Trekking the Turquoise Coast of Turkey

The Trip

Occupying the whole of classical Asia Minor and a small portion of Europe, Turkey bridges two continents and two cultures, the Orient and the Occident. The history, religions, and traditions of the people of this region represent the numerous cultures that have flourished in Asia Minor over ten millennia. The minaret-spiked skylines, temples of pagan worship, and the treasures of Christianity are interwoven in the timelessness of this land. Today, Turkey is a new country in an old land, rich in history and fascinating modern contrasts.

Our adventure will begin in fabled Istanbul, one of the world's most scenic cities and the only capital city in the world that straddles two continents. We will spend our first three days there, taking in its riches: museums, historic buildings, monuments, and mosques. We will then fly to Cappadocia to hike among fairy-tale chimneys and visit the cave dwellings and an underground monastic settlement. On our way to our trek, we will stop in Konya to visit the famous Mevlana Museum that's devoted to the life and teachings of Jelalladin Rumi, a revered 13th-century poet and founder of Sufism.

We will also spend some time along the Mediterranean Sea in Antalya and explore the ruins at Termessos, a Pisidian city high in the Taurus Mountains. The highlight of our trip is our six-day trek on the Lycian Way, the first long-distance footpath constructed in Turkey. The well-maintained trail snakes its way over bare hillsides and through scented pine forest. The limestone mountains rise steeply from the wooded shore and tiny bays, giving us beautiful views of the turquoise Mediterranean. During our trek our coach will transport our luggage to every evening's lodging. We'll be staying in hotels, seaside cabins, and in village houses hosted by local farmers. On our last day, we will be transferred to Dalaman airport and fly back to Istanbul.

Please note: The itinerary is subject to change at little or no notice due to weather conditions or other factors.

Day 1: We will meet at our hotel in the heart of the Old City for a group orientation meeting and lunch at 11 a.m. We'll start our tour with Sultanahmet Square, which was the Hippodrome of the Byzantine Empire. Next we'll visit the Blue Mosque, famous for its six minarets and beautiful Iznik tiles, built in the classical period of the Ottoman Empire. It is one of the best examples of classical Turkish art. We will enjoy our welcoming dinner after our visit to the Blue Mosque. Our overnight will be in a hotel in Istanbul.

Day 2: A full-day tour of the old city will start with our visit to Topkapi Palace, the imperial residence of the Ottoman sultans (emperors) that was built in the 15th century by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. Lunch will be in a restaurant well known for its traditional Turkish cuisine. We'll then visit the marvelous underground cistern and end our day with the Grand Bazaar, the most attractive shopping center in the world with more than 4,000 shops. We will see contemporary arts and crafts, as well as masterpieces of traditional Islamic art and architecture. Dinner tonight will be on your own. Our overnight will be in the same hotel.

Day 3: We'll walk to the Spice Bazaar with its domed and vaulted shops selling spices and herbs, then continue on to the pier for a Bosporus cruise on a public ferry. Starting the trip from the Golden Horn, we'll sail through the waterway separating the two continents, Asia and Europe. We will enjoy an afternoon break at the café known as the Pierre Loti, which commands a superb view of the Golden Horn. Then, we'll finish our tour by visiting St. Sophia, one of the greatest marvels of architecture constructed as a basilica in 536 A.D. by Emperor Justinian. Our overnight will be in the same hotel.

Day 4: We'll transfer to the Istanbul airport to take a morning flight to Kayseri in the Cappadocia region. From there, we'll drive to a little-visited valley to see a beautiful corner of Cappadocia. This will introduce us to typical Turkish village life. Christian monasteries located on the skirts of the hills are unique for their wall paintings. We will have lunch in a restored village house in a nearby village. Then we'll drive to Kaymakli Underground City, which was dug as deep as five layers below the ground and for centuries was used for hiding by Christians. Our tour finishes with a spectacular view of Uchisar. Our overnight will be in a boutique "cave" hotel in Goreme.

Day 5: This morning we'll visit the open-air museum of Goreme, which was a very important monastic settlement in the early Christian ages. We will see a number of churches hollowed out from the rock with religious paintings on their walls. We'll drive to Cavusin to visit a monastery and St. Baptist Church, famous with its unique wall painting of Salome's dance. The tour will continue with lunch and a visit to Avanos, a center that has produced pottery since ancient times. After a short hike of about four miles on flat terrain in Devrent Valley, we'll visit Pasabag, one of the most beautiful areas of the region with hermitages hollowed out of volcanic tufa. Our overnight will be in the same hotel.

