| İzmir
has always been Anatolia's gate onto the Aegean and distant seas,
and for most |
| of
us the city is associated first of all with its waterfront, gulf,
and nearby seaside resorts |
| like
Çeşme and Foça. However, in the mountains, hills and cliffs of the
area around İzmir |
| quite
different destinations attract some people in search of more unusual
activities. |
| With
the rising popularity of outdoor sports, countless places to climb,
hike, raft and |
| cave
have been discovered all over Turkey, but places in close proximity
to major cities |
| and
therefore easily accessible are naturally the most popular, since
this way it is |
| possible
to head into the wild every free weekend.One such place is Cihanbeğendi |
| Cave
in a hill to the northeast of Gaziemir, which was formerly an outlying
town but has |
| now
become a suburb of the expanding city. A 4 km walk through pine forest
and shrub |
| brings
you to the hill marked Akçakaya on the map. The ruins here belong
to a fort which |
| in
Hellenistic and Byzantine times guarded Smyrna from attack from the
south. All that |
| remains
are the foundations of the walls and a few cisterns. Cihanbeğendi
Cave lies in |
| the
hillside. Its entrance is five or six metres in height and its main
gallery stretches 100 |
| metres
in a westerly direction. |
| |
| For
rock climbers by far the most interesting route is Yunt Falls at Aliağa.
To reach the |
| falls
take the road north from Foça to Çanakkale and turn off at Yeni Şakran
to the village |
| of
Türkmenler. From the turning it is another 22 kilometres. After Türkmenler
you pass |
| first
through tobacco fields and then beautiful pine forest towards the
mountain of Yunt |
| Dağı.
The mountain is noted for its lack of water, so the Yunt Falls are
completely |
| unexpected.
The water drops 50 metres over a sheer cliff into a pool - an irresistible |
| challenge
for rock climbers. The cliff over which the stream pours is not suited
to |
| climbing
up because it has a slippery coating of green weed. Instead climbers
prefer to |
| desc.
The water is extremely cold even in summer, so although it seems pleasantly
cool |
| at
first you quickly begin to shiver, and spray blown by the wind makes
the descent even |
| more
difficult. When you reach the bottom you have to retreat into the
cave beneath |
| immediately,
or you will be drenched. |
| |
| If
cliffs combined with sea attract you more than fresh water, then Çıfıtkale
is the ideal |
| place.
Here you can follow up rock climbing with a refreshing dip in the
blue Aegean. |
| First
head for Seferihisar, a town southwest of İzmir, then go due south
for 9 kilometres |
| and
turn west towards the shore. Here you will see the tiny island of
Çıfıtkale, the ancient |
| Myonnesus.
The island can be reached by wading along the 2500 year old ancient
jetty |
| wall
which lies about half a metre beneath the surface of the water. |
| To
climb the 50 metre rock wall here you should first set up a safety
base on the summit |
| using
a top rope. As the climbers advance, the spare rope is taken up, so
minimising the |
| distance
that they will fall in case of losing a foothold. For free climbing
the base is set up |
| below,
and the leader attaches the rope to safety points at regular intervals
as he |
| ascends.
Having completed your climb, cool off with a swim in the sea. |
| Apart
from these there are two rock walls used for training: Yamanlar cliffs
north of |
| Örnekköy
and the cliffs at Işıkkent near Bornova. So around İzmir you do not
have to go |
| far
to find challenges set by nature, whether your aim is rock climbing
or hiking. end |
| from
the top. |
