Dilek Yarımadası

The Dilek Peninsula and Büyük Menderes Delta National Park was declared in 1966 in Aydın province, on the Aegean coast of Turkey, facing the Greek island of Samos, and protects some 278 km² combining two very different settings.

The Dilek peninsula is the massif of ancient Mount Mycale, a limestone ridge reaching into the Aegean with steep slopes, coves of clear water and well-preserved Mediterranean maquis with pine, strawberry tree and carob. The Büyük Menderes delta, the ancient Maeander that gave its name to river meanders generally, is an extensive wetland of marshes, brackish lagoons and salt pans at the river's mouth.

That combination explains its diversity: the wetland hosts flamingos, pelicans and an abundant waterbird fauna, while the peninsula is home to Mediterranean wildlife with golden jackal, wild boar and, in its waters and coastal caves, the Mediterranean monk seal. The massif's good state of preservation is due in part to its status as a restricted military zone for decades because of the proximity of the maritime border with Greece, which prevented the tourist development that has transformed the rest of the Aegean coast.