For my spring break I decided to go on a small solo trek in the Toros mountains by Turkey's 4th largest lake,
Eğirdir Gölü. The hike was a small portion of the
St. Paul's Trail, Turkey's second long distance trail, set up after the "
Lycian Way" by local British expat Kate Clow. The hike was spectacular and a great break from hectic Istanbul city life.
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| Huseyin the shepherd's house. |
While the spring\summer season hasn't quite started there yet, I still managed to meet quite a few shepherds in the mountains who offered me fresh cheese and bread. Other highlights included seeing wild horses, camping in empty seasonal shepherds encampments, and the spectacular views of the lake below.
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| Jeremy with Pilgrims |
My second day took me through the village of Barla which is a religious destination for pilgrims following
Said Nursî, who was exiled by Atatürk to the village. It was quite a shock to go from complete isolation in the wilderness to meeting some enthusiastic pilgrims from Konya eager to feed me full of gözleme and religious rhetoric.
Below are a few pictures that I attempted, with mixed success, to stick together from my crappy cellphone camera.
For my spring break I decided to go on a small solo trek in the Toros mountains by Turkey's 4th largest lake, Eğirdir Gölü. The hike was a small portion of the St. Paul's Trail, Turkey's second long distance trail, set up after the "Lycian Way" by local British expat Kate Clow. The hike was spectacular and a great break from hectic Istanbul city life.
