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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 1, 2015 - 09:53pm PT
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My partner and i were thinking spain and france but noticed flights to Istanbul are tremendously cheaper. Anyone have any Turkey beta for two California chicks?
Safe-ish?
Good guides?
Moderate routes (under 11a)
Sport, of course. Seems very difficult to travel with trad gear internationally.
Thanks!!
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LuckyPink
climber
the last bivy
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Hi DAPHNE! we gotta get on the phone soon ! Adam and Thea just went to Turkey this past Christmas! It was bellissimo.
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John Duffield
Mountain climber
New York
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Lotsa crags in Crimea as well. Good to know flights are cheap. Thanks ISIS!
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RP3
Big Wall climber
Twain Harte
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Went to Turkey a few years ago. Had an AMAZING time. There are few places where you can get that much culture so close to that many pitches!
Here is a tr from our trip. http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Turkey-Ancient-Ruins-and-Sport-Climbing/t11812n.html
To answer your questions:
-Quite safe. The Antalya area is a popular destination with the Euros. The place is crawling with Germans, Spaniards, and Brits. The large cities are swarming with tourists from all over the world. We never felt the slightest bit unsafe, either in the city or the country. At least where you will be climbing, Turkey has the feel of a modern European country.
-The guidebook to the Antalya region is excellent. It is in English and in Turkish. Get it and drool over the tufas!
-The routes under 6a tend to be low angle, very sharp, and not climbed too often. They do exist through. I suggest playing around in the 6s. The bolting is quite safe.
-Don't even think of bringing a trad rack! How American of you....
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John Duffield
Mountain climber
New York
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But you won't find night hiking like this, in the US.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Was there in mid November 2014 for two weeks. Great trip.
We flew into Istanbul and caught a local flight to Antalya. Stayed there for a few nights in the old city. Climbed at the beach (Akyarlar) and Geyikbayiri. Note that the 4th edition of the guidebook has incorrect beta on how to get to Akyarlar as the road has changed. Still easy to figure out, I thought. Just find the old highway and park in the old lot (going away from Antalya, go through two tunnels, then, turn around and go back towards Antalya. When exiting the tunnel closed to Antalya, take the immediate right and you're on the old highway).
We stayed in Cirali for a couple of nights and climbed at Olympos.
Guidebook to get for this area:
http://www.climb-europe.com/RockClimbingShop/Antalya-Sports-Climbing-Guidebook.html
Then moved to Selcuk. Spent a day climbing at Kaynaklar. Neat spot.
Guidebook: http://www.climb-europe.com/RockClimbingShop/Rock-Climbing-Guidebook-for-Western-Turkey.html
Spent 4 nights in Istanbul on the end of the trip. Great fun.
We felt pretty darn safe the whole time. We were eating lunch in Antalya and a student demonstration came by. Asked our server what was going on and he sighed and said, "oh, just politics". When pressed what it was really about, he said it was anti American. Didn't seem like a huge deal, and, we didn't feel unsafe.
We rented a car and made sure they didn't have high fees for drop off at a different location (we picked up in Antalya and dropped off in Izmir). Got the GPS with it, thankfully. Made commuting in and out of towns less stressful. Really enjoyed having a car. Made impromptu visits to especially ruin sites pretty easy.
Only made reservations for Antalya and Istanbul ahead of time. Winged the rest of the hotel stays. Didn't consider camping, but, folks do epecially at Geyikbayiri, Olympos and Kaynaklar (looked to be free at Kaynaklar).
Food was great (fantastic, actually!). People were super nice and helpful, very welcoming.
Buy a carpet! I know a guy...ha ha...
If you want/need more beta, let me know. We had a really great trip!
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 2, 2015 - 09:21am PT
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You guys are great! Thanks for the amazing beta! I did a supertopo search but nothing came up-- the TR is inspiring :)
Mo, I got certified in SP this weekend, so I can finally play again! Will call soon to plan. (This trip is my reward for all the work over the last 2 years. But I get more than just this trip--maybe Moab soon?)
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