Day 6: We will walk from our hotel through some of the most beautiful valleys of Cappadocia. We'll explore less visited churches carved into the rock formations and sample local dishes at a family-run restaurant. Afterward, we'll have an easy walk of three miles down the Rose Valley in the afternoon back to our hotel. Our overnight will be in the same hotel.

Day 7: Checking out of our hotel, we'll drive to the Ihlara Valley to walk all day by the river for six miles past vineyards and orchards of walnut, quince, and apricot trees. After visiting Selime monastery, we'll end our day in the lovely town of Guzelyurt. Our overnight will be in a boutique hotel that was a nunnery in the past.

Day 8: After a traditional breakfast at a local village house, we'll spend most of the day driving to the Mediterranean coast. On the way, we'll stop to visit the Sultanhani caravanserai, an overnight stop for merchants and camels on the Silk Road via Anatolia. Then we'll move on to Konya to see the Mevlana Museum (famous for the Whirling Dervishes). Mevlana (Jellaludin Rumi), a great poet and revered teacher of Sufism, lived in the 13th century. We'll continue on to Antalya, a picturesque city on the Mediterranean Coast, where we'll check in at a hotel in the old district.

Day 9: Today we'll drive to Fethiye and stop to hike to the ruins at Termessos, a Pisidian city built at a height of over 3,000 feet in the Taurus Mountains. This hike has less than 1,000 feet elevation gain and is four miles roundtrip. Then, we'll drive across the plateau of the Taurus Mountains to Fethiye-Ovacik where we start our trek the next day. Our overnight will be in Kayakoy, which was the largest Greek town before the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1924.

Day 10: After breakfast, we'll transfer to the trailhead of the Lycian Way, a 200-mile ancient footpath developed now by the Turkish government and maintained by volunteers. Our walk will give us spectacular views as we climb the shoulder of Baba Dagi (Father Mountain). In total, it will take six hours, covering 10 miles with an elevation gain of 1,400 feet. We'll enjoy dinner and stay overnight in a pension with a view of the ocean in Faralya.

Day 11: Today's hike will take only three hours, as we trek from Faralya to Kabak along a forested path with amazing views of the Mediterranean. Our hike is seven miles long with an elevation loss of 500 feet. We'll have dinner and stay overnight in a seaside cabin. (Optional evening swim.)

Day 12: For those who wake up early, there is a possibility of a morning swim. After breakfast, we'll trek into the forested Kabak Valley, splash in the waterfalls, and climb up back to the Lycian Way. We will continue on a beautiful old mule trail to Alinca, with spectacular views over Yedi Burun (Seven Capes). Today's hike will take about five hours (seven miles), with an elevation gain of about 3,000 and loss of about 300 feet. Our dinner and overnight will be in a village house as guests of a local farmer's family.

Day 13: After breakfast, we will walk along a spectacular coastline toward a pasture that has an old Ottoman cistern. Our hike today will be about six miles and take three hours, and have an elevation gain of 600 feet and loss of 1,400 feet. From there, we will transfer to Sidyma by coach. We will explore the archaeological site at Sidyma and be the guests of a local imam (Muslim leader), who will talk about the basic tenets of his faith and describe the religious observances that take place in a mosque. After our visit we will continue by coach to the village of Gey and stay with the muhtar and his family. Overnight in village house in Gey.

Day 14: This morning we'll trek on a tiny goat path around a spectacular bay to Bel, then continue to Belcegiz and descend a steep rocky Roman road to Gavuragili. Today's hike will take about seven hours (seven miles) and have an elevation loss of 2,500 feet. We'll meet our vehicle there and transfer to Letoon, home of mother goddess of Leto who was the wife of Zeus. Our dinner and overnight will be in a hotel near the seaside harbor of Kalkan.

Day 15: This morning we'll follow the aqueduct that brought water from the mountains to the ancient site of Patara. Patara is famous for its beautiful eight-mile-long beach, where the giant sea turtles, caretta caretta, come to lay their eggs. Before we enjoy the sandy beach of Patara, we'll explore the site of the ruins that was the capital of Lycia in the Roman period. From Patara we'll drive to Dalyan to take a short boat tour of Koycegiz Lake and Dalyan delta, and visit the hot springs and mud bath. We'll enjoy our farewell dinner and overnight in a riverside pension in Dalyan.

Day 16: We will be transferred to Dalaman Airport and fly to Istanbul. This will be the end of our trip.

