Dalaman is a municipality and district of Mugla province, located on the southwestern coast of Turkey. Dalaman has a hot Mediterranean climate; Summers are long and dry, meanwhile winters are short and cool. The sun shines almost throughout the whole of the year. Its resident population is around 50 thousand but during the summer months it goes way up with Turkish holidayers and foreign tourists arriving at Dalaman airport and heading especially to seaside resorts here or nearby beach resorts along the Mediterranean. There are many luxury hotels along the coast, and small hotels and hostels in the city center. For sea lovers, Sarigerme Beach, Bedri Rahmi Bay, Sarsala Bay, Ekinci Bay, Kille Bay are the most popular places.
The town sits on a flat land by the coast but there are high mountains around the district reaching almost 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) which run parallel to the Gulf of Fethiye. Dalaman river is about 229 km (142 miles) long and people come here for white water rafting. Other popular outdoor sports activities in the district are camping, hiking, bicycling, swimming and sailing. Akkaya valley and Kocagöl lake near Dalaman attract nature lovers.
There is no information about the history of the district due to the lack of sufficient archaeological excavations and surface surveys. However, since it is within the ancient Caria region, it is thought that the history of the area must be old and similar to other Carian sites. Some of the ancient archaeological sites nearby are Hippokome which is 30 km from the town, Telmessos in Fethiye, and Tlos ancient cities.