Iztuzu beach in Dalyan is that rare thing in
the Mediterranean: a 4.5km arc of golden
sand stretching from the base of a pine-clad
mountain to a river delta, with not a single
house, shop or hotel in sight.
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During the day people swim, walk, lie in the
sun to the sound of the crumping waves but at night a barrier
comes down and the beach is claimed back by nature, in
particular by hundreds of loggerhead turtles, one of the oldest
surviving species in the world, which lay their eggs there from
May to September.
Iztuzu is the second most important site for
endangered loggerheads in Turkey, and with
its hinterland of briny lakes and reed-fringed
river channels, arguably its most beautiful
beach. But when I first visited it in 1990 I
was chilled by the sight of a great slab of
concrete - the foundations, I later
discovered, of a government-approved1800-bed
holiday village.
The story of how a handful of Turkish and
European conservationists, galvanized by
English 'Turtle Lady' June Haimoff, saved
Iztuzu from development is remarkable. For several summers Haimoff had lived in a
wooden hut on the beach, alongside families
from the town, and had watched the huge
females digging their nests (even
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saving one
from a knife-wielding local man who wanted
its shell for a cradle) and had rescued
hatchlings that were disorientated by the
artificial lights and noise from the
settlement.
June Haimoff |
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Eventually the huts were dismantled but,
unknown to the conservationists, permission
was given for the much more damaging holiday
complex instead. When bulldozers arrived on
the beach Haimoff sent a frantic telegram to
the WWF. Prince Philip, as president of the
WWF, asked the Turkish Prime Minister to
delay the project, to allow an environmental
impact study to be carried out.
This was done, the Prime Minister acted, and
in the summer of 1988 the beach, along with
the area's red pine and sweet gum forests
and marshlands, was given SPA (Special
Environmental Protection Area) status and
the building project cancelled.
News of Dalyan and its turtles spread fast
and soon the town became a tourist hot spot.
I myself have been back many times, usually
in non-peak times, but until I was asked to
assess it for an Open Spaces award I had no
idea that the beach was so heavily visited -
up to 5000 people in a single day in the
high season.
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Many of these are day trippers who arrived
on large boats, are transferred to river
boats to visit the various sites around
Dalyan, and finish off with a swim on Iztuzu.
But despite this influx, the protection,
which includes a demarcated nesting zone
where digging, using umbrellas, or lying is
forbidden and a 1-mile exclusion zone for
speedboats and jet skis, is working: a 21-year
monitoring programme of the turtles,
currently being undertaken by a team from
the University of Pamukkale, shows that the
population is stable and that the number of
nests is slightly increasing. The students
locate the nests, put metal cages over them
to prevent foxes or dogs digging them up,
and are on hand when the hatchlings emerge.
The tourist facilities at either end of the
beach are sympathetically designed to
minimize environmental impact. The cafes,
cabins, sunbeds (which are nearing their
permitted maximum of 850) and boardwalks are
made of wood, the roofs from reeds; brackish
water is used for the showers, toilets and
cafés, and the waste water is removed daily.
There are plenty of litter bins, with
separate containers for recycling waste at
the delta end; and the Belediye, (Municipality)
which manages the facilities, uses the
revenue from the sunbeds, beach entry fees
and cafes to clean the shore daily, to
provide jobs for local people and for
services in the town.
The greenest way to reach the beach is by
bike, and it's an exhilarating climb through
the resinous mountain road, with panoramic
views of the beach and the lakes from a
number of roadside pancake houses.
There's a co-operatively run dolmus (minibus)
service too, which takes the same route, and
a fleet of co-op river taxis which travel at
5mph down through the reedbeds. This gentle
pace is the official speed limit for the
delta, but patrols are rare and
conservationists are concerned that the
reedbeds are degrading, especially at the
mouth of the river, partly because of the
wash from powerful, fast-moving boats.
On the beach, however, the 24-hour patrols
by SPA officials ensure that the demands of
mass tourism and of the Caretta caretta
turtles, |
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Stones on the Iztuzu Beach from
hotel bulilding. |
which have become Dalyan's
unofficial logo, remain in balance.
