From Dalyan To Kas: Along The Turquoise Coast

The turtles, kingfishers and other natural wonders of Dalyan continue to wow and entertain us as we see out our last few days in stunning and peaceful surroundings. Our time here has been very chilled, helped undoubtedly by the lovely apartment: we would strongly recommend to anyone visiting Dalyan to stay right beside the river to get the most out of your stay. Taking breakfast whilst turtles swim around you is a very peaceful way to start your day.

Take a look at the video link below
https://youtu.be/P_NBoKT5jKE

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Over our last couple of days we revisit Iztuzu beach to soak up the October sun, take a drive out of town and discover the beautiful fruit farm village of Eskikoy where we wander among the trees laden with fruit, and visit the largest town in the area, Ortaca. 

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Ortaca celebrates its fruit farming legacy with firstly a cool statue of fruit pickers, sited on a traffic island, and secondly with a terrifically colourful and lively market with a quantity of fresh produce which has to be seen to be believed. This is a weekly market, Saturdays only, and, judging by the huge bags of produce being carried away by everyone, the locals seem to buy a whole week’s supplies on their visit each Saturday.

For our last evening in Dalyan we enjoy a fabulous meal accompanied by a gorgeous local red wine and a ridiculously small bill, served by a smiling waiter, watched by the pleading eyes of several cats, listening to the Turkish folk music played by a group of guys just up the road. All in all a very fitting last evening to what has been a very relaxing and chilled few days.

After goodbyes with our lovely hosts we are back on to the D400 coast road heading east, first over and between lofty mountains, across vast covered fields of tomato crops, and then, for the last few miles, along one of the best coastal drives we have ever experienced. Cut into the steep cliffs, the D400 twists and turns to follow the contours of bays and headlands, and rises and falls with the dramatic terrain, the deep blue sea to our right. It’s a thoroughly exhilarating drive.

Along the way, we make a roadside stop for cay at a ramshackle open kitchen in the scrub. A group of villagers seem amused that we’ve joined them in their corner of the world, the smiling lady owner of the place (not a word of English, of course), serves cay and then brings us dishes of Turkish rice and ayran, and demonstrates how we should eat by mixing the two. It’s delicious. She charges us 3 lira. That’s about 30p.

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Eventually we descend from the main road down to Kas, our next destination town hugging the steep hillsides curved beautifully around the perfectly shaped bay. It looks absolutely idyllic in the afternoon sunshine.

Time to see what Kas has to offer.