Welcome to Dalyan Villas Holiday Villas
Welcome to Dalyan, a UNESCO world heritage protected area due to its outstanding beauty and natural resources.
Home to the golden Iztuzu beach and its protected green delta, Dalyan is a small pretty town on the southwest coast of Turkey. It is where the Turquiose Coast meets the Mediterranean offering you an endless variety of opportunities to discover and enjoy.
Dalyan is voted number one in Europe winning the Sunday Times Best European Open Space Award and Trip Adviser Best European Beach with its long sandy Iztuzu beach, the most important breeding ground of turtles including it’s symbol Loggerhead Carretta Carrettas.
It has a unique tranquil atmosphere, rich green nature, giant Loggerhead Caretta Carettas, over 200 species of birds along with other varieties of wildlife, mineral rich mud baths, thermal water springs and the ancient Lycian city of Caunos with its rock tombs overlooking the village amoung many other wonders to name.
Dalyan offers you an amazing and economical holiday on it’s unspoilt paradise within an easy reach. Istanbul to Dalaman International Airport is only 55 minutes and transfers to the villas is less than 30 minutes drive. It is only 25 minutes drive from Hilton International Golf Hotel development in Sarigerme.
NATURAL BEAUTY
‘On Earth there is no heaven but there are pieces of it’
Jules Renard
Nestling on the banks of a river, Dalyan remains one of the world’s last corners of unspoilt paradise.
The magnificent Iztuzu – Turtle beach, where the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts meet on the west of the village and the glorious freshwater lake Koycegiz with its mud baths and thermal waters on its east merge to complete this natural paradise.
Over the river, the magnificence of the Lycian rock tombs dominate the majestic cliffs leading to the ancient city of Caunos.
The area around Dalyan has the widest variety of wildlife to be found in Turkey, including the giant Caretta Caretta Loggerheads and over 200 bird species not found anywhere else in the World making it an ornithologist’s heaven.
Nature, wildlife, history, culture, fantastic Mediterranean climate and organic food combine to make this a wonderful holiday destination and place to live.
CULTURAL HISTORY
Dalyan has a rich tapestry of history including the ancient city of Caunos, Turkeys second greatest and one of the most important archeological sites.
The ancient city of Caunos is situated on the world famous Lycian Trekking Road.
When Troy was at its zenith, Caunos was the centre of the ancient world. It’s partially excavated sites include the ancient Lycian rock tombs of the Caunos kings which have become another symbol of Dalyan after the famous sea turtles Caretta Carettas. There are many rock tombs around the area and the most important ones overlook the village from the opposite side of the river.
The ancient city has also a theater dating back to the 2nd century BC, Roman Baths, Apollo Temple and a Marketplace. With only 15% of the city having been unearthed, every year more treasures are discovered.
Dalyan is surrounded with beautiful, traditionally built villas in open spaces. Dalyans welcoming village community offers fabulous ethnic markets, bountiful shops and stores selling traditional goods alongside the unique Turkish rugs and designer labels.
Dalyan offers you to discover a wealth of inexpensive and distinctive restaurants, run by friendly locals who still appreciate traditional family values and you begin to see why Dalyan is a true world beater for a holiday or a home – your very own paradise to live, love and prosper.
VERSALITY & SURROUNDINGS
Dalyan offers limitless opportunities to explore, a country of peerless beauty, culture, tradition and variety with a history that dates back to the dawn of time.
Turkey is surrounded by sea; the Aegean to the west, the Mediterranean to the south and the Black Sea to the north. Dalyan’s unique position where the Turquiose Coast meets the Mediterranean offers you a wide treasure chest of natural wonders that abound in the UNESCO world heritage area and its surroundings.
These include the boat trips from Dalyan River to Iztuzu Beach where you can view the nesting sites of Loggerhead Caretta Carettas and even feed them, the ancient city of Caunos Lycian King Tombs, Koycegiz Lake, Mud Baths, Thermal Springs, the beautiful island with a hole through it just off Iztuzu Beach, the crystal clear waters of the surrounding bays, caves, villages and towns including the Ekincik Bay, 12 Islands, Gocek, Fethiye, Oludeniz Blue Lagoon, the deserted Kayakoy Greek Village and many more…
As well as taking the boat trips and swimming in wonderful sites, you can also take a jeep safari tour to visit traditional Turkish villages and markets, and climb to the top of the Gokbel mountains for magnificient views of the Dalyan Delta and the rivers connecting to the sea. Or you can go for trekking in Saklıkent Gorge and Tlos Ancient City. You can even be more adventurous and get onto river rafting on Dalaman River or paragliding in Oludeniz…
LIFESTYLE & WELFARE
Dalyan offers you to improve the lifestyle for you and your family in a safe, secure and outstandingly beautiful World Heritage site.
