Travels in Turkey

Our walk on the St. Paul Trail.

Chapter 6: Rock Climbing

Day 6 Journal: near Asagi Tirtar 

Wednesday                                10/5/05

We woke up on the beach this morning with wind gusting and trying to bring our tent down. We were not able to stake it down on the rocky shore. While Ang dressed, Jeff stood outside holding the tent in place. Before getting ready Jeff took a bath in Lake Egridir, which was cold. I mean so cold that Ang didn’t even consider taking a bath or a swim even though she had been without a bath for four days. The water was beautiful though and a clear blue-green. 

We hiked the most treacherous section today. We had to scramble along rock faces and over mountain arms that jutted out into the water. We climbed up and down dirt and rock trails where every step was a slide risk. The route seemed to torture us by taking the least opportune way. We had to walk along cracks in rock faces holding with both hands and trying not to lose balance with our packs on our backs. Ang got pretty scared a few times, but always managed to take the next step. She really pushed herself today. We tried to find Yasar to thank him for bailing us out last night, but couldn’t find his house. We met his wife, but she didn’t speak English and we could not get her to take a token of an angel to him. 

We got a little more water at Yasar’s spring and started our day. We really carried too much water today. There were several springs along the way, and we didn’t use all we had. We still have two liters for tomorrow. 

Jeff took another swim at midday when we stopped on another beach to eat lunch. The water was refreshing (and cold), not to mention, it helped the sweatiness.

We made it to the fishing area below E. Tirtar before 6 p.m., The restaurants were closed, so we had to go without a soda or tea, but we set camp among the trees near the lake and cooked our own dinner. It’s 8:30 and we are just about ready for bed. 

P.S. We passed by a huge church cut from the stone face of a cliff. Jeff tried to climb into one of the windows but the risk was too high that he might fall. He did enter an old tomb on one side of the cliff, but it didn’t connect to the church itself. All of the entrances were several feet off the ground and had steep rock cliffs below them. With ropes it would have been easy, but with nothing and no easy way back down, it was too dangerous. The doors and windows were cut square. The shape of the church front was chiseled into the cliff face. Truly amazing. 

A very good day on the trail. We have a lot to be thankful for. 

                                       — Jeff

All pictures and information on this site are the property of Jeff and Angela Lindsey and cannot be used in any way without their written permission. Some information came from signs and tour guide descriptions.