the world without visas turkey is not only beaches and hotels with all inclusive. in this country there are mountains and rivers, ancient ruins and forests, friendly locals and orchards. the best way to see it all at once — walk on the hiking trail. the trail of st. paul starts near antalya. it was built in the early 21st century, englishwoman kate clow in those places, where at the beginning of the christian era passed by the apostle of the new faith. trail of st. paul became the next stage of the project "world without visa". in which valery shanin travels only in isa-free for russians countries. in this trip his fellow travaler was minor klementyeva. turkey: the trail of saint paul
- we started our journey on the trail of st. paul. we left the airport and went to the main highway. now we try to hitch-hike to the aspendos, where the trail begins. we go! the ruins of aspendos the travelers reached easily and quickly. but the beginning of the trail could not be found. museum staff and locals can tot help. they had to go acoding to the inner voice. the direction to the north, to the lake egirdir.
the morning mist is not terrible. from the trail we still will not go away. moreover, that path is not found. we have to go straight north. on the way we caught a passing car. firefighters hurry to put out set on fire during the lightning storm pine. good deal. but a little bit late. forest almost completely destroed. almost everything is already burned or cut down. hitch-hiking in turkey is very easy. you can get a lift on the any king of transportation.
in the forest you can walk on the trails. there are no walkers on the way. only shepherds with goats or sheep. on the road valery with minor get a lift to the koprulu canyon. the locals claimed that in the area of the canyon, they saw the red-and-white marks of st. paul trail. persistence and perseverance has brought an appropriate result. on the third day travelers found the first marks . - look at real tourists! - how many of them! koprulu canyon is a tourist place.
for the tourists who like rafting and canyoning. there are tours on the off-road vehicles. the trail crosses the koprulu canyon and starts to climb up its western slope. first smoothly. then steeper and steeper. finally, valery and minor have to climb the wall. it's hard. - well? - cool! cool! but then you give me water, my water is gone.
travelers come to the stone forest with bizarre rock formations. in the village altinkaya they met a friendly dog, and have a hearty breakfast. and they visit the ruins of the ancient city of selge. from the amphitheater, located right on the outskirts of the village, the trail leads past the ruined gate at the top of the hill to the acropolis. tourists rarely see here. there are no tickets, no fence, no guards. nothing. from pagan temples and early christian churches there were only piles of shattered stones and in some places the base of the walls. but it doesn't matter. as in the days of the apostle paul the view from the top is wonderful. there are still no one on the trail.
both ways. the travelers are guided by marks. eat pasture food. scare away the curious donkeys they are trying do not lost winding among the rocks trail. after dark they put up a tent. - cold morning. almost all gear has to go. the trail leads to the top. higher and higher. but not cooler. every hour sun burns stronger and stronger. at the time they begin to undress.
the trail came to the village cavustepe. the village is small, but it has a guesthouse, designed for those who are on the trail of saint paul. like at home — tea, jams and pies. the owner of guesthouse erdinc barca helped to build the path of st. paul. he showed all the photos, in which he is depicted at least from afar and from behind. the book describes the route by day — this is important for those who go without tents, from pension to pension. there is a map on which you can find the way. with this map travelers will not lost the direction. however, initially neither the book nor the map, were needed.
from cavustepe the trail goes all the time along the river. to lose it is impossible, even with a strong desire. left and right mountains. only one direction — north. slightly to the left or to the right, slightly above or below, but roughly in the same direction. backpacking on the rock! on the trail there is no shortage of water. everywhere yo can see rivers, streams, springs, ditches, wells, tanks, water for cattle... and in every village at least one rural fountain.
a lot of water everywhere. mostly clean and drinkable. there are still no tourists on the trail. only local residents. by foot or horseback. theree are some russian hunters. - very old i guess. long, long ago. and shy shepherds. trail led to a plateau, overgrown with rare trees, cut by deep ravines and canyons. and here is how it turned out - a unique case. two backpackers on the trail.