Imagine waking up to the sunlight glistening off the Aegean sea as you sip your fresh orange squeezed from your own orchard.
Imagine strolling round your landscaped gardens with bird song, the only sound you hear.
Imagine taking a boat ride to Turtle beach, swimming in the warm Aegean sea or meandering up to Koycegiz Lake to eat freshly caught BBQ’d fish after a swim in the freshwater lake.
Once visited, you will always return to this haven of peace and tranquility that offers wonderful opportunities.
SAFETY & SECURITY
Terrorism: How Dangerous is it really?
The whole point of terrorism is to harm a small number of people in order to make a much larger number of people who are basically safe to feel unsafe. It is a tactic used by those whose resources of force are limited. It works because there is always a chance one may be harmed in an incident, even when that chance is vanishingly small.
Sensational daily news coverage keeps this tiny but real threat in front of us, while the greater threats such disease, auto accidents, earthquakes, drowning, lightning strikes, crazy gunmen etc. aren’t in our thoughts.
Terrorism is like a freak accident: Yes, it can happen. No, the chances of its happening to you are not significant. In Turkey, a country of 78 million occupants and 38 million tourists, the chances are less than 1 in 116 million. You’d be more likely to win big in the lottery or to be hit by an asteroid from outer space.
Some Statistics:
Every day in Turkey, over 78 million Turks and millions of visitors go about their business, living their lives in the pursuit of happiness. In Istanbul, Europe’s second largest city with the population of 15+ million, area 5,343 square kilometers / 2,063 square miles, there can be incident involving a small number of people in some district and 14, 999,800 Istanbullus will not know about it unless they see it in the news.
Here’s the salient point: For any foreign visitor, indeed for anyone in Turkey, the risk of harm from any sort of political or military event or violence is very low, almost vanishingly low if you avoid political demonstrations and volatile border areas. For example, we wouldn’t visit southeastern Turkey such as Antakya, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Van etc. just now, if only because of the refugee problem disrupting normal life.
Those Headlines!
Headlines and news bulletins about violent incidents make a strong impression but they actually make very little difference to life on the street in Turkey.
Most visitors find that they have concerns about safety only before their trip and after they arrive at their destination, they experience the normal daily life of the place and don’t think of danger at all unless there’s a headline.
In 2015, about 38 million travelers came to Turkey and enjoyed themselves. That is more than the entire populations of most European countries or Canada or Australia.
Here’s an excerpt from a tourist who was in Istanbul several years ago during a political event that turned violent:
“We heard about the event on our last day but never felt in any danger during our entire trip. Almost everyone we talked to was friendly, cordial and helpful. We love the Turkish people and their nation and look forward to returning. It’s a fantastic place and it’s sad that they’ve been trying to get into the EU for almost 30 years with no success. If any country deserves it, they do.”
The Real Dangers:
Statistically, the most dangerous part of your trip is the taxi or car ride to the airport.
The true dangers of travel, domestic or foreign, are such things as highway accidents, hurricanes, lightning strikes, earthquakes, pickpockets and for single male travelers, several scams etc.
Statistically, you are more likely to be bitten by a shark while swimming or to be injured while skiing than you are to suffer from war or terrorist attack.
The travelers are more liable to be harmed in bus, train and airplane accidents, earthquake, lightning strike, skiing accidents etc. than by political activity. These more mundane dangers should carry much more weight when you make your travel decisions.
Once You’re There…
On any trip, anywhere, if you’re concerned, keep in touch with news media and to ask your hotel staff about the possibility of incidents in any particular area you plan to visit. Avoid the location of any foreseen event, practice normal traveler safety awareness and the closest you’re likely to get to any trouble is via a news report.
The Decision is Yours
When there are scary news reports, people ask us “Is it safe to travel in Turkey now?” We understand: they want us to make the decision for them to guarantee their safety. Of course, we can’t. No one can. Future events are simply not predictable, anywhere, until, as Ionesco says, “after they’ve happened.”
We tell travelers they must make a decision that they can be comfortable with. If you believe that uncertainty will spoil your trip, you should postpone it until a time when you will feel comfortable going.
As for us, we have traveled in Turkey for nearly 50 years and the worst thing we’ve encountered is a few stomach bugs and those were back in the 1970s. We wouldn’t hesitate to go to any of the normal tourist destinations and we wouldn’t consider ourselves in any danger beyond the normal ones.