Quieter times in Eğirdir

Eğirdir is a very peaceful spot in Turkey's lake district.  It's been a good place to stop and reflect after all the busyness of the last two weeks. It gave me time to catch up on my blog too.  Being off season it is even quieter than it would normally be, and at times I feel like the only tourist here, though I did meet a couple of other people over the two days.


Without transport there is not a lot of places to go: on the first day I had a gentle stroll around the peninsula, looking out over the lake and the mountains - it's quite similar to Wanaka.

This being Turkey there are still plenty of coffee shops to stop at to recover from my 20 minutes of exercise.

I'm thinking of doing a series on views from my window, because so far I have had some great views from each room I've stayed at.  Here's Eğirdir:

The next day I went for a longer walk up a nearby mountain - not to the top, but about half way up to a small village.  The other side of the mountain is a commando base so is off limits.  They have their mottoes carved into the hillside - we are commandos, we are strong, etc etc.  I didn't meet any on the way up, just a couple of rather fierce dogs (Shannon would have tamed them).  On the way down I said hello in Turkish to an older woman so she gave me an apple, then I helped another even older woman out from under a barbed wire fence.  I don't know quite what she was doing, but she was happy to get some help up the bank.  It was just one of those odd little encounters that happens along the way.

The view from the cafe at village was quite extensive, and it was good to get out walking again.  Also good to trust myself and know that I don't always need a guide to show me the way.  It did help that there was only one road to follow all the way!