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  • Turkiye. Amazing Cappadocia. Goreme – Uchhisar.

    Turkiye. Amazing Cappadocia. Goreme – Uchhisar.

    I visited amazing Cappadocia with my lovely wife. We rented a car and moved to Antalya first to catch the passing summer. We enjoyed the still warm Mediterranean Sea and set off for Cappadocia the next day. We stayed at a small, cosy hotel “Alaturca House” in Goreme.

    Next day we booked a balloon flight (another post). The rest of the day we devoted the famous views of Cappadocia near Goreme and Uchhisar towns.

    Goreme is a small town surrounded rocks with the caves. Millennia-old houses inside the rocks alternate with modern buildings. There is the Goreme Open-Air Museum near the town with churches carved into the rocks from the early Christian era – “Dark church”, “Snake’s church”, “Buckle church”. After museum we moved to the Uchhisar town to visit a Castle. It’s a kind of a hiking activity to reach a castle on the top of a mountain, but the way lays through the picturesque village. After the Castle we visited Pigeon valley with dwellings and bird cages carved into the rocks. At the end of this day, we visited Love valley. You will recognise this valley at first glance. 😜

    It was too many impressions for one day, but there are a lot of wonderful places to visit and so little time as usual😢 And our journey through equally amazing places continued the next day.

    IMHO Cappadocia should be in every traveller’s wish list.

  • Turkiye. Antalya – Lycian Way – Gelidonia lighthouse.

    Turkiye. Antalya – Lycian Way – Gelidonia lighthouse.

    It was a hike with Idadik.org and our second day in Antalya region. We decided to reach Gelidonia lighthouse on the Lycian Way. Our route was short because we had to return to Izmir after lunch. The road offered picturesque views of the coast. There are also several viewing points near the lighthouse, offering views of the sea, islands and boats. wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Antalya – Tunch mt. (2654m) – Kayatepe mt. (2619m).

    Turkiye. Antalya – Tunch mt. (2654m) – Kayatepe mt. (2619m).

    It was a hike with Idadik.org. This hike was devoted to the club’s founder Adnan Kayatepe. We started from Izmir in the late evening and arrived in Antalya early in the morning. Then there was the traditional morning soup for breakfast. After that, we reached the foot of the mountain and set off. We started from the highlands, so the elevation gain was not significant – 645 m. First, we climbed Mount Tunch, and then crossed the pass to Kayatepe. Although we spent the night on the road, we were not very tired, and the climb was not difficult. On the descent, our guide took us on a more challenging route along the ridge to make it more interesting. The group stretched out a bit, but in the end, everyone made it. The weather was beautiful – fresh and sunny. The surrounding mountains are as beautiful as ever! And in the distance, we could see the wonderful Mediterranean Sea, where we then went to swim in our favourite village of Chirali. wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Niğde – Maden – Meditsiz mt. (3524m). Day 2

    Turkiye. Niğde – Maden – Meditsiz mt. (3524m). Day 2

    It was a hike with Idadik.org. As I described in the previous post, we got camp near Karagol lake. Our next climb promised to be more difficult. We woke up early in the dark – about 4 a.m. Not all of teammates could find a power to participate, only five of us. We started after a quick bite. Beautiful landscapes opened up, especially when the rising sun began to color the mountain peaks. The guide set a very fast pace. Our group of five people spread out along the route. I tried to keep up for a long time, but eventually fell behind the guide. Instead, I joined the rest of the group.

    The first stage of the route was an almost continuous steep climb. Then the path became gentler, but in places it was very narrow, with rocky scree, so there was no time to relax. The heat was gone, and there was a strong wind in places, so I had to put on a windbreaker. It was so strange to meet two shepherds sitting on their haunches and wearing T-shirts on the pass.

    The most exciting part was crossing the narrow ridge. We crossed several passes and approached the foot of the summit. We seemed to have completely run out of strength, but a few handfuls of raisins gave us new energy. A steep climb up loose rock led to the summit, and we conquered it!
    The experience was certainly unforgettable. This is why I go to the mountains.

    The way back was no less exciting. Our guide quickly ran ahead. We followed the trail, and when it disappeared, we looked for the way using the route recorded in Wikiloc (thank God I had made a recording). However, when the group stretched out and I found myself in front, I lost the trail and ended up on a steep descent with crumbling rocks and cracks dug out by spring water. It was difficult. I lost a lot of time trying to get back on the trail. Eventually, I made it out, and the rest of the group caught up with me. We continued on together and made it back to camp. We had time to wash in a cold stream and rest, and then we had a 9-hour night drive to Izmir ahead of us.

