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Dilek Peninsula National Reserve   area and the park is in the region of Kusadasi and Soke, in the province of Aydin.

The  national park can be reached via the Kusadasi – Soke highway, and lies roughly in the middle of the two towns. 
Dilek Peninsula Kusadasi Guzelcamli National Park is approximately 30 kms. from Kusadasi Cruise Port.
It takes around 40 minutes to get to the National Park from Kusadasi Cruise Port by private vehicle. 
There are direct public transportation from the main central inter-country bus terminal to the National Park. You can get to Kusadasi National Park from Kusadasi downtown in 1 hour by public transportation.
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Guzelcamli village , at the northeast edge of the national park and at the foot of  
Dilek mountain, was used as the assembly place for the political and scientific center of   Ionia   in the 9th and 8th centuries BC.
Most recent pictures from National Park in Kusadasi
Panionion, the sacred gathering center of the   12 Ionian cities   in the 9th century B.C. 
The Ancient city of   Thebai,  Panagia Monastery,  the historical village of  Doganbey  and   Karina, the  Hagios Antonios Monastery  and the   Cave of Zeus   are located within the boundaries of Dilek National Park near Kusadasi.
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The National Park of Dilek Peninsula Buyuk Menderes Delta covers an area of 27.675 hectares (68.357 acres).  
10.985 hectares of this land belongs to  Dilek Peninsula, which was declared as a national park in 1966. 
Buyuk  Menderes Delta, adjacent to the southern part of the peninsula covering an area of 16.690 hectares (41.224 acres), was also included in the national park  in 1994.
Dilek Peninsula  is the last point where Samsun Mountains, having a length of 20km  and a width of approximately    5 kms, reach the Aegean Sea. 

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View of Greek Island of Samos from National Park

Owing to this unique diversity of plants the European Council declared Dilek Peninsula as the Flora Biogenetic Reserve Area in the European Biogenetic Reserves Diagram.
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Besides the  geological and geomorphological structure, it has a rare botanic quality for the Mediterranean.  
Because of this  quality it gained a scientific value from the researches made by the botanicians.

The northern side of the park has plants rarely seen in the Mediterranean region. ​​
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The morphological structure of this area embraces a number of hills, valleys, a canyon and bays. 

The average altitude of the peninsula is  650 m and the highest point is the Dilek Hill (Mykale), from which the national park derives its name, with an altitude of  1237 m.
There are many bay and chestnut trees, and it is the only area where the Finike juniper and pirnal oaks are found together. 
Mediterranean seals and sea turtles are breeding on the shores of the lake.
The natural environment of the National Park has become a protection field also for the wild animals because there was not a road until recent years. 
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View from Kusadasi National Park Coast

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There are  endangered species in the area; the most typical example is the Anatolian Leopard

The  National Park, there are lots of reptilesmammals and species of birds

Also at the shores of the field, almost all kinds of fish are unique to the Mediterranean, have the inns of living and reproduction. 

The Mediterranean seal which is under protection is one of the typical animals of the region.

Fauna at Dilek National Park

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Boar (sus scrofa),  caracal (caracal caracal), lynx (lynx lynx),
jackal (canis aureus), hyena (hyaena hyaena), wild cattle  and horses are among the fauna of the peninsula.
Dilek Peninsula  hosts 8 species of mammals,  42 species of reptiles and a great number of marine animals. 
Furthermore, the peninsula is the western most point where the extinct or nearly extinct Anatolian panther (panthera pardus tulliana) lives. 
The Mediterranean  monk seal  (monachus monachus), which is among 10 most rare sea mammals of the world, lives on the shores of this peninsula. 

Birds of Dilek National Park in Guzelcamli

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Buyuk Menderes Delta  region of the National Park is a marshy area with a few lagoons, salty marshes and mud plains with an overflowing character. 

Owing to its reach biodiversity and hosting critically endangered and endemic species, Delta is under protection through International Ramsar, Bern and Rio Arrangements and Barcelona Convention.

Among the 256 species of birds living in the area 70 of them breed there.
​Globally endangered pygmy cormorant (phalacrocorax pygmeus).  


Dalmatian pelican (pelecanus crispus) which the world population is estimated at 3000 in the world, little egret (egretta garzetta), lesser kestrel (falco naumanni) and white-tailed eagle (haliaeetus alblcilla) are among the important species of birds which breed in the area.

Flora of Dilek National Park

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The Flora of Dilek Peninsula has a rich variety of plants belonging to  95 families and  904  kinds  of plants belonging to various species, sub-species and varieties. 
6 species of these plants are  endemic, peculiar to the area. 
In addition to that, the peninsula includes 18 species  which are  endemic for Turkey. 
The area contains most of the samples of the Mediterranean Maqius Flora in their liveliest and healthiest forms. 
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Dilek Peninsula is the only area where Anatolian chestnut (castana sativa) peculiar to the forests of the Northern Anatolia grows in the south; and snowball (viburnum tinus), which grows only in a few areas of Turkey. 

Phoenecian juniper  (juniperus Phoenicia),  
holm oak  (quercus ilex & coccifera), cypress  (cupressus sempervirens var. horizontalis) are other species which only grow in this area in the form of small forests. ​​
The park also provides tracking and climbing opportunities at the inner-forest pathways for the nature-lovers.

The  beaches and picnic areas in the National Park 

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The  beaches  and picnic areas in the  National Park  area are very popular for the visitors between April and October. 
To prevent the damage of the natural structure, overnight resorts are not welcome.