It's not perfect', says June Haimoff, who
would like to see many more signs, fewer
sunbeds and an environmental tax levied on
day trippers, 'but it is a magnificent beach
and we are very lucky that we have
protection for the turtles.'
MORE INFORMATION
Conservation
Turtle population monitored annually; beach
closed to the public at night, all year, so
dune flora preserved from activities such as
camping. Some concern that non-native palms
have been planted at the road end, but these
are few in number and so not, in my view, a
problem
The beach is protected nationally since 1988
as part of the Koycegiz - Dalyan Special
Environmental Protection Area (SPA) by the
Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Terms
of the protection were influenced by June
Haimoff's proposal for national park status
and by campaigning by other conservationists,
including the Turkish NGO DHKD.
Dalyan Iztuzu
Sea Turtle Research Rescue Rehabilitation
and Information Center.
Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta) are on
the IUCN Red list of endangered species.
Protection of the beach is excellent due to
24-hour patrolling by Ministry officials and
annual monitoring by university ecologists.
The same level of protection of the reedbeds
at the mouth of the river, which are
becoming degraded, is a priority but this
area is inland of the beach and therefore
not counted for the purposes of this award)
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Natural materials are used for the beach
facilities, including the umbrellas and
sunbeds (which are made locally); three
cafes in total, but all are small, three
showers at one end, one at the other, and a
small number of changing cabins at each end;
no speed boats or jet skis)
Daily cleaning of beach, with plenty of bins
at both ends for visitors, including pots
filled with sand for cigarette butts;
evidence of some rubbish on river bank at
the back of the beach so patrols there may
be less frequent. |
Enviroment
Separate bins for recycling at one end of
the beach but not the other; waste water
from cafes, toilets and showers removed
daily, by boat and road, to the town's new
sewerage plant.
Water management - one-mile zone free of
speed boats and jet skis helps to keep sea
clean; use of briny water from lake behind
the beach for the café, showers and toilets
ensures that fresh water is not added to the
fragile coastal ecosystem however there is
concern that the water quality in the river,
which flows into the sea at the delta end,
is not being monitored and that the increase
in numbers in boats is detrimental to the
cleanliness)
Society
Most Dalyan residents recognize that Iztuzu
beach is one of their strongest
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tourist
draws and so understand the need to conserve
it but in the town itself, there is very
little evidence of green activities or
policies. One tour operator, Kardak Tourism,
has given financial support for turtle
protection activities, but they also take
tourists in their boats to look for turtles,
and try to attract them with food - this
verges on exploitation. This year Dalyan
Dermek, a small charitable group of Turkish
and English residents, has been helping the
university volunteers on the beach.
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Transport
Bike rental available and both bus and boat
access are run by co-operatives. But no
green energy being used for these, and
diesel pollution of the river is a concern
with the increase in number of boats
permitted.
Food
Food is very limited: sandwich snacks, using
local tomatoes and bread, and a range of
bottled and canned drinks, including foreign
beer, and there is a separate stall where
pancakes are made in the traditional way by
local ladies
NOMINATED BY I have just returned
from Dalyan In Turkey which is a World
heritage site due to the 5km beach being the
breeding ground of the Giant Loggerhead
turtle, the Carretta Carretta. Two thing
swere absolutely sublime, taking a solar
powered boat silently out onto the lake and
watching the shooting stars in the sky as
you listened to the cacophony of sounds from
the wildlife. The second experience was to
cycle to the beach past unspoiled vistas,
swim int he warm waters and stop on the way
back to have a Gozleme pancake with views to
die for of the local mountains, rivers lakes
and beaches. Definitely one of the last
unspoilt wildernesses of the world -
Charles Bentley, Sunderland
Need to know
Dalaman International Airport, which is
served by Turkish Airlines for flights to
other Turkish cities and by charter airlines
and Cyprus Turkish Airlines for flights from
the UK, is 25 minutes from Dalyan. There is
a regular bus service to Ortaca where
national buses can be picked up.
Travel to the beach is by river taxi (look
for the fixed-price co-operative boats) and
by dolmus (minibus). Journey price includes
entry to the beach.
Annie
Gatti
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/green_travel/article5225317.ece
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