Getting There

The trip starts with a group meeting at 11:00 a.m. on the first day in our hotel in Istanbul. You may want to consider arriving in Istanbul a day or more before the start of our trip to orient yourself and take advantage of the many special sights and activities that Istanbul offers. Lunch on the first day will be the first meal provided. All lodging and meals, except one dinner in Istanbul, are provided. Our trip ends after arriving at the Istanbul airport on day 16, November 5. The last meal provided is breakfast on the last day. If you would like to continue touring Turkey after the Sierra Club trip has ended, please ask the trip leader for suggestions, such as tours sailing in a yacht (gullet) on the Mediterranean or visiting other archaeological sites.

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

Our hotels in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Antalya will be of three-star and four-star quality; during our trek we will be staying in seaside cabins and village houses. These are quite spartan in décor and will have shared rooms and facilities. We will be eating typical Turkish food which, until recently, was heavily meat based. However, now there are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and vegetarians can be easily accommodated. Please check with the trip leader if you have any dietary restrictions.

All lodgings are included in the trip price as are all meals except for one dinner in Istanbul. Participants will have free time to engage in an optional activity at this time and are free to eat in a restaurant of their choice at their own expense. 

Trip Difficulty

This trip is designed for anyone who will be comfortable on a trek where we'll be hiking most of the day for six days in a row. Good general physical condition -- as well as hiking stamina -- is important. On average, we will spend six to seven hours a day hiking with a daypack for a distance from three to ten miles per day. Elevation gain and loss average less than 2,500 feet per day. There will be plenty of rest stops during the hikes. Most of the time, we will have shade, but there are sections of the trail in full exposure of the sun. Occasionally there will be the opportunity to skip some hiking sections of the trail by riding in our coach and meeting the group farther along the way. In general, we expect temperatures to be in the 50s and 60s during the day, and in the 40s at night. However Cappadocia is at a higher elevation (4,500 feet) and temperatures there will be in the 30s at night. Overall, the fall weather should be very pleasant with many wildflowers.

Equipment and Clothing

A pair of broken-in hiking boots is essential for hiking. Otherwise comfortable walking shoes will suffice for city walking. Although there is no dress code in Turkey, we recommend that you dress modestly in long pants in Istanbul. Shorts are okay for hiking and touring ruins. For visiting mosques, please make sure that your shoulders and knees are covered, and women must bring a head scarf to cover their head. For the trek, bring raingear, swimwear, and one or two walking sticks. The leader will send an extensive packing list to registered participants.

References

Books:

• Atil, Esin, Turkish Art.
• Bernieres, Louis De, Bird without Wings. (Especially recommended!)
• Bilgen-Reinart, Porcelain Moon and Pomegranates: A Women's Trek through Turkey.
• Eyewitness Travel Guides, Turkey.
• Finkel, Caroline, Osman's Dream, History of the Ottoman Empire 1300-1923.
• Kemal, Yasar, Ince Memed.
• Kinsler, Stephen, The Star and the Crescent.
• Lewis, Bernard, The Emergence of Modern Turkey.
• Mango, Andrew, Ataturk.
• Pamuk, Orhan, My Name is Red.
• Pamuk, Orhan, Istanbul.

Conservation

The Sierra Club is an environmentally focused entity. We are concerned about conservation and sustainability of resources, both locally and globally. Our work is accomplished by volunteers and aided by a salaried staff, encouraging grassroots involvement. Our outings seek to empower participants toward environmentally understanding parallel concerns at home and abroad.

Turkey has no shortage of environmental issues and a fledgling conservation movement is attempting to address them. Ancient archaeological sites are a natural attraction to tourists whose spending supports the economy of nearby residents, but the settlements become vulnerable to population growth as everyone wants a share of this growing economy. It is difficult to achieve a balance between protection of the sites and the development of the economy. Air pollution is a real blight, especially in winter because of burning of lignite for heating. A special problem for Turkey, again related to energy, is the use of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits as a tanker route to transport Caspian oil from Russian ports to Western Europe. There have been several major accidents over the past few years in these narrow channels. The giant sea turtles on the Mediterranean coast are endangered in Turkey.

During our trip, we will have an opportunity to learn about the fauna and flora of the Cappadocia region from a naturalist who will accompany us on our hike in the Ihlara Valley. A biologist from the university in Antalya will hike with us on our tour of Termessos and talk to us about the butterfly research project he is involved with, as well as the environmental issues of his country in general.

Evacuation and Travel Insurance

The Sierra Club provides evacuation insurance to all participants on international trips. Since this coverage does not include any trip cancellation or interruption insurance, we suggest you purchase another policy separately to provide coverage for your trip and other travel costs. This policy also does not cover pre-trip and post-trip travel. Please note the evacuation insurance provided does not cover claims resulting from any pre-existing condition that occurs within 60 days of the trip departure. If you have specific questions about this exclusion, please review the insurance brochure. For information on purchasing a separate policy, please see our travel insurance page.