We hopped onto a smaller boat for a cruise up the Dalyan River to Kaunos, an ancient seaport city dating back to the 10^th century BC. Archaeologists, however, found coins that date to the 4^th century BC.

Nuri took us around to see the remains of a theatre, acropolis, Roman bath, and other ruins:

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

Kaunos bordered ancient Lycia, so we were able to get a great view of the Lycian rock cut tombs in the cliffs, when we arrived in the resort town of Dalyan. I had never seen anything like it, and it amazed me!

The town of Dalyan was a typical resort town—touristy. Back in 1987, developers wanted to build a luxury hotel on the nearby Iztuzu Beach; however, there was an outcry from conservationists, because it was a breeding ground for endangered loggerhead sea turtles. Thankfully, the island has been declared a protected area. Loggerheads have existed for about 45 million years, and hopefully, they will live on for 45 million more—that is, if humans don’t destroy our planet first.

I felt fortunate to get to see this loggerhead swimming by our boat during our ride back to the cove where our gulet was anchored.

This was our final night aboard our boat, so we thanked the crew and enjoyed one last dinner while relaxing in the protected cove. It was the calm before a different kind of “storm” …

Next up: TURKIYE #15: WHAT THE H*&$ WAS THAT???