Lycian Trail
Is hiking possible in Turkey. Yes. If you like to look out of the bus window without opening your eyes, you have noticed that beautiful places are always dotted with tents. They are installed not only by the Turks. For example, the trekking tour, which is indicated in the paragraph, is a hit of several seasons around the world. Equipped with recreation areas and observation platforms, high-rise green massifs in further areas are replaced by early Christian cave complexes. Along the roadsides are ancient columns and mini-ledges made of rocks. Above the cliffs. Naturally, you will not get up at the artifacts themselves – security! But there are plenty of free (buffer) reservations around. Lycia is an ancient region corresponding to the southwestern corner of the almost rectangle that represents the Anatolian Peninsula. At 90 kilometers, you can enjoy typical Mediterranean picturesque landscapes, wild beaches, flooded and cut down houses.
Along the Pamukkale tracts
The second hiking route in Turkey concerns a well-known location near the metropolis of Denizli (Pamukkale province, Il Denizli, the border of the Mediterranean and Aegean districts). Every summer day here is filled with sunshine. It is reflected in the dazzling whiteness of the salt outlets (by the way, walking on them is allowed only barefoot, and nearby “over–salted” feet can be drowned in a radon bath – for dollars).
The concept of Pamukkale (“cotton fortress”) is much more than just a hotel, restaurant and museum complex. The primer will guide the curious all over the hill completely. And in addition to the traces of the already named “Greek” quarters, you will find more ancient ones. After all, the salt terraces are surrounded by the terrain where in the era of early antiquity and the more “hoary” Iron Age, the battles of the Indo-Europeans with the “locals” were played out. The route route affects the entire recreation area from Yenikei to Karakhayit. No overnight stays!
The Ways of Evlia Celebi
The third hiking trip in Turkey is connected with those “highlights” of the former Ottoman Empire that lie on the 650-kilometer horse-drawn road and on the goat racks that continue it.
The line leads from the suburbs of Istanbul to the town of Simav (suburb of Afyonkarahisara). Once upon a time, the learned pilgrim Evliya Celebi walked here. In honor of him, the compatriots dubbed this trip. Just like the named adventurer of the 17th century, you will meet pomegranate orchards, sunflower fields, ethnic villages, poplars along roads (crossing several plateaus at once), Karamanka hills, tomato plantations on countless plains, olive groves of Orhania and the majestic Ahmet Pasha Mosque in Hersek. In addition to them, you will pass the ruins of grads. Along with the areas around Ankara and Istanbul, these areas are also densely populated (but large agglomerations will still be slightly out of your way).
So, the movement begins from primorsky Hersek, bypasses the appendix of the Sea of Marmara, Lake Iznik (before the capture of Constantinople, the Turks had a center at this point) and the Uludag Mountains. But then crosses the “light” ridge Domanich. Then – along one of the plateaus. In Kutakhya you cross a new ridge. In Afyonkarakhisar – quite low (going out to the west-oriented track along the pass). It will lead to the landscapes mentioned above.
Phrygian Trail
If the first 3 paths concern multiple slopes with groves of Mediterranean pine, large vegetable growers’ villages, resort pyataks and passes where marble is mined, then the north of the peninsula to the east of the Marmara Sea is different.
Another hiking route in Turkey is a well–advertised tour with an instructor. Through the lands of the old kingdom. Phrygian. The Phrygians are an Indo–European branch, “stuck” in the middle of the path of cultural evolution: from the Hittites and Hurrians to the substratum, which today is commonly called the “ancient Greeks of the Archaic era.” The Phrygians invented the famous cap, which became famous thanks to the Thracians and Scythians popular at the same time. The “trending” king is Midas.
Endlessly getting confused in the passages between the stone kurums, you will find dozens of points in order to take fascinating panoramas of the Black Sea coast (far north). The charming views contain the charm of the borderlands of the Marmara and Black Sea districts. The foundations of residential buildings, tombs and hints of religious buildings are also on the hills themselves (these tribes settled everywhere). The route is 506 km (from the former capital of Gordion on the Sangaria River to the larger village of Doger).
Armenian Mountains of Turkey
And what’s in the east? Finally, the latest branded hiking route in Turkey will take the traveler to where the laughing tremor of subtropical foliage (and above the steppe grass) is trying to block out the exciting noise of the cold wind on the peaks of the mountains. Armenians will like this pilgrimage the most – they will consider their historical homeland. Kars, Ararat and Sarakamysh are long–promoted “symbols” of pilgrimage among this nation. There are quite a lot of visits to each vertex. And do not go into details…
However, it is necessary to warn that it is dusty from the south. You have to dress like Bedouins – tie your head. Water is also a problem (and, by the way, such a problem is only here). But from the north it’s the opposite – a typical Caucasus (mountain thickets, lakes, noisy rivers and waterfalls).
It is worth pointing out that immediately after these “linked sets of landscapes”, Cappadocia is on the list of fans of complex promenades. Because there are already ruins with food on every corner, the most “open” cave cities, they ride a balloon. Next is the Hittite “obstacle course”. And the Karian Hiking Trail. There are “passages” of St. Abraham, St. Paul, the Sultan’s Road, Yenizhde (this is, in fact, the entire Black Sea region!). Kachkar (extreme northeast, connected with the homeland of the Georgian queen Tamara). The route “From the Black Sea to the Marmara” and the Roman Via Egnatia.
In fact, only the southeastern 20% of the country is “closed” to guests (there are Kurds and the border with Israel). The tours presented in the paragraph, although not in the top among our countrymen, however, they are quite interesting for representatives of many other countries. There are completely unrefitted “trampled” for foreign vacationers. East of Mersin. The designated resort is absolutely safe. A large port is a place of commerce rather than a museum. It is more popular because cotton was exported from here to the USA. The Turks are reluctant to “publicize” the values that previously belonged to the Persian Empire. However, no one forbids you to study them personally. Tuzla Golu and Akyatan lakes can really be used as beaches. And that’s it here. Then it’s a complete disgrace.
Any trail in Turkey, according to most travelers, is the personification of a hiking trip as such. That is, the one that is for the general masses. The mountains and plateaus are comfortable in every way. Valleys and salt-marsh steppes are laid out in such a way that the eyes run away during the choice of directions. There are no dense forests (this is the trouble of the country): everything is visible. Large bays and small coves. Service is everywhere (as if by magic). The main thing is that there are many monuments of nature and history. It seems to be super. That’s the same “super” insurance should be. Alas, the named country is the point where everything happens.