The Faint Traces of a Forgotten History

Although no ruins of architectural samples dated to before the century have survived, many graves were found during once 16^th foundation excavations in the present town of Dalyan. Evid of a large cemetery indicates that there was once a deep-rooted and large settlement here. Another known fact is that in Dalyan, Turks and Greeks lived together until 1924, as is the case with many other coastal settlements of Anatolia.

The Menteşe Sanjak was instrumental in the provisioning of the army and navy during the campaign started by Süleyman the Magnificent in 1523 against Rhodes. This resulted in the annexation of the island, producing military and some building activities in Dalyan to support the effort. The mosque and the small bath in the Dalyan town centre were built during that period. Amongst the villages that surround Dalyan, the name of the Okçular (Archers) village attached to the town of Dalyan probably dates back to that campaign as well. However, the bath was in pitiful shape by the 1980s and was completely demolished. The 16th century mosque that was built on a square plan with a dome and a short minaret, (a rather common architecture in the coastal settlements of the Bodrum peninsula), lost its original details due to careless additions and elongated minaret.

P.S: Renovations made to Dalyan Mosque recently in 2016 – 2017 were an effort to revert changes back to its original. The minaret is shortened to its original length and the outer prayer area that was glass and aluminum is reverted back to original stonework.