4. Eğirdir

Drove about 6 hours, a long hot drive to Eğirdir, or more accurately an island approachable by causeway on the lake next to Eğirdir. This area is the heart of the Lakeland area, or the Lake District of Turkey, comparable to England's lake district. Reminded Chris more of Switzerland than anywhere in Turkey. We stayed at Peace Pension, the proprietor a Turk now living in New Zealand, but back running the place on a long vacation. We got in late, had a crispy fish dinner (a local specialty), and crashed. Next day, went for a swim in the lake and got on the road for another long drive, eager to get out to Cappadocia and be able to hike around before nightfall.

Oh yeah: on the way to Eğirdir we picked up a hitchhiker, a Turk who was hiking in the area. We asked him where he was going and he said Denizli, which was only a few miles down the road. He then explained that he was on a train, dropped his glasses out the window, got off the train and walked back to where he dropped them, found his glasses with one of the lenses missing, and now was attempting to catch up to the train. We would not have believed this ludicrous story if not for the missing lens, which he showed us about forty times.

Eğirdir Photos