not earlier and not later hikers with backpacks is no longer met for all of two weeks. the place is deserted, but not a wild. in evening travellers came to a village casimer. they spent a night in the guesthouse. good home made breakfast in the morning. they started a bit later then usual. turkish women returned home from the forests and fields. there are still no roads, no cars. only horses. for the lunch will be a spring water and wild apples.
and again the path leads all the time up and up. inhabited places. ploughed fields, a shepherdess with goats. but gradually the trail takes travelers farther and farther away from human habitation, in mountains and forests. once orthodox christians greeks lived there. ruins of churches built during the byzantine empire. very picturesque. the spring in the hollow tree. the year has been fruitful. even for wild apple trees. there are a lot of squirrels here. but they run so fast and unexpectedly that it is absolutely impossible to make a picture.
roads, obviously made for loggers. no cars, no pedestrians. cattle wandering unattended. in early october in the south of turkey usually sunny and warm. but the evening begins to frosen. puddles covered with a thin ice. at night hikers can make a bonfire. n the morning they do not want to get up early. the sun rises and the air immediately becomes warm.
the trail is a network of interconnected trails, paths, roads, firebreaks. there are some marks and trail signs. but they do not always help. it is especially difficult to navigate in the woods. the marks on the trees are noticeable worse than on the rocks. there are a lot of rocks in the forests. you have to walk carefully. there's no hurry. they have a tent.
at night they can easy find a good place for camping. however, after such a leisurely walk in the evening they are very tired. on the outskirts of the village sagrak the trail passes through the ruins of the ancient city of adada. the place is not touristic. no fence. no entrance fees. - in the time of st. paul the city was already here, but small. - all the buildings that we can see today was built after the apostle paul. the temple of trajan the temple of all the emperors temple of zeus.
and at the same time the ruins of christian churches, is also related to iii, iv, v centuries of christianity. sometimes the trail comes out on paved highway. but, as a rule, and there are no cars. soon the trail turned again to the countryside, to the fields ploughed after harvest, to brooding cows, almost deserted villages. on the way there are unexpected obstacles. fortunately, easy to overcome. - this one must be kept. top. not so. top must be contained. and without haste. slowly, slowly, you are in a hurry. - slowly? i try do do my best! - so we climb up a steep slope.
- here, under the trees usually cool shade. we can walk comfortably. villages are located only in valleys near rivers. in the mountains between them you can see only shepherds. this year it got cold early. at night freezing. in the morning, the travelers once again lost the marks of trail. - do not break. - i can't even imagine how to climb. - i rolled. - it's cool!
- leg throw over. so. went to the belly. - yes, just like something cool had to be climbing the fence! - there is another fence ahead. i have no idea where we are now. at the beginning of october in turkey in the midst of the apple harvest. in early morning nobody work in the orchard. and the results are obvious. they work at nigt! if the trail leads to the road, it is better not to go by foot, swallowing the dust, and catch a lift. the hitch-hiking in turkey is very easy.
typical vegetable shed. only instead of potatoes — apples. but treat them the same way - without ceremony. loaded into dump trucks. storage under the sky. but this applies only for processing into apple juice. those apples that fall to us on the table. most of them sent on export to russia and sort out manually. the harvest. so much work, that all local people at work. and women, as always, work faster then men.
again the empty shed. shepherd's deserted shed. all shepherds were mobilized for the picking apples. - hey, valery, can we come more slowly today. my feet are tired. in the morning valery and minor lost the marks of the trail. as in the first days on the trail, just walked along the road towards north. lake egirdir remained close at hand. only to climb the next mountain ridge and to go down. it seemed that a little bit and they go out again on the trail. they tried to find marks but in was inpossible. they will have to go on the road down to the highway.
in the village balkara there are many apples too. and the people here are vary hospitable. and of course everyone wants to help. - thank you! thank you! apples way even on the way to the lake egridir. during two weeks valery shanin and minur klementyeva walk about a one third of the trail of st. paul. still two-thirds left for the next trips.
