Rock climbing in Turkey

Rock climbing in Turkey is a relatively new sport, which was started when a few French climbers bolted some routes in the Ala Daglar National Park in 1993. Today there are 13 established rock climbing areas with 1000's of well-protected sport climbing routes. However there is a massive opportunity for establishing new routes in Turkey due to its large mountainous nature.

Antalya - The largest developed rock climbing area in Turkey is around Antalya, and more specifically, the sports climbing at Geyikbayiri, which has over 400 routes at all grades. There are also 3 other sports climbing areas, which are Olympos, Akyarlar, and Karataslar, plus an excellent bouldering area at Feslekan Yayla, which is high up in the mountains (2000m high). All of the sports routes are single pitch on good quality limestone rock. Click here for more information about rock climbing in Antalya.
A new guidebook called "Antalya Kaya Tirmanis Rehberi/A Rock Climbing Guide to Antalya", written by Ozturk Kayikci is now available to buy from our shop. It covers all of these areas except the bouldering at Feslekan Yayla.

Ala Daglar National Park - Situated in the Taurus mountain range is some excellent rock climbing on limestone rock. The majority of the routes are single pitch, though there are some multi-pitch routes up to 650m long (though very exposed). There are over 100 routes here across all grades. Ala Daglar National Park is at an altitude of 1600m making rock climbing very pleasant from the beginning of June through to the end of September.
In Western Turkey there are some excellent rock climbing areas located around the cities of Istanbul, Bursa and Izmir.  These include Ballikayalar which is between Istanbul and Izmit; Geyve near Bilecik; Golpazari near Bilecik; Narlidere near Bursa; and Kaynaklar near Izmir.  Generally the style of climbing is bolted sport routes with the vast majority being single pitch. However at Geyve there is a mixture of multi-pitch traditional routes as well as single pitch sport routes. 
Eskisehir - 70km from Eskisehir on the way to Ankara is an area of granite and gneiss towers that rise out of the surrounding fields and plains. Here there is sports climbing, trad climbing and bouldering.
Bafa Golu - Located 100km from Bodrum and near Bafa Lake is a large boulder field. These granite and gneiss rocks offer some excellent and extensive bouldering.

            A suitable Racecourse for Climbing "Mount Suphan"

Suphan Dagi (Mount Süphan), an extinct volcano, is the third highest mountain in Turkey. It is located just north of Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake. The volcano's summit holds a snow-filled crater, but is generally broad and rugged from eons of erosion. The slopes, however, have retained much of their conal form, making the ascent of Suphan Dagi a straightforward one. 

                                             Turkish Doner Kebab

Doner kebab (Turkish: döner kebabı) is a Turkish dish made of roasted meat cooked on a vertical spit. It consists of shaved lamb, goat, pork, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats roasted on a spit. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage. It is often served wrapped in a flatbread such as a pita or tortilla, and is a common fast food item in The Middle East the Caucauses, North America and Australia.

In a prepared dish, seasoned meat is stacked on a vertical spit in the shape of an inverted cone. It is turned slowly, cooking against a vertical rotisserie. A tomato, onion or pineapple may be placed at the top of the stack for additional flavouring. The meat is cooked by charcoal, wood, cast iron, electric, or gas burner. If the meat is not fatty enough, strips of fat are added so that the roasting meat remains always moist and crisp. The rate of roasting can be adjusted by varying the strength of the heat and the distance between the heat and the meat, allowing the cook to adjust to varying rates of consumption. The outside of the meat is sliced vertically in thin, crisp shavings when done. While cooking, the meat is shaved off the stack with a large knife, an electric knife or a small circular saw, dropping to a circular tray below to be retrieved.

Before taking its modern form, as mentioned in Ottoman travel books of the 18th century, the doner used to be a horizontal stack of meat rather than vertical, probably sharing common ancestors with the Cağ Kebabı of the Eastern Turkish province of Erzurum.

In his own family biography, İskender Efendi of 19th century Bursa writes that "he and his grandfather had the idea of roasting the lamb vertically rather than horizontally, and invented for that purpose a vertical mangal". With time, the meat took a different marinade, got leaner, and eventually took its modern shape. The Greek gyro, along with the similar Middle Eastern shawarma and Mexican tacos al pastor, are derived from this dish. There are several stories regarding the origins of gyros in Greece: One says that the first "gyrádiko" was "Giorgos" who brought gyros to Thessaloniki in 1900; another legend from a meat production company states that döner was first introduced in the 1950s in Piraeus by a cook from Istanbul.