The small town of Dalyan is tucked into a bend of Dalyan River on Turkey’s southwest coast, about 50 miles east of Marmaris and 35 miles west of Fethiye. The whole area, around 300 square miles, has been a Special Environmental Protection Area since the late 1980s. Although the protected status revolves largely around the endangered loggerhead turtle, which nests on a local beach, the area encompasses wetlands, freshwater lakes, rivers, a brackish water zone and rich agricultural lands.