Iztuzu Beach, near Dalyan, Mugla Province, Turkey

15.08 pm, Tuesday 3rd June 2008

For the last few weeks The Guardian newspaper has been publishing the picture of a “Tree of the Week” each Monday, with photos submitted by readers. There have been some interesting examples published but it encouraged me to dig out the photo of one of my favourites and send it in. Guess what? It was published in The Guardian this week, and the link to the feature is here.

What’s good enough for The Guardian will do for South of Watford so here’s the tree for your consideration.

Iztuzu beach is a remarkable feature and runs for about 5 km along the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a gentle crescent of soft sand quite unspoilt by any tourist developments because it’s an environmentally protected area and a nesting ground for loggerhead turtles and the tree can be found at the south-eastern end of the beach.

We’ve been back to the beach several times since 2008 and check out the tree each time. We’re hoping to get there again this year but with Covid-19 on the prowl there are no real certainties just yet

The climate in the eastern Mediterranean is so mild and benign in the summer months that it’s hard to imagine the wind forces that have caused the tree to deform in this way. There’s a history here, but it’s not evident what it might be.

Sounds like a case for CSI Dalyan.