|
Translation
The flowers of the Lake District: three nature walks
The tall limestone mountains in Spain, Greece and Turkey are
the only places in Europe where wild peonies still grow. One
place is unique -- Kasnak National Park in the Taurus
Mountains, home not only to Paeonia maculata but also to a
unique endemic oak tree -- the volcanic oak (Quercus
vulcanica).
In a sheltered dell on a steep limestone slope stands the
type specimen, a 600-year-old granddaddy over
30-meters-high. Straight and sturdy, this tree is surrounded
by groves of smaller oaks, which together form a sheltering
canopy of dappled shade over the lush forest floor. Below
the oaks are carpets of the park’s other wonder -- the wild
peony.
Early to mid-May is the time to see these brilliant cerise
peonies, their upturned cups filled with golden stamens. The
tall yellow daisies of doronicum and curved sprays of sweet
peas (Lathyrus aureus) complement the cerise peonies with
more gold. After the peonies until mid-June Juno irises
(Iris purpurobractea) flower on sunny forest slopes. The
flowers are in every shade, from deep mauve to creamy
yellow, with delicate variations of buff, pale-pink, mauve
and bluish-white. The bloom itself is varied, with the three
upright petals in plain shades and the falls showing deeper
color, fine brown striping and a ruff of golden stamens. The
short interval between the snowmelt and the arrival of the
shepherds is also the time to search for the smaller and
less conspicuous alpine plants on the stark shoulders of
Davraz Dağı, which rears above the oak forest, sheltering
the park from the northwest. As the snow retreats up the
mountain, a miniature garden filled with crocus, colchicum,
muscari and fritillaria bursts into bloom.
Spring also brings migrant birds back to their breeding
grounds. In the forests, the dominant sound is the trill of
finches, interspersed with pip-pip alarm cries as you
approach. In the upper branches Kreuper’s nuthatch peeps
like a toy trumpet, and the rapid fluttering of a flycatcher
attracts the eye. The hammer of a woodpecker adds percussion
and a flash of black and white flits across a clearing.
Higher up, red-fronted serins drink the snowmelt, and pink
and grey Ortolan buntings pipe the first bars of Beethoven’s
fifth. If you’re lucky, a pair of lammergeiers (giant
vultures), or golden eagles, which breed high on the crags,
will glide over to inspect you from above.
Part of a long-distance walking trail (the St. Paul Trail)
runs over the high limestone ridge east of Davraz Dağı,
connecting Kasnak Forest to the pasture of Kuleovası. It
passes a government-owned ski lodge and two new hotels, one
of which has just opened. Delicate, minute plants on the ski
slopes have been bulldozed for just a few weeks of winter
skiing, but the new accommodation does give nature lovers a
chance to explore a wonderful area. Here are three walks,
which link Eğirdir to the ski lodge and Kasnak forest. You
could start at Eğirdir and continue to Yukarı Gökdere, or
use taxis to access them from your favorite accommodation.
From Eğirdir to Davraz ski lodge (6-7 hours)
Leave Eğirdir on the old railway line, and follow it over
the spectacular viaduct and under the new road. Branch left
onto a dirt road to Sevinçbey village. After crossing the
bridges, follow a path along the river banks for about a
kilometer, then turn left on a narrow old road that rises up
the hill to meet the new road. Turn right, walk about 500
meters on the main road and turn south onto a dirt track
that runs gently up a long, narrow valley toward the
mountain. At a pass, bear right over two hillocks to join a
level dirt road. Turn right and follow it over two rises.
There before you is the level plain of Kuleovası, and on the
far side is first the newly built Sirene Hotel, then the
Selene lodge. You can walk straight across the ova, or, if
it’s too muddy, follow the road around the right side. In
the ova are masses of tiny golden Crocus chrysanthus,
colchicum, ornithogallum and grape hyacinth (muscari) bulbs,
appearing from the boggy ground left by the snowmelt.
A circular walk around the ski lifts (4-5 hours)
Davraz Dağı (2,635 meters), clad up to 1,800 meters with
scattered huge black pines and juniper, dominates the ski
slopes. Walk down the road from the hotels toward Eğirdir
and turn left onto a bulldozed track which climbs into the
foothills through forest scattered with occasional orchids (Orchis
pallens and O. pinetorum). At a spring tiny black
red-fronted serins flock and you strike off left to a gully
where grape hyacinth and crocus grow on the steep slopes.
Reaching the track again, turn left and continue toward the
upper end of the ski lift and a cafe. In the hollows beyond
are masses of tiny brown-yellow Fritillaria pinetorum,
half-hidden by the spring grass. If snow is still there, you
may see flocks of white and brown snow finches and the
black-horned shore lark.
A track continues upward into a broad hollow on the northern
side of the ridge -- the final ski lift terminates here. To
return, turn east along the row of moraine hills at the base
of the main ridge, then aim for the highest clump of pines.
From these, an irregular path follows the left bank of a
gully down towards the ski slopes and hotels below.
Davraz ski lift to Yukarı Gökdere via Kasnak forest (7-8
hours)
From the base of the ski lift, walk southeast toward the
lower end of a gully. On the left bank, a waymarked path
climbs up into the hills, across a couple of level plains
where from early June the topmost shepherd tents are
erected. A gap between rocky slopes marks the start of a
track, which leads along the left slope of a valley to
Beşkuyu (five wells), and then downhill toward Kovada lake,
in the valley far below. Following waymarks, turn left from
the track into the upper reaches of Kasnak forest. Here
cedars and pines clad the upper slopes, and a shady track
leads across meadows around rocky hollows and down toward
the heart of the park. Descending the slopes, irises spring
from the pathsides, the tiny yellow woodland tulip and
checked Fritillaria whitallii grow under the massive oaks.
At a junction marked Çatallı Armut (Forked pear-tree), turn
left to the peony glades and the volcanic oak. The
dimensions and age (600 years) of this huge tree are listed
on a notice hanging on its massive trunk. From here, the
path leads out of the forest park and on a mixture of
footpaths and tracks downhill, past a graveyard, to a small
dammed lake. A short walk on driveable track takes you down
to the prosperous village of Yukarı Gökdere, amongst peach
and apple orchards. Continue to the petrol station on the
main road where it’s easy to call a taxi or hitch a lift
back to your base in Eğirdir.
Fingertip Facts
Location: Isparta province -- Eğirdir or Davraz ski resort
(27 kilometers from Eğirdir, 25 kilometers from Isparta).
When to go: April to early June for peonies, irises and
alpine flowers.
Access: Bus from Ankara; overnight train from İstanbul to
Isparta, then connecting bus to Eğirdir.
Accommodation: The friendliest is İbrahim’s place on the
Kale (castle) -- Lale pension, (246) 311 2406,
www.lalehostel.com. On Green island -- Ali’s Pension, (246)
312 2547 or Paris Pension, (246) 311 5509. On Davraz --
Sirene and Selene hotels, www.davraz.com
Restaurants: Lakeside restaurants serve freshly-caught fish;
the Big Apple has good mezes.
Website, maps and books: www. trekkinginturkey.com includes
the St. Paul Trail; order the guide book and map, “St Paul
Trail,” from the books and maps page.
Equipment for day walks: Thick-soled boots, waterproofs, a
water bottle, sun glasses and sunscreen, camera, binoculars.
11.04.2007
KATE CLOW ANTALYA
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=107947
|
