The Lycian Coast 'roughly encompasses the sea-girt bulge between ancient Caunos and Anatalya. It is a wild and rugged region, where the mountains are split by ravines and are chopped off by angular-faced scarps that plummet into the sea.
The coast takes its name from the Lycian cities dotted along its length. The Lycians, like the Carians, are believed to have been an indigenous Anatolian race, speaking an Indo-European language. They appeared in this region in the second millennium BC and became known for their skill in battle. Xanthos was the capital city and on two occasions the Xanthians fought to the last man, and burned the city, women and children, elderly, all, rather than submit! The Persians, Greeks and Alexander the Great all had a turn at conquering the region and under Byzantium, Lycia became the haunt of pirates.' (Rod Heikell's pilot note).
We motored from Marmaris to Köcegiz Limani and by mid afternoon we arrived in Ekinçik Iskelesi, a beautiful bay. We were greeted by a surly skipper on a yacht flying a Swiss ensign, gesticulating rudely that he was most unhappy with our proximity to him. Maybe it was because they were all nudists and we'd passed too close for their comfort as we made our final approach to lay anchor. Although Trilogy had plenty of swing room, we decided we didn't want their company and moved further out. As we circled the bay, we'd noticed patches of froth on the water surface, which made us question the water quality, but being eager to cool down, we all dived in and swam anyway. This is the first time we'd felt the water was anything but pristine, apart from marinas.
We were able to attract the attention of a local boatman who quoted us for a day trip up the nearby Köycegiz River. This was the most wonderful variety of experiences packed into one day! We boarded directly from Trilogy onto our river boat and our kind skipper introduced himself as Aladdin! We travelled about 5 NM along the thickly wooded coast to the river entrance, which is known as a breeding ground for the loggerhead turtle. We searched in vane to see them, but further up the river we caught several glimpses of these elusive creatures. Along a sand spit at the river entrance, there were at least a hundred people swimming and sun bathing. Our skipper said that in peak season, there can be 5000 to 7000 tourists per day through this area, with only 2000 local inhabitants to support them. However, the crowds were diminished for us and we felt no real intrusions on our day.
We next visited a small boat tucked in amongst the reeds selling fresh crab and we ordered a serve each, to pick up on our return. The river meanders through marshlands with reeds about a metre on both sides and myriads of boat tracks carved into it. The local boatman clearly knew the way through and we encountered many boats coming in the opposite direction, from the village of Dalyan where we ate lunch. Before Dalyan we visited the ancient ruins of Caunos ( described by Myra previously) and noted a fish farm on our walk. Later we passed the gate where the fish (sea bream, sea bass and mullet) are released in about one month's time into the river for fishing and eating. We also noted a pomegranate orchard with trees dripping with brightly coloured, gorgeous fruit. The rock tombs high up on the cliffs near the township of Dalyan were typically Lycian in architecture and were beautiful to gaze at but not open to visitors ( see Myra's blog for photo ).
A leisurely lunch at Dalyan on the jetty under the shade of the trees was delicious and included tasty mezzes and a large platter of sea bass, which our waiter proudly told us was 'the best' and came from the Black Sea. It was cooked on the open fire and had a wonderful flavour, as did the chunky chips and fresh salad with pomegranate molasses dressing. A short wander through this touristy but attractive town and we were ready for more river travel.
This river is just so pretty and we gave our cameras a workout! We passed many 'pensyons' and 'otels' near Dalyan, which is easy to reach from Dalaman airport. Our next stop was the mud baths and mineral springs....oh what fun we had! This was a new experience for us all and clad in our swimsuits we stood in a shallow watery/muddy mixture, caking ourselves all over...the thicker the better! Next we 'carchered' the mud off under a blast of overhead water and then back into a deep pool of sulphur smelling almost hot water, to give our bodies the final benefits of nature's offerings. Our skin did feel soft and very cleansed.
The return journey was equally interesting, as most of the boats had stopped for the day and the birds of the marshland were out for a feed. We collected our crab meals and in the soft light of the evening there was a gentle glow across the landscape and the reflections were beautiful in the water. The golden orb of the sun was spectacular as it set behind the cliffs as we came to the mouth of the river. There was a one metre swell to greet us, which made things a bit uncomfortable, but our very seaworthy broad beamed boat and skilled skipper, got us safely back to Trilogy. We had been away for 9 hours but all agreed we had shared a surprisingly magnificent and unforgettable day.