The visitors, in the designated areas can carry out sportive activities on the blue flagged beaches, or take trekking tours together with various activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, photo safari, view watching, fishing, (with fishing lines only), cultural trekking, bird watching, horse safari, bike safari and botanical tours.
Facilities:  
It is possible to stay in the park in tents or caravans, and there is food available.  
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Simple facilities like water, WC, dressing cabins, picnic area and tables and  cook-stoves have been developed in the Park,  to make the daily excursions to Icmeler  Bay,  Aydınlık   Bay and Kavaklı  Beach easier.

Beaches around Kusadasi

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​There is a wide variety to eat delicious foods. 
You can taste various popular cuisines here. 



Most Recent Pictures from Food Venues in Kusadasi Restaurants and Street Food.
From sea foods to Turkish traditional foods, you can find plenty of restaurants with reasonable prices. 
While you are eating traditional Turkish food you may try the favorite national drink “raki”. 
Turks like to describe this potent anisette tasting drink as “Lion’s Milk”. 
You can top off your meal with tasting a cup of “Turkish coffee”, served either sweet (sekerli), with medium sugar (orta) or without sugar (sade). 
On this post you can see the updated information about new food & drink venues in Kusadasi.
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Health & Safety   |   Getting Around  |  Beaches  |  Money     |  Shopping    |   Weather   |   Food
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Nightlife in Kusadasi which continues until the first light of the day varies in style in different parts of town. 


Most recent pictures from the Nightlife in Kusadasi
Bar street in down town is a narrow street on which mostly British and Irish pubs are located next to each other. 
International music is played in this bar district.
Kaleici ( The old town) area is another part of town where lots of different style bars and clubs are located. 
The old town houses with their gardens in the back are converted into clubs and bars.  Most bars in this area perform live Turkish music. 
However, one can choose between live Turkish music, international, rock, pop or jazz in this area.
If you are looking for a different experience you can go to a bar or club out of down town by taxi. 
These bars are usually by the water and are preferred by those who like to be in an airy atmosphere on a hot summer night and listen to mostly Latin music. 
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Kusadasi is an ideal place for shopping  with its wide variety of products, competitive prices, open bazaars and top class facilities. 

In modern shops you can buy clothes, jewelry and fashion accessories, on the other hand there are too many places where you can purchase authentic products with Turkish motifs such as   hand-woven carpets    or rugs made from wool or silk, vases, plates, masks, hookah and various products made of  meerschaum.

 One of the delights of  shopping in Kusadasi  is that most shops are open seven days a week from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm. 

Every Tuesday and Friday large traditional open markets sell locally grown fruits and vegetables, household items and textiles.

Most currencies can be exchanged at banks, exchange-offices and hotels. 
Major credit cards are widely accepted in most city shops. 
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Health & Safety   |   Weather    | Beaches  Money     |  Shopping    | Nightlife   | Food

Transportation

The traffic in Turkey is on the right hand side of the road. 
Inside the city center, maximum 50 km is allowed. 
The speed limit is 90 km outside the city, 130 km on the highway.
You should be at least 21 years of age, while renting a car or motorbike. 
Driving license and passport are must on renting.
Taxi meters run double between 12:00 am and 06:00 am. 
Do not get surprised if you are charged double for the same distance after midnight .
​You may use minibuses called  “dolmus” for short distances for short distances, that are available during the day until 24:00. 
Dolmus is a special service fount only in Turkey, which is a collective taxi following specific route. 
This is very practical means of transport and much cheaper than a taxi.
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Downtown   |    Greenbeach    |   Long Beach    |   Kustur Beach    |  Pamucak
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Ladies Beach  is a sandy beach, 1 km. long which offers sun umbrellas, deck chairs, showers, cafes and restaurants across the street from the beach. 
Ladies Beach is located 3 kms from Kusadasi Cruise Port. It takes around 10 minutes to go to Ladies Beach from Kusadasi Cruise Port by a private car. There are also public buses that run in front of Kusadasi Cruise Port in every 5 minutes in the summer time. It will take around 15 minutes to get to Ladies Beach from Kusadasi Cruise Port with public transportation.
Most recent pictures of Ladies Beach taken by the Author of this Blog.
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Ladies beach  gives its name to the neighborhood established near it. 
​Because of the proximity to the Beach This neighborhood started being developed around Late 80's Early 90's with Residential Units. 

Before the 90's there were only a few hotels along the coast. 
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The area is full of hotels, apart hotels, pensions and summer houses. 

Ladies Beach, one of the most preferred beaches in the area is extremely crowded on Sundays due to native vacationers.


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A quiet Winter day in Ladies Beach Kusadasi

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You can also enjoy all the water sports activities in this beach.
Along the Pedestrian walk of the Ladies Beach coast there are 5 hotels and 15 cafe's and restaurants. 
​Today the coastal walkway is pedestrian only, before the 2000's there was a one way road that open to motor vehicle traffic.


It is only 5 minutes drive or 20 minutes walk from the center town.
By following the coastal path running in front of Kusadasi Cruise Port then Pigeon Island you can reach Ladies Beach after a 20 minute walk from Kusadasi downtown.

You can also catch Number 5 Dolmus (Public Minibus) and it will take only 5 minutes to reach Ladies beach from the center. 


road to ladies beach kusadasi turkey

Road heading towards Ladies Beach Kusadasi Turkey

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