banks from the town.  The eatery called “The Other Side Restaurant” is a typical mass tourism restaurant.  

Save your time and money, there's nothing good on the other side.

We had a choice between chicken or fish for our entrée.  While that was being prepared, we could hit the buffet to fill up on mezes.  Drinks could be had for additional money.  The Wife thought that the mezes were edible, but she was just trying to be generous despite her foul mood.  Altogether the food was of cafeteria quality, but we weren't expecting more given that this was a budget tour.

The only place where the restaurant's roof did not leak was on the meze buffet station.

The grilled chicken was overcooked and rubbery.

The grilled trout was not seasoned at all.

I went ahead and looked up the restaurant’s reviews on TripAdvisor.  It averaged 1.5 stars.  Up to that date, it had one five-star review and 20 one-star reviews.  Surprisingly, some people had even tried this restaurant when they were not on one of the Kardak tours.  With a cornucopia of other lousy restaurants in Dalyan, it made no sense to make the extra effort in hiring a rowboat to cross the river just to eat at this crappy restaurant.       

We re-embarked on the boat and sailed for another 10-15 minutes to the mud baths and sulfur springs complex.  Once The Wife learned that there was an additional price of 6 TL to visit the baths, she finally reached her boiling point.  She flat out refused to shell out any more money no matter how small the amount.  The Girl just didn't want to get wet anymore.  The Boy and I paid and headed to the mud pit.

The sulfur spring on the left is separated from the mud bath on the right
by a station where visitors are sprayed with a high pressure water hose.

Supposedly, the mud and sulfur water have healing qualities.  Since I wasn't sick, I really didn't care.  I just wanted to roll around in the mud like a hog.  I think John Stuart Mills had it all wrong.  It is better to be a pig satisfied than a human being dissatisfied!  And was I ever satisfied.  The mud pool was squishy, disgusting, and full of small rocks and twigs.  But it felt great on the skin.  The Boy and I lathered it on like it was soap—gross, dirty soap.

The Boy and I did our best impression of Rambo.

After we satisfied our basest porcine instincts, The Boy and I hit the showers to wash off the mud.  We then took a relaxing dip in the sulfur pool.  Since it was already running late into the afternoon, most other tour groups had cleared out.  Ours was the only one left which solved any overcrowding problems.  After freezing for the last few hours in the cold wind and rain, the hot sulfur pool was the perfect remedy.  Despite the awful smell, I could have stayed in there forever.

I was in a much better mood once we boarded our boat.  The Wife was a little less tense because she was relieved that we would finally be done with the tour.  Nope.  She forgot that we still had to take a trip to Lake Koycegiz.  If our Turkish captain knew enough English to take a vote, “returning to town” would have won in a landslide over “visit the lake.”  While the voyage there was not much farther, there really wasn't much to see out there except for tall reeds growing in the water.  There was no way anybody on-board was going to take a plunge in that cold water. 

We lingered a bit more at the quiet lake before heading back to town.  The Wife was very happy once she stepped on dry land.  At the docks, one of the Kardak company representatives asked whether anybody was interested in visiting the Kaunos ruins.  It was only a short journey by boat and was already included in the price of our tour.  There was a resounding “No Thanks” from everybody on-board our vessel.  We were all done. 

In retrospect, we would have done better driving to the eastern side of the beach in our rental car the previous afternoon.  We could have visited the Sea Turtle Rescue Center easily from that side, and the weather would have been much nicer.  Supposedly, there is an option just to do the afternoon mud bath and lake tour, but we couldn't find any information about it.  Alternatively, we could have also chartered our own boat to take us there, but it probably would have cost us much more.  In fairness to Kardak Tours, the rain really did ruin much of the experience.  They could and should have had a more weatherproof boat with rain flaps and a leak-proof roof.  For 110 TL ($41) for a family of four, the classic tour would have been a decent bargain on a nice sunny day. 

We were exhausted that evening, so we did not want to hassle with going back into the busy part of town for dinner.  We drove a few blocks to Cafe Central which got good reviews on TripAdvisor.  Once there, I questioned whether we had made the right choice.  The eatery is located inside the Central Park Hotel which was accessible via a small alley.  There were just a few tables around, but an even smaller number of diners, all of which looked like they were staying at the hotel.

Well my first impressions were way off.  The lady running the restaurant was extremely friendly.  The service was a little slow mainly owing to the fact that she was the only waitress there.  

Turkish chicken with bulgur pilaf.

Turkish fried rice.

Eggplant and beef casserole

The seafood casserole had enough cheese to make an Italian cry.

The Kids insisted on ordering a banana split.

The food was good and reasonably priced.  While some entrees were fairly authentic, most of the dishes were geared to the tastes of the English tourists.  Nevertheless, it was definitely miles better than what we ate for lunch.