ISTANBUL — Mysterious fires that destroyed 125 hectares (309 acres) of woodland on an idyllic stretch on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast and a historic palace in Istanbul in recent days have raised concerns that property speculators may be trying to open up land for development. The opposition is raising the issue in parliament.

Official investigations into what started the fires, both of which occurred in late June, are continuing. But critics say there have been several incidents in recent years in which prime properties destroyed by fire were later opened for high-value construction projects.

Turkey has seen an unprecedented construction boom in the past decade as the economy grew at breakneck speed and the number of foreign tourists in the country jumped from 14 million in 2003 to roughly 35 million in 2013. Critics say unregulated construction along Turkey’s southern and western shores has defaced parts of the coastline. Last year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspected the coast around the Aegean resort of Bodrum and called the built-up waterfront a “catastrophe.”

In Adrasan, an unspoiled cove on Turkey’s southern coast that — unlike many other coastal regions — is without big hotels, a fire broke out on a wooded hill. The blaze was fanned by strong winds and destroyed several of the small hotels and shops allowed to operate in Adrasan under current rules before fire fighters could bring it under control after 16 hours.