Adventure Travel in Dalyan, Turkey

I love music, but I am no musician. Outside of my brief relationship with the harmonica in the mid-nineties (thanks Blues Traveler), and unlike Beth who has been playing the piano since she was 5, I have never played an instrument for any length of time. Maybe it was because my elementary school music teacher denied me the sax, saying the instrument was not conducive to my 4th grade overbite, but a trombone would be ideal. I scoffed at the idea. Huey Lewis and the News didn’t play the trombone, I thought to myself, and neither would I.

A few months after the saxophone incident, around the time the other beginning sax players were forced to screech out a rendition of London Bridge in front of our class, I received my first skateboard, and felt something I have never got from strumming a guitar–adrenalin, and a desire to seek out foreign terrain, which at that time meant the local 7/11 convenience store. As my interest in “extreme” sports and the outdoors grew, so did my desire to find unique places around the world for adventures…enter Turkey.

From the earliest days of Beers and Beans, Beth and I have both wanted to visit Turkey. Seriously, this is the land of the Trojan Wars, Noah’s Ark and St. Peter’s Church in Antakya (the first church built by man). In addition to its rich history, Turkey’s diverse landscape and ecosystem makes it a great travel destination for outdoor enthusiasts. One region of Turkey that’s at the top of my list is the beaches and mountains around Dalyan. If I could have just four days in this southwest region of Turkey for an adventure holiday, this is what I would do.

Day 1: Hike from Dalyan to Ekincik Beach visiting the ruins and tombs of Caunos along the way.

Day 2: Explore Toparlar Canyon. Word on the street is that the area is a fun place for hiking and swimming.

Day 3: Mountain Bike through the groves of “liquid amber” trees (found nowhere else in the world) and around the Dalyan and Koycegiz countryside.

Day 4: Top off my Turkey holidays to Dalyan with a whitewater rafting trip down Dalaman River’s class 3-4 rapids.

Even if you’re not into the mild thrill seeking, this area of the Mediterranean coast, including the famous “Turtle Beach,” home of the endangered Caretta Caretta turtle, in Iztuzu, should not be missed. It’s the kind of place Matthew McConaughey ends up for one of his Hollywood honeymoons. You know the formula, a dumbfounded, shirtless McConaughey searches for treasure and love on an exotic white sand beach. I know Beth’s main priority in Turkey is to walk around looking at mounds of spices, but once she reads about this beach I know she’ll be up for the adventure.

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