    A couple of hours after setting off, we came across a wonderful restaurant serving delicious Turkish food. It was delightful, especially after two days of living on bread and dry snacks.

    These were two remarkable days of testing the strength of spirit and muscle. But how wonderful it is to feel free after sitting at the computer every day. wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Konya – Aydos mt. (3428m). Day 1.

    Turkiye. Konya – Aydos mt. (3428m). Day 1.

    It was a hike with Idadik.org. First of all, we made a long way by car from Izmir to Konya province. It took all night to get there. Our car isn’t very comfortable. We were three passengers on the back seat. I was able to sleep maybe a couple of hours that night. Our car isn’t off-road, so we got some troubles trying to reach alpinist’s camp. Sometimes our car couldn’t make it up the hill, and we had to push it. In addition, the car hit a sharp rock and tore a tire. It wasn’t an easy walk.

    The path itself isn’t very hard technically, but the weather was hot. Lack of sleep also had an impact. When we reached the summit, we got a shot dinner and fall asleep immediately. After this short rest the way back was easier. On this trip, the scotch tape I took on every trip finally came in handy. One of the team members’ shoe soles started to come off. We had to fix them with scotch tape and some ropes we had on hand. So the adventures weren’t over yet. In the end, everyone arrived safely at the camp, where a spring with cold mountain water awaited us.

    From my point of view, Taurus mountains are similar as mountains in Uzbekistan, where I was. Hot weather in the summer, lack of water but clean air and beautiful panoramas. wikiloc

    A vehicle was also waiting to take us to another camp. We moved to Ulukışla, Niğde to find a place to lunch, but we had a lack of time. We had to reach another place near Karagol lake, and our driver hadn’t known exact coordinates. It was evening already, so we bought some burgers and ayran, jumped into the car and moved on. There were no signposts, and after an hour of wandering in the dark, we finally found a place to camp. We quickly pitched our tents and passed out. More on that in the next post.

  • Turkiye. Korutürk – Halkapınar çeşmesi – Manastır – Balçova

    Turkiye. Korutürk – Halkapınar çeşmesi – Manastır – Balçova

    There was a public holiday in Turkiye in the middle of the week. I used it to take what has become a familiar route through the suburban hills of Balçova. I had walked it several times before, but each time by a slightly different route, and so I had never found the spring at the end of this route. This time I was better prepared and found Halkapınar çeşmesi. It was neither a spring nor a waterfall, but a small stream flowing into the Balčova dam. There are ancient trees along the bed of the rivulet. A nice shady place for a tired tourist to rest!😜The total distance was about 20km and the elevation gain was 770m. wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Manisa – Mt. Spil (1530m) – Beshpinar.

    Turkiye. Manisa – Mt. Spil (1530m) – Beshpinar.

    It was a hike with Izdak.org. I thought it will be a simple hike to the Spil mt. from south side. We did it already with the club at winter. But when we came out from a bus, I realized that we are near of the north side! Cool ))) The adventure was started but not all of us got their strengths right (( As a result most of the group went forward. One of the guides and me helped to the lagging. In favour I had a time to shot! wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Akyurt – Büyükkale.

    Turkiye. Akyurt – Büyükkale.

    It was track about 18km by forest roads. The weather was perfect – sunny, not too hot, about 18-20 degrees. Good company! What else needs for happiness?

    I forgot to turn on recording after the lunch and got a straight line wikiloc and closer to the finish my phone ran out of power. About 5 km was lost. ups… Here is more truly recording from mates wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Liman Reis – Çatalkaya – Liman Reis.

    Turkiye. Liman Reis – Çatalkaya – Liman Reis.

    Chatalkaya in Turkish means “forked rock”. I visited this mountain in November when the weather was beautiful. I offered my friend to repeat the hike. The forecast was convenient – the rain in the evening only. But we forget wise local proverb: “Don’t believe Izmir’s girls and Izmir’s weather”. Closer to the mountain we met strong wind and heavy rainfall with a hail. But we decided to reach the top. Crazy people)) On the top real storm with thunder and lightnings began. We made shorts and sprinted down the hill. Thanks god we survived! The total distance was about 15 km and the elevation gain was 1149m. wikiloc

  • Turkiye. Balchova hills.

    Turkiye. Balchova hills.

    I got some hikes in March alone in Balchova hills. They are comfortable because you can reach the starting point by metro! So I did it every Sunday.
    Balchova dam about 15km wikiloc
    Behzattepe(~700m) – Manastır about 19km wikiloc
    Korutürk – Karabelen(~1000m) about 25km wikiloc
    Manastir about 21km wikiloc

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