Airport access to Turquoise Coast Population: 24,500
Market day: Thursday
Midway between Fethiye and Dalyan, Dalaman is an important transport hub for the Western Mediterranean coast but is not otherwise an interesting town. For some reason storks seem to love Dalaman so if you find yourself stuck here for any reason you might want to wander round the back streets where their nests can be seen on the pylons, on top of the communications tower and on the domes of the central mosque.
The Thursday market is large and lively, filled to the brim with fresh fruit and vegetables as well as a rather uninspiring array of cheap clothes and household goods; in early summer you’ll see lots of deniz yosunu (seaweed) on sale as a salad ingredient. Small stalls inside the market sell delicious fresh gözleme (Turkish pancakes) as well as kar şerbeti (snow sherbet), plastic cups of flavoured ice that go down a treat in summer. 
Seaweed on sale in Dalaman market
Sleeping
Unless you absolutely have to you’re much better pressing onto Dalyan or Fethiye for the best choice of places to stay.
Transport info
Regular minibuses run between Ortaca and Fethiye and Dalaman but the otogar is a white elephant beyond the town boundary which means that most passengers have to make a completely unnecessary swap to a local bus to get into the city centre.
Buses back to the otogar and sometimes straight on to Ortaca leave from near the main square with the large mosque in the town centre.
Six km out of town, Dalaman’s airport (DLM) is increasingly busy but is known for irritating hassle such as occasional clamp-downs on people driving their friends there. Havaş buses meet flights to ferry passengers to Marmaris, Fethiye and other local resorts but there is no public transport into Dalaman itself.
Day trip destinations
