Dalaman

This article is about the town and district center. For the airport, see Dalaman Airport.

Dalaman
District center
Turkish sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis) tree grove near Dalaman
Location of Dalaman district within Muğla Province.
Country	Turkey
Region	Mediterranean
Province	Muğla
Government
• Mayor	Sedat Yılmaz (MHP)
Area
• Total	616.8 km2 (238.1 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population  (2000)[1]
• Total	28,148 (district)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code	(+90) 252
Licence plate	48
Website	Dalaman Municipality Governorship of Dalaman

Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.

Dalaman Stream (Dalaman çayı) forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts. The town of Dalaman is located in the coastal plain, whereas the rest of the district – towards Fethiye district on the coast and towards the high mountains on the northern border to Denizli Province – is upland, dominated by the valleys of the Dalaman Stream's eastern tributaries.

Dalaman is known for its international airport which serves as a gateway to the tourists who visit this part of Turkey every year, heading especially to seaside resorts to the west and east of Dalaman such as Marmaris, Fethiye, Köyceğiz, Dalyan, Ölüdeniz and Hisarönü. Dalaman Airport (IATA: DLM, ICAO: LTBS) is small in comparison to other airports in Turkey, has parking spaces for 14 jet aircraft and is served by many operators. Turkish Airlines offer daily flights to Turkey's commercial and financial capital Istanbul and serves as a seasonal base for other airlines notably Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines and Free Bird Airlines. A new international airport terminal has recently been opened.

Apart from aviation activities, Dalaman plays host to one of Turkey's biggest open prisons where less dangerous prisoners are sent as part of their rehabilitation programme. A state farm is present in Dalaman. Agriculture, particularly citrus fruits, plays an important role in the local economy, since it is situated in a fertile plain at sea level.

Alexandria train station

In 1906, the Alexandria train station was built by mistake in Dalaman. The building still exists and serves today as the headquarters of the state farm. The year before the construction (1905), Abbas Hilmi Pasha (then Khedive of Egypt) had acquired a large part of the fertile plain and had decided to set up a plantation in the region.

He had ordered the plans and the material for his projected residence here to his architects in France, at the same as the plans and the material for a train station for Alexandria in Egypt. Unfortunately, the two simultaneous shipments were misdirected, the materials for his residence heading towards Egypt, and the Alexandria train station ending up in Dalaman. Since it was going to be too costly to re-ship everything to the right destination, the station was built in Dalaman anyway, with even a few miles of purposeless railway track.

See also

• Dalaman Airport

External links

• Dalaman Airport official website