The nature of Dalyan: reed beds, İztuzu and sea turtles

Dalyan sits on the river that links Lake Köyceğiz to the sea, in the middle of one of Turkey's most important wetlands. The lake, the river, the reed beds and the beach together form a rich ecosystem, which is why the area was declared the Köyceğiz-Dalyan Specially Protected Area in 1988.

The river and the reed beds

The Dalyan river winds through reed beds all the way from the lake to the sea. In this delta, where fresh and salt water mix, live fish such as grey mullet and sea bass, the blue crab and many water birds. Herons, kingfishers and cormorants are common sights.

İztuzu beach and the loggerhead turtles

Stretching about 4.5 kilometres where the river meets the sea, İztuzu beach is one of the most important nesting sites for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean. In early summer, female turtles come ashore at night to bury their eggs in the sand, and about two months later the hatchlings emerge and head for the sea. For this reason, the beach is closed at night during the nesting season. In the late 1980s, a large hotel project planned for the beach was stopped after local and international campaigns, and İztuzu was placed under protection.

The Nile soft-shelled turtle

The Dalyan river is also one of the few places in the Mediterranean where the endangered Nile soft-shelled turtle lives.

The sweetgum forest

Around Lake Köyceğiz grow forests of oriental sweetgum, a tree that occurs naturally only in a very limited area of the world. Storax oil, obtained from the resin of these trees, has been produced here for centuries.

Hot springs and mud

Thanks to the fault lines in the area, hot, mineral-rich water rises from underground. The Sultaniye hot springs on the shore of Lake Köyceğiz have been used since antiquity, and the mud pools beside the Dalyan river are fed by the same geothermal sources.