DALAMAN
Dalaman is quickly becoming one of the top investment areas in the world for many Europeans purchasing property for investment in Turkey. This is largely due to the area being classified as a main touristic area and major hotels and golf courses being planned as well as the huge Dalaman Hilton Spa and Golf Resort being already open in Sarigerme, and the golf course there to be due for completion by the beginning of the season next year, as well as also having a huge conference centre which will lead to it being open all year round from when it opens next year, which will increase the number of flights out from the UK, Germany, and Russia during the ‘winter season’ which is then expected to have a positive increase on the amount of Europeans buying and investing in property or emigrating out here.
Dalaman town itself keeps continuing to grow from a main dirt rack road with a handful of shops just a few years ago it now has many shops, restaurants, bars and tea gardens and is growing quickly due to the investment in the area as well as opening a massive supermarket geared more towards Europeans earlier this year, with a café and children’s park and trampolines. Dalaman also has its own huge natural beach, although not overly commercial 'yet' it is still pleasant and hosts lots of wildlife.
The town is ideally situated for lots of resort areas but perfect if you prefer a quieter place to base yourself. There is also a tunnel underway to connect the town of Gocek and Dalaman, reducing the journey to only 5 or 10 minutes drive.
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. I found this fascinating when I first found out, but just outside the prison there is a chicken restaurant and those prisoners who have shown worthy are employed to work there proving that people can change and letting them see for themselves that they can find a job that they are capable of preparing them for being released.
Funny story: Alexandria train station and the Sudanese in Dalaman
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.
The Khedive is also the perpetrator of the settlement in Dalaman of Afro-Turks of Sudanese origin, whose descendants are still easily distinguishable among the population.
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Dalaman Airport
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Dalaman Airport close up
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Dalaman centre
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Dalaman town entrance
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